Publication date of the long-awaited White Paper

Alex Salmond yesterday announced the publication date of the long-awaited White Paper in his main speech at the SNP’s conference in Perth.

He confirmed the document will be published on Tuesday, November 26, 2013.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson MSP said:

“Alex Salmond's speech was retail politics at its very worst - everything on offer, but with no price-tag attached.

“He is taking the Scottish public for mugs by claiming that they don't need the details, they just need to trust him and everything will be ok.

“It's a big gamble for a man already shown to be untrustworthy on basic issues such as telling the truth about EU legal advice.

“All along, the SNP mantra has been that they don't need to answer questions or give information because everything will be revealed in the White Paper.

“Well, the SNP have set a high bar on what will be in the White Paper and - now that we have a date - if they fail to deliver the public will never forgive them.

“The people of Scotland know that we are better off together as part of the UK and Alex Salmond's own lauding of the country's successful food and drink sector and recovering economy just proves it.”

Albany Road pavement

I was really pleased to see work start this week on a section of unadopted pavement in Albany Road that I have received many complaints about . The south pavement between Fairfield Road and Ralston Road is being brought up to standard and adopted by the council for future maintenance.

In 1999 following representations from councillors, pedestrians and householders, the council introduced its unadopted footways scheme. Each year all the pavements nominated for inclusion in the  scheme are ranked against a criteria and the level of funding available for the scheme allows the top dozen or so in the priority ranking list to be be brought up to standard. At that time West Ferry had a number of unadopted pavements and as the councillor for the area I set myself an objective of ensuring that all of the pavements in the ward would be adopted. Over the years I have suggested ways to improve the ranking of many of the pavements against the criteria.

The streets in the former West Ferry ward that now have decent pavements due to the unadopted footways scheme are: Albert Gardens, Albert Road, Balgillo Road, Balmyle Road, Bayfield Road, Bayfield Gardens, Caenlochan Road, Cedar Road, Davidson Street, Dundee Road, Duntrune Terrace, Ellieslea Road, Fairfield Road, Grove Road, Victoria Road, Deepdale Place, Ferndale Drive, Traill Street and three other sections of Albany Road.

With a section of Fairfield Road adjacent to Dawson Park also to be attended to this year all that remains on the unadopted footways list from the former West Ferry ward are Stewart Street, a section of Fintry Place and the final section of Albany Road (north side between Ralston Road and Fairfield Road). I am hopeful that these will also be attended to in the near future.

Since 2007 within the wider multi-member Ferry ward even more have been attended to, particularly in Barnhill which used to have a similar number of unadopted pavements as West Ferry. There are of course many still to be attended to, some in very poor condition and I will continue to push for their inclusion in a programme of works.

Broughty Ferry Station platform

Over the last couple of years residents have mentioned to me that the south platform at Broughty Ferry Station is too low and requires a big step to get on/off of a train. I contacted TACTRAN , the regional transport partnership, about it in May of last year who raised the issue for me with Network Rail. At that time the response was that there are several low platforms within the Scotland route and its funding for operational property does not include funding for raising low platforms. It went on to say that it was reviewing the condition of the platform at Broughty Ferry and that there could be an opportunity to raise the platform linked to a condition renewal should funding be available within the next two years of its current control period (2009/2014).

In response to a question about how the high step is managed First Scotrail advised that all of its trains carry portable ramps which on-train staff can use at unstaffed stations if required. The recommendation is that travel assistance is booked in advance whenever possible to ensure that First Scotrail is able to make the necessary arrangements.

The height of the platform has been mentioned by more people recently with the increased number of trains now stopping at Broughty Ferry. I have heard nothing further from Network Rail so I was really pleased to see that in response to an enquiry from Broughty Ferry Community Council,  First Scotrail has provided stepping-boxes at the station.

Stunning Win for Tories in Tweeddale

The Scottish Conservatives have won the Tweeddale West by-election with an 18% increase in their vote share from 2012. 

 Local Businessman Keith Cockburn triumphed after a by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Nathanial Buckingham.   The result represents a strong showing from the Conservatives who enjoyed a massive swing from their 2012 vote. 

 

Keith Cockburn said: “As a local resident and business owner I am delighted to now represent the people of Tweeddale West and I thank them for trusting me with their support. Whilst campaigning I received an incredibly positive response from residents on the doorsteps and I believe our positive campaign, centred on local issues, resonated with voters.” 

Scottish Conservative Leader Ruth Davidson MSP said: “This is a fantastic result for the Scottish Conservatives, to not just hold the seat but to see such a big swing in support to our party. Keith has worked exceptionally hard as a candidate and I know with his energy and commitment he will make an excellent councillor.”

Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale MP David Mundell said: “The Conservatives are the party of localism and this result represents a win for the promotion of local issues.We put forward candidates who are in touch with local concerns and have a track record of working in the community and in this respect Keith has been an outstanding candidate.”

Brook Street trip hazard

I have previously posted that the council intends to resurface the pavement on the south side of Brook Street from  Gray Street to St. Vincent Street. The work, which is provisionally programmed for February/March next year, will see this section of pavement being reconstructed using concrete slabs. However it is important that any trip hazards that appear before these works commence are addressed. One such trip hazard was recently brought to my attention, a broken drain cover, which I reported to the roads maintenance partnership. Residents will have observed a cone covering it, which will remain in place until a repair is carried out by Scottish Water.

Underpass update

Further to my earlier post about the loose deck sheet in the Gray Street railway underpass. I have been advised that remedial action has been ordered to rectify this problem. To minimise it happening again neoprene washers are to be installed under the steel support beams. This should also lessen the noise generated by the metal.

Douglas Terrace walkway- white line?

Since the completion of the upgrading of the Douglas Terrace walkway I have been asked a number of times by constituents why there is no white line to separate cyclists from pedestrians. I raised the matter with the council’s city development department and was issued with the following reasons, which I thought would be of interest to users of the walkway:

1.    The volume of bicycle traffic is just not high enough for segregation.

2.    The average width of the Douglas Terrace walkway is 2.5 to 3.0m. A similar section of the green circular cycle route to the west of the city (Riverside Drive) has sections less than 2.5m in width. No know problems have occurred. When you combine this width with the volume of pedestrian/cycle traffic then there is adequate space for give and take pedestrian/cycle movements.

3.    If a white line were to be incorporated to form segregation then how is this enforced?  Police resources are already stretched and this would fall into very low priority for them.

4.    The current widths of the cycleway would not permit segregation as design width could not be achieved for the appropriate lanes.

5.    Links throughout the city joining onto this route have no segregation facilities in place.  No such pedestrian conflict has occurred there.

6.    There has to be some level of respect for both users of the path. It is the responsibility of the individual to cycle with respect and due care for other road users/pedestrians in accordance with guidelines in the “Highway Code”. The Tay Road Bridge walkway for example is 2.5m wide and edged with a 1.5m high barrier. It is promoted as a shared use, is part of the National Cycle Network and no segregation line is used. This has worked fine for many years and pedestrian/cycle traffic is high on this route compared to Douglas Terrace. 

7.    Our accident records show no reported collisions between pedestrian/cyclists on this section of cycle route or any other part of the route itself.

8.    This is the design criteria and specification promoted by the Scottish Government and by Sustrans with the network spanning the length and breadth of the UK.

9.    Sustrans have played a major part in funding this extremely scenic coastal route. They have contributed hundreds of thousands of pounds to upgrading the route and have had a close relationship in design and operation.