McMillan Welcomes Measures To Keep Scotland Moving

Stuart McMillan MSP, (SNP) has today (Tuesday) welcomed the announced from the new Transport Minister of a six-point plan to boost communication and keep Scotland moving during the winter months.

The six-point plan was announced as it was revealed that a special multi-agency group will be established in the event of severe weather which will include representatives for Scotland's eight Police forces, the trunk road Operating Companies, Transport Scotland and ScotRail. The group will operate from Traffic Scotland's Traffic Control Centre in Glasgow.

Measures include:

* Storing additional salt and grit at key locations on the national trunk road network for quicker access

* Using traffic management resources to enable diversions where necessary

* Further improving the Operating Companies resources by adapting vehicles, such as landscaping vehicles, for clearing snow

* Using the option of removing trunk road and motorway central barriers to allow easy access to blocked or broken down vehicles

* Working with the Police to consider how we can stack HGVs if conditions deteriorate in order to keep traffic moving

* Providing central Scotland's Trunk Road Incident Support Service (TRISS) emergency response vehicles with welfare kits of blankets and supplies

Mr McMillan said;

"The announcement from the Transport Minister of a six-point plan to bring a special multi-agency group together, in the aim of affectively tackling future weather conditions throughout Scotland, is to be welcomed.

"It's important to recognise that Scotland has recently faced extraordinary and exceptional weather conditions which have put a major strain on our infrastructure.

"Therefore, it's important that lessons are learned and the public are given the necessary information, at a timely interval which I hope this announcement will lead to."