The decision last year of the Highland Council in Scotland to introduce an area wide Gaelic and English bilingual road signs policy in their authority was supported by the majority of Councillors. However the bilingual road sign policy decision provoked an angry response from some Councillors who saw the measure as not only a waste of money, but a potential danger for motorists.

The bilingual road sign policy that was adopted by the Highland Council in March 2008 started a public debate in Scotland that has continued for over a year. Those in favour of the bilingual road signs, including the League, say that there is no evidence that such signs pose a danger to motorists and that the cost of the signs (estimated at £10 000 and £20 000 per annum) is money well spent.

Last month however, Scotland's Transport Minister, Stewart Stevenson, entered the debate by announcing that the impact of bilingual road signs on motorists will have to be reviewed before any more signs can be erected. The review will take a minimum of three years to complete and its conclusions will therefore not be published in time for The National MOD in the Highland town of Caithness in 2010, which was one of the reasons why the Council decided to erect more bilingual signs in the first place.

Nevertheless, in a letter to the Highland Council Minister Stevenson congratulated the Council on its stance on the language and its work in erecting bilingual signs on roads controlled by the authority, but warned of the delay that a review would have in the collecting of data to assess what impact existing signage on roads was having on motorists. News of the review will no doubt be welcomed by a minority of Councillors in Caithness and Inverness who oppose the Council's area-wide policy. Unison (Scotland), a large public sector trade union, has also joined the debate recently by requesting that the policy should be stopped.

The arguments that are being put forward for reversing the policy decision are based primarily on vague anecdotal evidence, whereas there is no actual evidence to suggest that road safety is compromised as a result of bilingual road signs, as has been shown in the other Celtic countries and across Europe.

In May 2008, the Celtic League wrote to the Highland Council congratulating them on the decision to introduce the signs. The League has written once again to the Council to show its support for the road signs, after it was announced that clear demonstrations of support were needed if the policy is to remain. The full text of the League letter can be found below:

"Councillor Sandy Park Convener The Highland Council

Dear Cllr. Park

Highland Council bilingual road signs policy

I am writing to you once again on behalf of the Celtic League following our letter of support for the bilingual road sign policy the Highland Council voted in favour of in March 2008.

The Celtic League would like to reiterate its full support for the Council's decision to erect bilingual signs on roads throughout the Highland Council authority. We believe that the arguments that have been presented to date against the policy have been based on superficial and anecdotal evidence that runs contrary to what has been discovered in the other Celtic countries, in particular Ireland and Wales, and elsewhere throughout Europe. There is no evidence to suggest that bilingual road signs pose a danger for motorists in Wales or other areas of Europe where bilingual road signs have been a fact of life for many years and there is no reason to believe why people who drive on Scottish roads are more likely to be involved in accidents as a result of bilingual road signs as anywhere else.

We neither believe that the cost aspect is a factor that should prevent the full implementation of the area wide policy; as it has been proved time and again, a region that shows itself to be culturally rich attracts greater investment and tourism than one that doesn't. We are sure that the estimated annual cost of the erecting and maintaining the signs will be offset by the increased income that the further use of Gaelic in your area will bring into the economy. This again has been proved in other areas of the Celtic nations.

I have copied this letter to the Minister of Transport, Stewart Stevenson, for his information, because we believe that a three year review into these issues is a waste of public funds, when recent comprehensive studies on these issues have taken place elsewhere and can be drawn on at very little cost.

The Celtic League would like to congratulate the Highland Council for introducing such an area wide policy on bilingual road signs and the determination that the Council has shown in furthering the public profile of the Gaelic language in Scotland, amid a very vocal minority opposition to the plan. We hope that other Scottish Council's will follow the Highland Council's lead on this issue and we will continue to make our feeling known about this to a wider audience.

Yours sincerely

Rhisiart Tal-e-bot General Secretary Celtic League

CC Stewart Stevenson, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change"

(Article compiled for Celtic News by Rhisiart Tal-e-bot, Celtic League General Secretary)

J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League

08/04/09

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