A local resident and former civil engineer has now submitted an updated professional report to South Lanarkshire Council Roads and our local councillors, detailing the serious disrepair of the Sandford–Strathaven footpath.

🔍 Summary of findings:

- The path surface is uneven, cracked, and rutted, with trip and slip hazards throughout.

- Vegetation and moss cover wide sections, leaving walkers to step near traffic.

- Frost and ice persist on the path long after surrounding areas have thawed, making it dangerous in winter.

- Recent “repairs” near Strathaven are already breaking up, materials have been poorly applied with no surface preparation.

- The bridge section functions as a slip road or parking area, not a safe pedestrian path.

- At multiple points, width drops below 1 m, making it impossible for two pedestrians (or a pram/wheelchair) to pass safely.

👷 Professional view:

“Using this route is not a pleasant experience — pedestrians must constantly watch every step to avoid defects. Some sections are probably unusable. Patching or vegetation clearance won’t fix this; full reconstruction will be required.”

📅 Next step:
We have a route walkthrough scheduled with our MSP Màiri McAllan and Cllr Frame.  More details to follow in due course.

We’ll continue pressing the Council for:

- Transparency and release of full safety assessment data.

- A winter re-assessment under realistic travel conditions.

- Proper safety upgrades or reinstatement of school transport.

🙏 Huge thanks again to the resident engineer for their professionalism and the time dedicated to documenting this, your input makes the safety risks undeniable.

🔗 https://www.change.org/SandfordSafety

We will keep you up to date with the response from the SLC.

#SandfordSafety #RoadSafety #SchoolTransport #SouthLanarkshireCouncil #Transparency #Accountability #ChildSafety