Alleged ‘near miss’ prompts safety plea at Bignold

Orkney Islands Council is appealing to drivers using the new roadway through Bignold Park to be mindful of safety and to drive more slowly.

This follows a report of alleged “near miss” between a vehicle and a park user on the new road.

Garry Burton, the council’s leisure and culture service manager, said: “The new road at the Bignold Park has proved extremely popular with cyclists and pedestrians.

“We’ve also found a typical ‘unintended consequence’ from the project, where people have been using the road to bring their cars in closer to the football games taking place on the Bignold pitch.

“We realise this will be of a great benefit to many but we have unfortunately received a report of drivers not being mindful of pedestrians around them.

“This presents a significant concern to us — particularly given that so many families with young children attend the games — and we’d ask that drivers be mindful of this and drive accordingly.

“We really don’t want to go down the route of restricting access for vehicles — but we may have to go down that route if drivers do not heed this initial warning.

“We’ll be continuing to monitor the situation alongside colleagues from the Orkney Football Association.”

The new roadway was completed at the end of 2021, fully funded by Orkney Islands Council and project managed by Orkney Agricultural Society.