Professor Steve Partridge got a shock when he was parking his car in his garage off East Home Street in Broughty Ferry on Wednesday evening. As he carefully drove on plastic bridging sheets over the trench dug by Tayside Contracts, the side of the trench gave way and the offside front wheel of his car became stuck in the trench. Careful jacking by a garage he called out helped to extricate the car.
He said,
“While being delighted that the pavement has been adopted, the minor disruption to daily routine has now turned serious. The trench that has been dug in preparation for the installation of the kerbs means that either we risk driving over inadequate plastic ramps and our cars falling in (as happened to me this evening), or leaving our cars on the street in direct contravention to our insurance companies' instruction.
Either adequate ramps of greater length should be supplied, or the trench should be filled in until the delivery of the radius kerbs, which have clearly been holding up the work. I should also like to know from Tayside Contracts if they will compensate me for the garage callout and if the underside of my car has been damaged?”
Councillor Laurie Bidwell, who was also called to the scene said,
“I think residents with garages accessed on the south side of East Home Street will be very nervous about crossing this trench. Like Mr Partridge, I think they will want to know when the pavement upgrading will be completed on their side of the street so that they can access their homes and garages easily and safely.”
