Have your say on Finstown traffic concerns and options

The Orkney public will be able to voice their thoughts and concerns about traffic in Finstown when a consultation website opens today (7 March).

The two week consultation is part of wider work by the Council to look into concerns expressed by community members over recent years, including through a petition lodged with the Council in summer last year.

Members of the public will be able to comment on a menu of possible options the Council could look at to improve pedestrian and cyclist provision and safety within the 30mph zone of the village.

They’ll also be able to add specific concerns they have to an interactive ‘issues map’.

The website consultation has been developed by consultants Systra. It’s been informed by data which has been collected over the last several months on traffic type, volume and speed including patterns of usage by pedestrians and cyclists and peak traffic times.

The consultation will go live at finstowntrafficstudy.co.uk and will be available from 9am on 7 March to 9am on 21 March.

Feedback gathered during the consultation will be reported to the Council’s Roads Services team in the spring.

A report by officers would then be formally considered by Councillors at a later date.

Explaining further, OIC Roads Support Manager, Kenny Roy, said: “The online consultation will give people the opportunity to quickly and easily feed into the traffic management study, by pinpointing areas of concern to them geographically. This will help build a picture of where the community feels the issues are, and illustrate where the most concern is.

“Feed back from the local community is critical to the project to ensure areas of concern are considered, and to determine any traffic management options that may be available to alleviate these concerns.”

Chair of Development and Infrastructure, Councillor Graham Sinclair, said: “I’d urge members of the public, especially residents of Finstown, to make sure they contribute during this two week consultation.”