The A78 Trunk Road (Inverkip) (Temporary Prohibition on Use of Road) Order 2024
The Scottish Ministers give notice that they have made the above Order under sections 2(1) and (2), 4(1) and 16A of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, which will have the effect of temporarily prohibiting vehicles on that length of the A78 Greenock – Prestwick Trunk Road, known as Main Road, Inverkip from a point 340 metres or thereby south of the road known as Harbourside, in a southerly direction to a point 540 metres or thereby south of the road known as Harbourside, a distance of 200 metres or thereby.”
The Order, which is required to facilitate the holding of the Remembrance Parade will be in operation for 1 day on the 10th November until 11th November 2024. It is anticipated that the restrictions will be in place for 1 hour from 12:15hours to and will only have effect in relation to such part or parts of the length of road as is indicated by the appropriate traffic signs.
The Order does not apply to vehicles while being used in an emergency for fire service, ambulance, police or coastguard purposes or a vehicle being used for facilitating the holding of the relevant event.
Alternative routes
An alternative route is not required.
For information about roadworks on motorways and trunk roads visit Traffic Scotland.
S C WILSON
A member of the staff of the Scottish Ministers
Transport Scotland
George House
36 North Hanover Street
Glasgow
G1 2AD
The Scottish Ministers give notice that they have made the above Order under sections 2(1) and (2), 4(1) and 16A of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, temporarily prohibiting traffic on that length of the A82 Dalnottar – Inverness Trunk Road from its junction with U1701 Kilmanivaig Church and School Road, Spean Bridge generally northeastwards to its junction with B8004, Spean Bridge, a distance of 848 metres or thereby.
The Order, which is required to facilitate the Spean Bridge Remembrance Parade 2024 and to enable members of the public to participate in this event, will be in operation from 10 November until 11 November 2024 and will only have effect in relation to such part or parts of the length of road as is indicated by the appropriate traffic signs.
The Order does not apply to vehicles while being used in connection with the placing of the required signage or vehicles being used in an emergency for fire service, coastguard, ambulance or police purposes or to acts done with the permission or upon the direction of a police constable in uniform.
Alternative routes
Alternative routes for traffic during the prohibition are not required.
For information about roadworks on motorways and trunk roads visit Traffic Scotland.
A member of the staff of the Scottish Ministers
Transport Scotland
Glasgow
G2 1AD
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 Compatibility Consideration and Narration of Statement of Compatibility
The Scottish Ministers have made the following statement regarding children’s rights:
“In accordance with section 23(2) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 (the Act), the Scottish Ministers certify that, in their view, The A78 Trunk Road (Inverkip) (Temporary Prohibition on Use of Road) Order 2024 is compatible with the UNCRC requirements as defined by section 1(2) of the Act.”
Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) for The A78 Trunk Road (Inverkip) (Temporary Prohibition on Use of Road) Order 2024
Disclaimer
This document is a point in time assessment of the likely effects of, The A78 Trunk Road (Inverkip) (Temporary Prohibition on Use of Road) Order 2024, on the rights and wellbeing of children and young people.
Scottish Government acknowledge the importance of monitoring and evaluating the impact of strategic decisions and legislation on children’s rights and wellbeing. Any information gathered during implementation of the legislation or strategic decision to which the impact assessment relates, will be used to inform future determinations of impact. Any new strategic decision or new legislation (including amending legislation) would be subject to a new CRWIA in line with the legislative requirements.
Introduction
- Brief Summary (Guidance Section 3.2, page 20).
Type of proposal: SSI
Name the proposal, and describe its overall aims and intended purpose.
Key Term Definitions
Prohibition – to officially and legally not allow something.
Authorise – to give official permission for something to happen, or to give someone official permission to do something
The A78 Trunk Road (Inverkip) (Temporary Prohibition on Use of Road) Order 2024 allows for the temporary prohibition on the use of the length of trunk road specified in the schedule of the order for a period beginning on 10th November 2024 and ending on 10th November 2024.. The prohibition provided by the order would come into effect where the relevant traffic signs specified in the order are displayed. The order will not prevent emergency vehicles from using those lengths of road through case by case planning and agreement prior to the order commencing. The order will not prevent pedestrians from using that length of road at any time. The closure of this part of the A78 is to facilitate the safety of participants and viewers of during an annual community event.
Start date of proposal’s: 30/08/2024
Start date of CRWIA process: 30/08/2024
- With reference given to the requirements of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, which aspects of the proposal are relevant to children’s rights?
During the development of this order, the operating company responsible for the road closure has assessed whether the temporary prohibition allowed by this order will negatively impact on children and young people’s ability to access buildings such as schools and/ or childcare facilities, higher or further education institutions, hospitals, places used for recreational activity, and places of worship. We intend to keep any such impacts to an absolute minimum and avoid them where possible. There is the potential for access to a number of venues, facilities and buildings used by children and young people to be affected. Therefore, there is the potential for the order to impact), right to health and health services (article 24), right to leisure play and culture (article 31), and freedom of thought, belief and religion (article 14). The impact and mitigating actions we will plan into the order will be outlined in question 9 of this assessment. Children and young people’s right to education (article 28) had the potential to be impact upon due to schools being near the stretch of road, however as the closure is happening on a weekend when schools are closed, this was able to be ruled out as having a potential impact.
The purpose behind the order is to maintain the safety during an annual community event therefore, we consider this road closure to have a positive impact both directly and in-directly to article 3 (the best interests of the child) and article 6 (right to life, survival and development).
There was the potential for freedom of association and right to leisure, play and culture to be impacted, however these rights are positively impacted as a result of the event taking place in itself and is therefore outside the scope of this CRWIA. The road closure merely allows for the safe running of the event.
- Please provide a summary of the evidence gathered which will be used to inform your decision-making and the content of the proposal.
From:
- existing research/reports/policy expertise
- consultation/feedback from stakeholders
- consultation/feedback directly from children and young people
The operating company responsible for the road closure have past experience and knowledge to support our decision making process, however, engagement, consultation and communication are extremely important in our planning and delivery of any road closure. As part of this process, maps are used to determine who will be impacted within a certain mile radius.
The company has mapped out the extents of this order and we are aware of the impact to the travelling public (particularly with this being the strategic trunk road network), as a road closure is required, however this road closure will only be for a short period of time, managed by Police Scotland. Utilising maps, sites which children and young people may access, and may be impacted by the road closure were identified, .
Utilising mapping tools, the operating company identified buildings such as schools and hospitals which could be impacted in terms of access. Once the extent of impact to these buildings is fully worked through, stakeholders are identified (schools, hospitals etc), contact is made to discuss the impact of the traffic management on each individual stakeholder. The event has gone through stakeholder consultation in advance of being carried out, including liaison with local authorities and Police Scotland. There were no issues raised.
This road closure is also noticed and plotted on the Scottish Roadworks Register, and where conflicts are identified, the operating company works with the other party to manage such issues. On this occasion diversion route is not required as road closure will only be for a short period of time, managed by Police Scotland with minimal disruption.
This is a short duration road closure of around 15 minutes with little impact, therefore the operating company did not need to use tools such as Traffic Impact Assessments on this occasion.
This road closure will be carried out at a weekend; therefore schools are not impacted. Similarly, access for emergency service vehicles will be maintained throughout event.
The event organiser has will consulted with Police Scotland, the local authorities, Transport Scotland and other key stakeholders. Please note that local roads which are the responsibility of the local authority are more commonly likely to provide direct access to a number of facilities which may be utilised by children and young people such as schools, leisure centres, and GP offices, however this CRWIA has allowed us and the operating company to identify where potential impact to facilities may occur and mitigate against these.
The operating company’s Liaison Officer has good knowledge of the surrounding area and has built up a relationship with stakeholders such as the local schools. There are no stakeholders impacted, (such as shopping complexes, leisure facilities, schools, crematoriums) during this event.
While there is the potential for access to areas to be impacted or limited as a result of the order (until we add our planning measures prior to the order commencing), undertaking a road closure to provide support to an annual community event, provides a general positive impact to the public, including children, by reducing the chances of potential risks on this road when it is busy with pedestrians during the event.
Statistics show a decrease in the number of road traffic incidents in recent years and while we know that this looks a much broader range of incidents than those cause what this order looks to impact alone, contributing to the reduction of road traffic incidents through this order and many like it will have a positive impact on children’s right to life, survival and development.
With UNICEF reporting in their child and adolescent road safety technical guidance that ‘road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and adolescents aged 5–19 years’ we look to reduce chances of this in Scotland by contributing to the improvement of road safety.
- Further to the evidence described at ‘3’ have you identified any 'gaps' in evidence which may prevent determination of impact? If yes, please provide an explanation of how they will be addressed.
- Analysis of Evidence (Guidance Section 3.2, page 26).
Utilising the mapping process allowed the operating company to identify buildings which may be impacted by the order in terms of accessibility. This was then further understood through engagement with Police Scotland, the local authorities, Transport Scotland and other key stakeholders to provide input on potential impacts and the best ways to mitigate against these.
Additionally, planning of this road closure allows for the Operating Companies to identify any buildings and/ or facilities which children and young people may access near that stretch of road, and plan mitigations if access to these are restricted. This is outlined in question 9.
The statistics and guidance mentioned above demonstrate the risk children and young people in particular face in relation to road safety. As this is an A road, not closing this road was identified to have potentially dangerous consequences and therefore has the potential to have an increased risk for children and young people. Therefore the evidence allowed us to conclude the positive impact closing the road would have on article 6.
- What changes (if any) have been made to the proposal as a result of this assessment? (Guidance Section 3.2, page 26)
The operating company assessed if the closure and/ or restrictions provided in this order had the potential to restrict access to such an extent that it would require additional measures to be put in place. This allowed for general planning procedures to mitigate against any potentially negative impacts (the closure will be for a short duration on a Sunday). Therefore, while mitigations were put in place in the planning, no changes to the proposal were made. If any unintended situations occur during the time this order is in operation, these will be mitigated against in the same way.
Conclusion
- As a result of the evidence gathered and analysed against all UNCRC requirements, what is the potential overall impact of this proposal on children’s rights? (Guidance Section 3.2, pages 26-27):
Children’s Rights
Applicable answer(s): Positive and Negative
- If you have identified a positive impact on children’s rights, please describe below how the proposal will protect, respect, and fulfil children’s rights in Scotland. (Guidance Section 3.2, pages 27-28).
The positive impact will relate to the best interests of the child (article 3) and children’s rights to life, survival and development (article 6) by allowing road closures in accordance with this order necessary to protecting public safety during an annual community event.
- If a negative impact has been identified please describe below. Is there a risk this could potentially amount to an incompatibility?
There is the potential for access to certain facilities in the area to be impacted.
Mitigation Record
What options have been considered to modify the proposal in order to mitigate negative impact or potential incompatibility issues?
Please summarise mitigation actions taken below
Issue or risk Identified per article/Optional Protocol
Limited or restricted access to a number of buildings used by children (without planning measures put in place).
Action Taken/To Be Taken
The following planning measures:
Consideration of the timing of the closure to limit the impact to the public, including children. The traffic will be held for a short period of time to facilitate those participating in the event crossing the road, and will take place on a Sunday when education facilities in the area are closed.
As a result of the evidence gathered and analysed against all wellbeing indicators, will the proposal contribute to the wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland? (Guidance Section 3.2, pages 29-30).
Applicable answer: Yes
If yes, please provide and explanation below:
As this is an A road, not closing this road was identified to have potentially dangerous consequences and therefore has the potential to have an increased risk for children and young people. Therefore it is determined there would be a contribution to the safe wellbeing indicator.
- How will you communicate to children and young people the impact that the proposal will have on their rights? (Guidance Section 3.2, page 31)
The CRWIA will be published and has been written in accessible language so as to allow for children and young people to understand its content and the potential impact (or no impact) on their rights.
Post Assessment Review and sign-off
- Planning for the review of impact on children’s rights and wellbeing (Guidance Section 3.2, pages 31).
As part of the decision-making process, plans for reviewing the impact on children’s rights and wellbeing need to be developed.
- How will the impact of the proposal on children’s rights and wellbeing be monitored?
- When will you review and update the CRWIA if required?
Through the duration of this order, the CRWIA will be referred to and due consideration given to the rights of children and young people if any unintended events occur.
- Sign off (Guidance Section 3.2, pages 31-32).
Policy Lead Signature & Date of Sign Off: Neil Hay - 18/09/2024
Deputy Director Signature & Date of Sign Off: S C Wilson – 29/10/2024
Date CRWIA team first contacted: 20/09/2024