Tennis courts in Broughty Ferry

An item coming up at this Monday’s Environment Committee provides an update on a review of tennis court provision in Dundee and it also seeks the committee’s authority for the implementation of a prioritised action plan for improvements. Included in the action plan are the tennis courts in Broughty Ferry on the Esplanade and at Dawson Park.

The Esplanade has three blaize surface courts and is a relatively popular facility. The condition is considered to be fair. Recent minor improvements have been made to the blaize surface and part of the fence was replaced last year. Further minor fence repairs are to be carried out and the long term proposal is to replace the blaize with an all-weather porous macadam surface.

There are exciting plans for the well used facility at Dawson Park. This has four courts with a bituminous surface. It is used by Grove Academy as well as the public and has been a venue for tennis coaching. The intention is to carry out a feasibility study to develop a high quality tennis centre to include an all weather surface, floodlighting, appropriate changing facilities with in-door coaching capability.

Pavement improvements- central Broughty Ferry

I am pleased to report that some of the pavements in central Broughty Ferry that I have previously highlighted as needing attention are to be resurfaced by Dundee City Council during the current financial year. The locations are both sides of Gray Street between Brook Street and King Street, the south side of Brook Street between St. Vincent Street and Gray Street and the south side of Brook Street between Brown Street and Lawrence Street.

These improvements will further enhance the character of the area and also deal with some uneven sections.

Although concrete slabs are to be used in Gray Street rather than granite they will be laid out using the same design principles and patterns that were incorporated into the Brook Street environmental improvement works a few years back. The intention is also to try to de-clutter Gray Street of some of the poles and signs.

There are of course still locations in need of attention and I will continue to push for these to be included in a future programme of works.

Forthill art exhibition

Following my surgeries on Saturday I called in at the Forthill Art Group’s annual exhibition in the Forthill Sheltered Housing Complex. Once again there was a wonderful display of pictures painted in different mediums. The event was well attended and everyone was impressed by the quality of work on show.  The art group meets every week in the lounge to paint, and it is an activity that the residents get a lot of enjoyment from.

I was lucky to be able to purchase a lovely painting of a Dundee Street scene which shows the former Post Office at the corner of Crichton Street and Shore Terrace and it also captures Tommy Small selling the Tele.

Dundee’s new hybrid buses

Yesterday morning, along with the Lord Provost and other elected representatives, I attended the launch by National Express Dundee of its fleet of nine new hybrid buses.

The state of the art double deckers will operate mainly on Service 5, which of course is the Broughty Ferry and Barnhill route. 

The vehicles are equipped with audio-visual next-stop announcements, GPS tracking and smartcard technology and will reduce CO2 emissions by 30%, saving an estimated 210 tonnes of carbon every year, compared to regular buses.

The distinctive green livery is very reminiscent of the old Dundee Corporation buses. I can remember taking one of those to school for a short while after bus operation passed to Tayside Regional Council and before the livery was changed to blue. The fare at that time was one penny!

Traffic survey- Victoria Road

I have recently received the outcome of another traffic survey.  On this occasion it was carried out in Victoria Road, West Ferry, in response to concerns raised by some of the residents.

Having considered the data the council’s transportation manager has advised me that:

“…the average speed of vehicles on Victoria Road is about 27 mph and this indicates that there is no significant speed issue on this road.  Cobbled streets tend to be noisier that normal tarmac streets and this gives the impression that vehicles are travelling along faster than they actually are.  There are a number of cobbled streets in the city and this perception of higher speeds is a common occurrence with them.  There have been no pedestrian injury accidents on this section of road although there have been some vehicle accidents at the junctions of Strathern Road and Dundee Road which are main roads that carry high volumes of traffic.  The accidents are not speed related although we will continue monitoring these roads through our AIP procedures.”

Doubts over electricity supplies in a separate Scotland

Research papers published by the David Hume Institute at the University of Edinburgh have raised questions over the security of an independent Scotland’s electricity supply. They state that a separate Scotland would have a tougher time keeping the lights on than if we remained in the UK.

They highlight that by having a smaller economy a separate Scotland would be less able to trade electricity, have a smaller storage capacity and a more restrictive transmission system. They also raise doubts over whether the development of renewable energy could continue without electricity prices rising ‘significantly’, due to the loss of subsidies.

Murdo Fraser MSP, Convener of the Scottish Parliament’s energy committee, said:

“These research papers once again highlight the uncertainty surrounding what would happen in a separate Scotland.

“A key priority for any government is maintaining a secure energy supply and making sure that the lights are kept on – but these findings show that this is far from certain if Scotland chooses to separate from the rest of the UK.

“Not only would it limit our energy storage capacity and our ability to trade electricity, it would place a huge reliance on renewable energy.

“With the Scottish Government’s energy policy almost entirely focused on wind energy it would leave us with an unreliable and intermittent energy supply without any large-scale conventional back-up.

“In addition to the large subsidies these wind turbines receive, it will leave voters wondering not only if their lights will stay on in a separate Scotland, but whether they can afford to keep them on at all.

“Once again the flaws in the SNP’s energy plans post-independence are looking shaky at best. The gamble they are asking Scots voters to take next year is becoming an increasingly tough sell.” 

Reres Road

I received a number of complaints again over the weekend about potholes and worn road surfaces. New potholes-or should I say repeat potholes- are appearing quite frequently.

One location that has caused alarm is this drain cover in Reres Road. I have forwarded the picture to the roads maintenance partnership with a request that action be taken to repair the damage.