Local community member Una Macleod had the honour of officially opening the new bus stop on the A87 at Sligachan on the Isle of Skye yesterday at a special ribbon cutting event joined by local community members.
The event was held to mark the official opening of the new bus layby which is already being well used by the local community and visitors to the area alike.
Prior to the bus layby being built, Una Macleod, a Skye resident from Sleat, frequently had to flag the bus down on the A87 at Sligachan when no official stop was available. Una and the local community reached out to BEAR and Transport Scotland with their concerns, and a new bus layby has now been built, providing a safe space for buses to pull in from the A87 and allow passengers to safely board.
The new bus layby also includes a new bus shelter provided by The Highland Council and over 125m of new footway, helping to improve pedestrian access to the campsite and nearby Sligachan Hotel. Work was also carried out to improve the roadside drainage system, safety barriers and road signs at this location, improving safety for all users of the A87.
Yesterday (Monday) Una Macleod was invited to attend the official opening of the new facilities at Sligachan and was joined by other members of the community including the owners of Sligachan Hotel, Local Councillors John Finlayson and Callum Munro along with members of the BEAR Scotland team who helped design and build the project.
Catriona Coghill, owner of nearby Sligachan Hotel, said: “I’m delighted with the way this project has come to fruition with minimal disruption.
“Thanks to Una’s persistence, we now have a new bus stop at Sligachan which will provide safety, shelter and visibility for everyone, a much-needed asset for locals and tourists alike.”
Local Councillor John Finlayson said: “This project is fantastic news for the local community and patrons of Sligachan Hotel and campsite. Importantly of course it also supports road safety for everyone, locals and tourists alike. The success of the project is down to collaborative working between all the main stakeholders and the valuable support and flexibility shown by the Coghill family owners of the Sligachan Hotel.”
Kate Forbes MSP said: “This is a tremendous result for local bus users. A few years ago, a number of residents approached me to ask for a bus shelter. After engagement with Highland Council and Transport Scotland, I’m delighted that this result is even better than we hoped for.
“I hope the new bus layby will be safer for drivers and bus users. This is an important investment in the local community, and I’d like to thank Transport Scotland for taking concerns seriously.”
BEAR Scotland Project Engineer Bob Bruce, said: “We’re so pleased that this project has been well received by the local community, and it’s been a real collaborative success in getting the project from the design stages to the final end result.
“We thank all motorists and the local community for their patience while we worked to complete this project safely and hope the new facilities will help make a real difference in the area.”
The road safety project at Sligachan began in March with the majority of the project completed earlier this month as planned.
Winter Portal 
Planned Works 
Report a Defect