Council / Speed limit to come for Levenwick road
A 50MPH speed limit is set to be introduced on the A970 road at Levenwick in the new year. It would act as an interim measure ahead of possible road safety improvements.
Anyone wishing to object to the 50mph road traffic order has until 13 January to do so.
If there are no objections, then Shetland Islands Council will press ahead with introducing the limit in February.
In the event of objections, the order would come in front of councillors on the environment and transport committee in February, and if approved there, the speed limit would then come into effect in early March.
The order would cover a length of the A970 totalling around 1,820 metres. As one of the narrowest sections of a two-lane road in Shetland, themain road above Levenwick has long been a concern on safety grounds.
A full widening has previously been proposed, but another possible option could be to install barriers and improve the blind summit, which would bring improvements to the road quicker.
Councillors were previously told, however, that the latter could potentially be designed in a way to enable the widening still to take place in the future.
A report is due to be brought to councillors early next year on the pros and cons of the barrier option. In the meantime design work has been completed, and agreements have been reached with adjacent land owners.
The planning service has also confirmed that the project can be progressed under the road authority’s permitted development rights. Last year a bus driver showed support for the full widening of the road – using images of two coaches passing each other, with an embankment on the side, to highlight a “glaring lack of space”.
The A970 above Levenwick, the main link to the south end, is second on the priority list of Shetland Islands Council’s major road upgrades behind Cullivoe in Yell.
The SIC has now gone out to tender on the Cullivoe road project, with the contract valued at just under £10 million.
Shetland South councillor Allison Duncan has often spoke of his long-held view that widening the Levenwick road needs to take place as soon as possible.
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