Highland Council has come under fire for installing painted speed bumps rather than real ones on a road in Culloden, Inverness-shire. The move is part of a low-cost traffic calming experiment — but locals say it’s not working, and some can't even see them at night.
The markings are flat designs painted on the road to give the illusion of raised bumps. They include shading and white lines to trick the eye, but many residents are calling the idea ineffective and confusing.
Councillor Trish Robertson, who originally requested speed-reduction measures for Ferntower Road, said: “This is just a waste of paint. It doesn’t even look like a bump and will have no impact. Even the workers who painted them were laughing, saying it would never work.”
The road has a 20mph limit and is used by school children, which prompted calls for better safety measures. But Robertson added: “I honestly thought it was an April Fool’s joke. I can’t imagine this approach being taken seriously anywhere else.”
The trial was funded by Transport Scotland and is part of Highland Council’s push for “safer, healthier and greener” roads by using innovative street design and technology. A spokesperson confirmed that vehicle speeds will be monitored before and after the markings were added to assess their long-term impact.
