Road Traffic Accident Close to Forthill Primary School

On Wednesday afternoon a man was knocked down at the end of Marlee Road in Broughty Ferry. An ambulance was called and took the person involved  to Ninewells hospital. This occurred close to the leaving time for pupils at the nearby Forthill Primary School. 

I hope the individual involved was not seriously injured in this accident and that that they make a speedy recovery.

According to a resident, who lives near the street end in the vicinity of Marlee Court, the road was, as usual, congested with cars coming and going as parents and carers were picking up their children from Forthill Primary School.

Since more traffic controls were put in place directly outside Forthill Primary School, some of the traffic has been been displaced into surrounding streets such as Marlee Road. Children can walk or be accompanied on a pathway that leads from the road end  through the play park to Forthill Primary School.

Residents have complained that twice a day their otherwise quiet street is overwhelmed with traffic. Their inconvenience would be reduced if some of the car drivers were more considerate with their parking and avoided blocking residents wanting to drive on or off their their own driveways. 

They are worried  that the level of congestion poses dangers to pupils at the school and their own children as well as other road users. They are convinced that, ''this was 'an accident waiting to happen'.

Since I was informed about this accident, I have been in touch with Police Scotland, and the Community Safety Team to ask that they step up their presence in the area. I have also written to Neil Gellatly the Head of Transportation at the City Council to ask him to assess what can be be put in place to prevent a similar  incident occurring and to minimise parking disruption for the residents. I have also contacted the Headteacher.

Ferry Juvenile Crime Wave Summit on Wednesday 7 December

Tag on a BT Box in Strathmore Avenue

Tayside Police, Tayside Fire and Rescue, Dundee Community Wardens as well as Ferry Councillors, have all recently received numerous complaints from members of the public about graffiti, vandalism, fire setting and littering by young people in the Ferry. The unusual intensity of these incidents has led to the Team Leader of the Community Safety Wardens to convene an inter-agency "Summit" on Wednesday 7 December at Blackness Fire Station.


There seem to be a gang of young people who are regularly out on our streets defacing public and private property with spray paint. The repetitive appearance of their 'signature' painted tags suggest that many of the acts of vandalism have been perpetrated by a small number of young people. There has also been a number of deliberately started fires and many examples of inconsiderate behaviours such as deliberately littering the streets and damaging public property such as street signs. 


For the folk on the receiving end of this juvenile delinquency, this has been a very tiresome time. For Council clean up squads, it is also a discouraging picture because as fast as they remove or paint over graffiti, the tags appear again like a virus. There are clearly questions about a lack of parental supervision when it is alleged that some of the vandals are surprisingly young.


I hope the agencies at the meeting on Wednesday afternoon are able to plan and then coordinate effective and lasting responses against the perpetrators.