Cycling Consultation by City Council Monday 9 March

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Cyclists from all over Dundee are invited to an engagement meeting with council chiefs. The meeting will take place at 14 City Square on Monday (March 9) at 6.30pm. 

It has been set up to help the creation of a cycling strategy for Dundee and it is hoped it could lead to regular discussions.

The Council is keen to hear from cyclists about the facilities, attitudes and issues surrounding their experiences of using their bikes in Dundee and hope to be able to develop that into a framework for maintaining and improving of all aspects of cycling in the city. 

Individual cyclists, cycling businesses and cycling groups have been invited to the event at 14 City Square to take part in discussions and workshops that will help shape the strategy document. As well as discussing the future strategy, it's hoped to establish a regular cycling forum that will establish and maintain dialogue between cyclists and the council. 

Looking at the 2013 report from Cycling Scotland, summarized in the diagram above, I think there is clearly room for improvement. It's miles better but there are miles to go. 

Hopefully this event and future meetings of the Forum will help Dundee become a city that has made the changes so that cycling in our city becomes a more positive option and more short journeys are made and enjoyed by bike instead of by car.

A new e-mail address - cycling@dundeecity.gov.uk - will allow cyclists to pass on feedback after the meeting.

Commenting on the Potential Designation of 20 mph Zones in Broughty Ferry

Earlier this week the Scottish Government published a Good Practice Guide on 20 mph Speed Restrictions. This was written in conjunction with the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS), The guidance aims to provide clarity on the options available to local authorities and thereby aid greater consistency on setting 20 mph speed restrictions throughout Scotland, while encouraging local authorities to introduce them near schools, in residential areas and in other areas of our towns and cities where there is a significant volume of pedestrian or cyclist activity.

Last year, at a Council Meeting, I supported  a motion that would have led to a public consultation on which residential streets in the city might be suitable for designation as 20 mph zones. This was defeated at that occasion but I think it merits reconsideration. 

Over the last month, I have been recovering from a hip replacement and initially I was venturing out around The Ferry with the help of two walking sticks.  That certainly brought home to me the challenge of crossing the road when your speed of walking is restricted and traffic is moving fast.

I have been approached by a number of groups of residents in The Ferry who would support 20 mph zones in their area. For example, the Ferryfields Residents' Association requested this in their estate, in the interests of child safety. They would also point out that the speed bumps are already in place on Strathyre Avenue so that apart from the new 20 mph speed limit signs, there would be minimal cost to the Council to make this change in their area. 

Residents in Camphill Road and Hill Street and connecting streets had a meeting with me last year about road safety concerns, especially on the narrow and twisting section of Camphill Road between Queen Street and Panmure Street which they thought was an accident waiting to happen. Many of those residents thought that a 20 mph speed limit would help. 

Forthill Drive and Forthill Place, which is predominantly sheltered housing with narrow roads is another area where I think a 20 mph zone merits consideration.

To take this forward, I think, this matter should be delegated to the eight Local Community Planning Planning Partnerships to consult with residents in their areas to come up with proposals for 20 mph zones in residential streets.

I hope that now this national guidance has been published, the Director of City Development in Dundee will be more sympathetic to supporting a public consultation about this.

Appeal for Contractors to Remove Building Waste Dumped on the Pilot Pier in The Ferry

Two weeks ago two large bags of builders' rubble were dumped at the Pilot Pier in Broughty Ferry. 

A constituent contacted me to complain that:
"there was an incident at the weekend which involved some bags of rubble that have been left at the entrance to the pilot pier in Fisher Street. On Saturday evening one of the bags was dragged along Fisher Street and left on the pavement outside the house. A neighbour saw it and rang the police." 

I passed this on to the Environment Department who reported back that the containers were two large "Dewson" bags which are typically used as containers for the supply and delivery of building materials like sand. These one tonne capacity bags were too heavy for their staff to uplift. They had however contacted the City Development Department in an effort to locate the contractors and get them to remove their trade waste.

Two weeks on and the rubbish sacks are still sitting on the pier. 

I appeal to the contractors to remove these two containers of building rubble that they have carelessly left behind on our waterfront. 

I also appeal to constituents in the area who had building work undertaken or who may have seen a marked builder's vehicle in the area to notify me the details so that the Council can pursue the contractors.

New Street Signs Help Locate Hidden Streets

Two new street signs have been erected to help direct folk to a row of cottages in one of the hidden wee roads in Broughty Ferry.
Residents in Constable Lane live in cottages that lie close to the Dundee Aberdeen railway line and parallel with the main Dundee Road on the other side. Some of the residents requested better signage to help taxi drivers, emergency services and visitors to their front doors. 
They also wanted a sign to help people along the way to Constable Lane via St Roque's Place, another street name that had gone missing from recent published maps.

The City Development Department have obliged with two smart new signs.

Rapid Rethink Required Over Planned Pavement Upgrading in Broughty Ferry

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When I read a traffic notice issued by the Council on Thursday morning proposing partially closing Gray Street in Broughty Ferry "for the purpose of facilitating kerbing and footway works" I was both surprised and hopeful. I was hopeful that there would be some repairs or improvement to the pavements. I have represented many constituents and traders who have complained about the unevenness of the pavements so it seemed good to know that work might begin in the early new year. My relief rapidly turned to disappointment when I was advised that the upgrading work was going to be a second rate job. It seems that instead of matching the materials used in 2005 to upgrade the pavements in Brook Street between Fort Street and Gray Street, cheaper materials would be used which wouldn't match the texture or colour of the first phase of the upgrading work round the corner.

This all seems at odds with Gray Street being clearly designated in the new Draft Dundee Local Development Plan as a part of the District Shopping Centre with a policy commitment to 'improve their (the District Shopping Areas) attractiveness for businesses and residents'. 

I notice in the City Centre, that improvements to pavements and street furniture have gradually spread to neighbouring streets. For example, Union Street has recently being brought up to the city centre standard. So in the Ferry we want a similar commitment not second rate and patchy pavements.

I was surprised because I had not been properly briefed about this forthcoming work at a point when this was a proposal and disappointed to have been kept out of the loop. Why was this not brought up at the last meeting of the The Ferry Local Community Planning Partnership in November when all Council Services are represented round the table with all Four Ferry Councillors and members of the Community Council and other voluntary projects and groups?

I have written to my fellow Broughty Ferry Councillor and Leader of the Council Ken Guild and the Director of City Development to ask that an immediate pause is put on this. I hope he will tell me that this all a bad dream and the Council's Jacob Marley has come to his senses and determines he won't be cutting any more corners on our new pavements for The Ferry.

Church Street Road Restrictions Drag On and Restrict Residents' Parking

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Some residents in Church Street have approached me to complain about the length of time their road and pavement has been restricted by the building of the infill property in their street. 

Building materials have spilt out over the pavement and into the street. The picture shows that more than half the width of Church Street has been fenced off by the site works. The effect of this is to restrict the number of parking places in a street where residents already compete with shoppers for a parking spot.

I have written to the City Development Department to ask them to get the builders to tidy up their site and minimise their inconvenience to their neighbours in the street.