Parents have been left frustrated by delays to an investigation into making a busy stretch of Moray trunk road safer for children walking to school.
Pupils at Elgin’s East End Primary School have to walk along a busy stretch of the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness route to reach classes.
And worried parents fear it is only a “matter of time” before an accident takes place, and have pleaded with Transport Scotland to make the trunk road safer for their children.
Amid increasing concerns, road bosses pledged to complete an investigation into possible safety measures by the end of November.
But yesterday the body said that aspects of the study had “taken longer than expected” and revealed that a draft report of its findings would not be complete until later this month.
Dawn Smith walks children Kyle Smith and Carmen Hind – who are P2 and P4 pupils at East End – from Barlink Road to the school every day.
Last night, the mother said she was “hugely disappointed” by Transport Scotland’s delay in addressing the hazards which she claims are putting children’s lives in danger.
She added: “It feels as though our children’s safety is not high on their list of priorities.
“We as parents try our best to keep the kids safe, but those crossings on the A96 are still an accident waiting to happen.”
Moray Council agreed to push Transport Scotland to investigate improving safety along the road last October.
The body said it would examine whether to install a pedestrian crossing at an area outside East End Primary, which is currently patrolled by a lollipop man.
But parents said stronger measures were required along the eastern stretch of the road, heading out of Elgin.
Sarah Candy, who walks her six-year-old daughter Sophie to and from the school every day, said installing railings along the route would maker her feel safer.
Yesterday, a Transport Scotland spokeswoman said: “We have been carrying out the study at East End Primary to make sure that the correct interventions are made for this section of the A96.
“We had hoped that this would be completed by now, but consultation with some of the parties involved has taken longer than expected and we are aiming to finalise a draft report by mid-month.”