§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the volume of local traffic between East Lothian and Berwickshire on the A 1 trunk road; and what proportion of the traffic on the road at Dunglass bridge is attributable to such local journeys.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe average annual daily traffic on the Al between the Lothian/Borders boundary and the Al 107 junction at Tower Farm in 1992 was 6,300 vehicles per day. The volume of local traffic with an origin or destination in Borders region is estimated from junction counts and other surveys to be around 1,200 vehicles per day. It is not possible from the information available to identify the proportion of that traffic which is undertaking local journeys between east Lothian and Berwickshire.
§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the progress of his plans to upgrade the A 1 trunk road to dual carriageway standard, giving the timetable for dualling each section and the target date for completion of dualling in Scotland.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonProposals have been published for the dualling of the Al between Tranent and Haddington, and for local dualling schemes south of Dunbar and between Lemington and Howburn. Subject to the completion of statutory procedures, these three schemes which are valued at approximately £40 million could commence next year. The preparation of a further five dualling schemes valued at a total of £45 million is currently being progressed to take forward the Government's desire to dual fully the Al between Edinburgh and Newcastle. Further progress will depend on the overall availability of resources, the relative claims of schemes elsewhere and the other normal criteria for bringing schemes forward.
§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the volume of local traffic making journeys of 25 miles or less on(a) the Al trunk road at Meadowmill, (b) the former A 1 road west of Tranent and (c) the A198 at Meadowmill; and what proportion of the total traffic at these points is represented by such local traffic.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe traffic studies carried out as part of the Tranent to Haddington dualling proposals do not readily identify the volume of local traffic making journeys of 25 miles or less, nor did the studies include those roads west of Tranent.
618WThe average daily traffic flow is of the order of 21,600 vehicles on the Al west of Bankton roundabout and 14,800 vehicles on the A198. On the A 1 at Meadowmill some 10,600 vehicles per day (49 per cent.) is traffic travelling from or to the surrounding area between Musselburgh and Haddington. On the A198 at Meadowmill, about 99 per cent. is local traffic.
§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing the numbers of minor, serious and fatal accidents on the Al road in Scotland for the last five years; and if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of high-profile policing, speed cameras and enhanced road markings and signs in reducing serious and fatal accidents on the A 1 over the last two years.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe numbers of personal injury accidents on the Al between Bankton roundabout and the National Borders for the past five years are as follows:
Fatal Serious Slight Total 1988 9 18 35 62 1989 6 24 40 70 1990 7 22 47 76 1991 3 13 39 55 1992 8 6 29 43 It is expected that the route action measures taken on the Al will make an important and significant contribution to improving road safety on the Al. The reduction in the total number of personal injury accidents in 1991 and 1992 indicate an encouraging trend. The speed cameras on the route came into operation on 30 August this year. It is already clear from our monitoring that there has been a substantial reduction in vehicle speeds with the greatest reductions in speed recorded for the fastest 25 per cent. of drivers. This can be expected to result in further improvements in road safety.
§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many days the B6355 road between Gifford and Duns has been closed due to severe weather during the last 10 years.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe B6355 is a local road and not one for which the Secretary of State has responsibility. Matters relating to the B6355, including winter maintenance, are the responsibility of Borders regional council, which is the local roads authority.
§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his policy for low-flow grade separation in planning for the dualling of trunk roads; and what is the relative accident rate at junctions with and without such grade separation on the Al and elsewhere.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe choice of junction type for new dual carriageways and where existing dual carriageways are to be upgraded will depend on traffic flows on the main and side roads and other local conditions.
The only low-flow grade separation constructed to date is on the Al at Lamberton. This junction was opened to traffic in August this year and it is therefore not yet possible to compare its performance in terms of road safety with other junctions on the route.