West Queen Street Broughty Ferry - Claypotts Junction to Bayfield Road - Road Resurfacing from Sat 9 May 2015

Road works are programmed to commence at West Queen Street Broughty Ferry (Claypotts Junction to Bayfield Road) on Saturday, 9 May 2015 and will last approximately sev days.

The Contractor for the works is Tayside Contracts.

In the interest of public safety, road closures will be implemented between Claypotts Road and Bayfield Road.

The works will be carried out in two phases to minimise disruption to traffic.

• Phase 1:- West Queen Street/Claypotts Road junction will be closed for 2 days from Saturday 9 May to Sunday 10 May and
• Phase 2:- West Queen Street from West of Claypotts junction to Bayfield Road will be closed for a further 5 days from Monday 11 May.

Note, Claypotts Road junction will be open.

• During Phase 1 vehicular traffic will be diverted via Victoria Road, Ballinard Road, Balgillo Road, Forthill Road, and reverse and
• During Phases 2 vehicular traffic will be diverted via Victoria Road, Strathern Road, Claypotts Road and reverse.

Phase 2 closure will not be implemented until Phase 1 has been completed.

Bus Services will be affected by this road closure and bus passengers are advised to visit www.dundeetravelinfo.com or telephone the bus operator for further details of diversion routes and alternative bus stops.

Please note that a pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained throughout the works.
 
If you have any queries regarding this matter, please contact Mr L Grubb, Senior Engineer, Road Maintenance by telephoning 01382 834126.

Positive Responses to Missing Yellow Lines and Gillies Park Improvements

Click on image to enlarge

On Sunday I wrote about the missing yellow lines that had not been repainted at the junction of Brook Street, Westfield Road, Dundee Road and Claypotts Road after it had been resurfaced. I followed this up by contacting staff at the City Council.

I received a very prompt explanation from the Roads Maintenance Partnership that the yellow lining had not been forgotten  but that "the line painting lorry is currently under repair and the double yellow lines will be repainted once the lorry is back in working order."

On Monday, I visited Gillies Park in Barnhill which is located next to Barnhill Primary School and is accessed by road from Ceres Crescent and by foot from Abercromby Street and Falkland Crescent.  I had been expecting to see that the badly rutted car park had been resurfaced and improvements to the lighting in the park had been installed. Having seen that no work had been started and mindful of the fact that funding for this project was available until the end of March, I wrote to the engineer in charge of projects like this. 

The good news is that work at Gillies Park will likely start either later this week or early next week. The staff involved have also reassured me that they will provide advance warning to Barnhill Primary School of the definite start date on site.

Brook Street Junction Reopens - Missing Yellow Lines

After five days of closure, the busy junction of Brook Street, Westfield Road, Dundee Road and Claypotts Road in Broughty Ferry reopened on Friday.

The temporary road closure was to allow the surface of this busy crossroads to be burnt off and to be entirely resurfaced to a good depth. The junction needed a thorough resurfacing because of wear and tear from a high volume of traffic and weather damage. These factors had led to ripples in the road and pot holes that had been filled and refilled over the years.

While Tayside Contracts only required five working days to complete the job, unfortunately not all the road markings are yet in place.

As you can see, the double yellow lines at each of the corners have not yet been painted in.

I have written to the Council to let them know that the lines still need repainting before this job is signed off.

Progress Resurfacing Road Junction on Main Street

Earlier today good progress seemed to have been made in resurfacing this badly rutted cross roads. 

The contractors arranged for the junction of Claypotts Road, Brook Street, Westfield Road and Dundee Road to be closed for five working days. 

Judging by the work already completed, it seems likely that the road will be open again by the weekend.

Claypotts Junction Roadworks Start Monday 12 January 2015

Work to refurbish traffic signals at Claypotts Road and Arbroath Road will take place from Monday January 12 2015.

Starting today, this will lead to several road closures over the next four weeks.

Traffic will not be able to travel from Claypotts Road onto Arbroath Road and vice versa.

An alternative route will be available for eastbound traffic approaching Scott Fyffe Roundabout via Strips of Craigie Road, A930 Dundee Road and Claypotts Road. Westbound traffic on Arbroath Road will be diverted via East Balgillo Road, Balgillo Road and Claypotts Road.

This is the second of a two phase programme in renewing the traffic signals at the linked Claypotts junctions, the first took place in October 2014. 

The Council's traffic engineers reassure us that inconvenience to road users now will be worthwhile in the long run. The current traffic controls are at the end of their useful life and prone to breakdowns. The new control systems at these linked set of traffic signals will be easier to maintain and will be 'adaptive', allowing the lights to change more quickly when traffic flows are low.

Hedge in Claypotts Road Being Misused as a Rubbish Bin

On Saturday lunchtime I was walking home having purchased a paper from the Coop in Claypotts Road.  This stretch of private garden ground seems to be used as an unofficial rubbish bin. 

I am sure the residents in Deepdale Place could do without this at the bottom of their garden. For those of us that walk along the street it's an unsightly mess. 

Cleaning up litter throughout Scotland costs close to £100 million every year. In Dundee that works out at £3-4 million per year. It's money I think most folk would prefer the Council to spend on schools and care for the elderly.

I have written to the helpful folk in the Environment Department to ask them to clean up this area and also requested more patrols to catch and to impose on the spot fines for those that are littering in this street. I have also written to Graham Hutton, the Head Teacher of Grove Academy, to ask that he reminds his pupils  to deposit their litter in the bins provided or to take it home.

Eastern, Grove and Forthill 20 mph Warning Lights Not Turning Off to be Sorted

The timers that control the 20 mph warning lights that flash to warn road users to slow down in the vicinity of Eastern and Forthill Primary Schools and Grove Academy have been not working properly. 

These warning signs are designed to establish 20 mph traffic calming at critical periods for child safety around the beginning and end of the school day without disrupting traffic at other times.

My picture shows the set of warning lights in Claypotts Road, close to Eastern Primary School and Grove Academy. They were still flashing at 09:15pm last night. There are also similar problems with the lights at Forthill Primary School.

Clearly this set of lights has not turned off after the pupils have left in the afternoon. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of such signage is diluted when they operate at the wrong times.

In response to my writing to the Transportation Department of the Council I have received the following response from the Street Lighting Partnership:

"The project to convert the signs so that they can be controlled from a central point and so we can harmonise with term times  has hit a few technical problems which has resulted in some signs operating 24hrs.  Work is continuing to get the remaining signs which are not working correctly, on line."  

I have been reassured that these unfortunate technical issues should have been resolved by the end of next week.

Road Safety Improvements in Claypotts Road Outside Grove Academy

The new bus stop for Grove Academy
Click on image to enlarge

Claypotts Road reopened last Friday after a period of closure for road works. 

The road works comprised a complete resurfacing of Claypotts Road from the junction with Ferndale Drive, past the main front entrance of Grove Academy right down to the junction with Queen Street and West Queen Street at the Occidental traffic lights. 

In addition, a number of road safety measures have been introduced including:

• Moving the bus stops from a position close to the main entrance to Grove and its vehicular entrance to new positions close to the pedestrian only entrance further down Claypotts Road;
• Introduction of a traffic island in Claypotts Road close to the new bus stops to prevent vehicles overtaking the buses dropping off and picking up passengers and
• Revised and redrawn traffic restrictions including yellow lines.

The Grove Academy and Eastern Primary School Parent Councils, the Broughty Ferry Community Council were all consulted about these proposals as were the four Councillors for Broughty Ferry.

When I had a site visit before the road re-opened, I voiced some concerns to Traffic Engineers that the new traffic island, which seemed to have been erected in the wrong location. I was concerned that it was located adjacent to the kerbside fence outside the pedestrian access to Grove Academy.  The Traffic Engineers confirmed that this traffic island was being constructed in the location they had planned. It was positioned to stop overtaking of stationery buses (see picture above) but not positioned to facilitate pedestrians crossing at that point.

I first raised concerns about the traffic arrangements in Claypotts Road in 2009 before the opening of New Grove Academy. 

I trust that these new arrangements will be used appropriately by drivers, cyclists and pedestrians and thereby contribute to enhanced road safety in the vicinity of Grove Academy and Eastern Primary School.

Public Protection From Falling Masonry on Victoria Road

Over last weekend the high retaining wall at the top of Victoria Road close tot its junction with Claypotts Road, began to bulge and some stones fell out. 

One of my constituents drew this to my attention. He had initially contacted the Council directly but was concerned that in response they had only taped off the area.

He told me that he had expected something more substantial e.g. barriers to be done to [protect pedestrians and other road users from falling masonry.

I followed this up, contacted the City Engineers and requested a risk assessment on the state of the wall and better protective measures which rapidly followed.

Claypotts Road (Strathern Road to Queen Street) Temporary Road Closure for Road Resurfacing Work

On Monday 15 July 2013, carriageway resurfacing work will begin in Claypotts Road between Strathern Road and Queen Street. These roadworks will last for approximately 2 weeks. The Contractor for the works is Tayside Contracts.

In the interest of public safety, a road closure commencing on the above date will be implemented and through traffic will be diverted via Victoria Road, Dundee Road, West Queen Street and reverse. 

On-street parking will not be allowed on the section of carriageway being worked on. Access to properties with driveways will be maintained, though delays will be experienced. The Council, however, asks that vehicular traffic movements be kept to a minimum during the works, in the interest of public safety.

Please note that pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained throughout the works.

Unfortunately, major road maintenance work is unavoidable and necessitates a degree of inconvenience to road users. 

Further information please contact Mr R MacKenzie, Senior Engineer, Road Maintenance by telephoning 01382 834135.

Littering in Broughty Ferry is an Expensive and Unsightly Disgrace

Wind blown litter on Claypotts Road
Click on image to enlarge

Before roadside shrubs burst into leaf and bloom, accumulated litter on our road margins is, to my mind, an unwanted eyesore.

My photo features a short stretch of Claypotts Road which is, unfortunately, typical of too many locations in Broughty Ferry just now.

Carelessly discarded cigarette cartons, drinks cans and bottles, confectionery wrappers, plastic carrier bags and redundant packaging are accumulating in wind blown locations like this.

I know I am definitely showing my age when I harp back to the good old days of cash deposits on drinks' containers and less packaging on confectionery. Kids would be paid the deposits for bottles that they had collected and then returned to a retailer. Mrs Cartmel ran the sweet shop near where I spent my childhood. Like most kids that returned 'found' empty bottles of popular carbonated drinks, I immediately turned the cash deposits I had earned into purchases of sweets.

Another abiding memory of those times was the injunction from my parents to either put ones rubbish into a bin or take it home. This was reinforced by adult relatives and friends. And by and large it was a tidier time on the litter front. 

So while the Council evidently have a role to play, its very expensive constantly clearing up after us all. I, for one, resent spending so much of our public money on cleansing when the money would be better spent in our schools and other public services. 

We all therefore have a role to play to reduce this unsightly intrusion onto our community. 

Enough said!

Multiple Road Closures in The Ferry to Facilitate Replacement of Electrical Supply Cable

Major disruption for drivers that use Claypotts Road in The Ferry is signalled by Dundee City Council's publication of a Traffic Order which is due to come into force on Monday 4 February 2013. 

Dundee City Council propose to make an Order under Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose of facilitating works laying a new 33kv electrical cable. The Order is expected to be in force for nine weeks from 4 February 2013. Its maximum duration in terms of the Act is eighteen months.

The effect of the Order is to prohibit temporarily all vehicular traffic in:

1. A92 Arbroath Road, Dundee eastbound between Kingsway East and Gotterstone Avenue
2. St Vincent Street, Broughty Ferry between Queen Street and Brook Street
3. Brook Street, Broughty Ferry between St Vincent Street and New Road
4. Douglas Road, Dundee between Kingsway East and Kemnay Place
5. Kemnay Place, Dundee between Douglas Road and Arbroath Road
6. Claypotts Terrace, Broughty Ferry between Grove Road and Claypotts Road
7. B978 Claypotts Road, Broughty Ferry between Claypotts Terrace and Queen Street
8. A930 Queen Street, Broughty Ferry (Phase 1) between Claypotts Road and Fort Street (westbound only)
9. Queen Street, Broughty Ferry (Phase 2) between Fort Street and St Vincent Street (westbound only)
10. Access to Queen Street, Broughty Ferry from all side streets between Claypotts Road and Rowanbank Gardens (not all side streets will be closed at the same time)

Pedestrian thoroughfare and vehicular access to premises will be maintained where possible.  The road closures will be carried out on a rolling programme, however it may be necessary to close more than one road at any time.  An alternative route will be available via:

1. Strips of Craigie Road/ A930 Dundee Road West/A930 Dundee Road/West Queen Street/B978 Claypotts Road
2. Queen Street/Gray Street/Brook Street
3. Gray Street/King Street/Castle Street
4. Kingsway East/Longtown Road
5. Douglas Road/Arbroath Road
6. Grove Road/Strathern Road/Duntrune Terrace/Claypotts Road
7. West Queen Street/Dundee Road/Fairfield Road/Arbroath Road
8. Fort Street/Forthill Road/Balgillo Road/Ballinard Road/Claypotts Road
9. Abertay Street/Nursery Road/Forthill Road/Fort Street
10. Local diversions will be in place

Please forward any comments you may have regarding this proposal to Mark Cobb, Network Management Team, City Development Department, Dundee House, 50 North Lindsay Street, Dundee DD1 1LS, no later than five working days prior to the commencement date. If you have any queries please contact Mr Cobb on 01382 433082.

Pedestrians Want Their Pavement Back

In late September 2012, I reported to the Council that an resident had tripped on a hole in the pavement on the southern end of Claypotts Road in The Ferry. 

Furthermore, her trip had led to a nasty fall from which she sustained two black eyes and a crushed pair of glasses.

 
After a two month interval, work started on resurfacing this section of pavement. 

That was in early December.

Five weeks in on and work seems to have been suspended. 

The path is fenced off by safety barriers and traffic signs indicate that pedestrians should use the pavement on the other side of Claypotts Road.

What residents want to know is when work on this stretch of pavement will be resumed and then completed. 

I have written to the Transportation section of the City Development Department and posed these questions so that I can find some answers for my constituents.

Paving the Way for Falls Prevention in Broughty Ferry

Click on image to enlarge

Earlier this week, a sprightly constituent over retirement age contacted me about her unfortunate fall. She had tripped on an uneven stretch of pavement on the western side of Claypotts Road just north of the junction with Brook Street and just south of the railway bridge. As a result, she had broken her nose, and had sustained heavy bruising around her eyes and the rest of her face. Frankly she looked as though she had been mugged or had lost a boxing match. Where she tripped the concrete pathway has sections where the surface is crumbling away and this has made the pavement uneven and over time deeper holes have been developing.

I have reported this to the Roads Maintenance Partnership. 

In the last fortnight, I have reported numerous stretches of roads and pavements in The Ferry which are rutted and/or have potholes. While this usually leads to some filling in of those that staff judge to be the worst, some of the patching does not last very long. I think the Council are losing the battle with stretches of roads and pavements falling into disrepair faster than they can be given a temporary fix.

Uneven pavements and potholes are not only a source of potential danger for members of the public but they are also a costly issue for the NHS.

A report on falls and health, published by the Scottish Government in May 2012 confirms this point:

"With an ageing population, falls and the consequences of falls are a major and growing concern for older people."

"Falls and fractures, in people aged 65 and over, account for over 18,000 unscheduled admissions and 390,500 bed days each year in Scotland."

"In addition, in the over 65 population, falls cases are the largest single presentation to the Scottish Ambulance Service (over 35,000 presentation each year)."

Despite these statistics, falls are not an inevitable consequence of old age. I think the Council needs to take its share of responsibility for the cost to the NHS of falls and a serious reduction in the quality of life of those older persons that sustain more serious injuries such as bone fractures.

Quotations above extracted from:

Up and About or Falling Short? - A Report of the Findings of a Mapping of Services for Falls Prevention in Older People Published by the the Scottish Government, 23 May 2012

Grove Academy Visit for School Parking and Pupil Safety Working Group

Yesterday I had a lunch time visit to Grove Academy to meet Depute Head Lesley Elder and members of the Council's Working Group on School Parking and Pupil Safety. 

As part of our ongoing programme of school visits, we were there to observe a number of issues including the 'surge' of Grove pupils as they nip down to the centre of Broughty Ferry to purchase their carry out lunches. 

Most pupils leaving the school at lunchtime were seen to proceed in an orderly manner down Church Street and cross Queen Street with the help of the skilled Crossing Patroller.

As a result of our observations and discussion on the hoof, a number of road safety measures were explored including:

• making the Queen Street/Church Street intersection into a box junction;
• moving the bus stop currently adjacent to the main vehicular entrance to the school on Claypotts Road to a site closer to the segregated pedestrian entrance to the school;
• moving the flashing school warning lights further up Claypotts Road to provide more advance warning to drivers and
• inserting 20 mph flashing school warning lights on Queen Street.

If I had to prioritise these, I think the 'box junction' at the Queen Street/Church Street junction is the most urgent. This would I am advised provide a better separation of the road traffic from our pupils and our Crossing Patroller at the Church Street/Queen Street Crossing point. In the mornings, when traffic flows are heavy, cars driving west towards Dundee on Queen Street form a continuous queue sometimes leaving the children and the Patroller at the Honda Garage (see picture) without a clear passage across the Queen Street. 

This was a most constructive and worthwhile 'meeting'. At the next 'formal' meeting of the Working Group, I shall be pressing for these measures to be implemented to enhance pupil and public safety in and around Grove Academy. 

Temporary Closure of Claypotts Road (between Balgillo Road and Duntrune Terrace) this Sunday

This Sunday expect delays in and around the northern section of Claypotts Road which is subject to temporary closure for the day in order to allow water main repairs by Scottish Water. Here is the text of the formal notice from the council:

THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY
being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of Scottish Water repair works being carried out
HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in Claypotts Road (between Balgillo Road and Duntrune Terrace), Broughty Ferry.
This notice comes into effect on Sunday 13 May 2012 for
one day.
Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained.
Alternative routes for vehicles are available via Balgillo Road/Ballinard Road/Claypotts Road.
For further information contact (01382) 433168.
Mike P Galloway
Director of City Development
Dundee City Council

One Day Road Closure in Ferry is Delayed

Dundee Roads Partnership announced earlier this morning that the structural road patching works in Claypotts Road, Broughty Ferry have been delayed. These were originally organised to take advantage of the Grove Academy in-service days today and yesterday.The section between Queen Street and Brook Street will now be resurfaced on Monday 16 November.This delay is very unfortunate as these road works will now coincide with the opening day of the new Grove Academy phase two. The new school main entrance is now in Claypotts Road.

Road Works & Closures Claypotts Road 12/13 November 2009

Dundee Road Partnership have announced that structural road patching works in Claypotts Road are being organised to take advantage of the Grove Academy in-service days on 12 & 13 November 2009. The works are to take place under road closures between Dundee Road/Brook Street and West Queen Street and also North of West Queen St up to and including the junction with Albert Road. Diversions will be in place.