Ron Smith

Over the past year, I’ve been trying to promote changes to Drumlanrig Square and to the upper part of Beaconsfield Terrace, for safety reasons. These are described earlier on this blog. Progress has however been slow! At Beaconsfield Terrace, more signage has been erected, and has been refreshed on the road surface, to highlight the 20 mph speed limit. Initially it had been hoped to extend the pedestrian barrier futher down the hill to restrict casual crossing at the wide junction , but this was said by locals to have the potential for creating problems, especially on the days when refuse or recyclates were to be uplifted. Comments more recently seem to suggest that greater police involvement is needed at this point, as it is the speed and style of driving which is being highlighted, as well as the number of drivers using mobile phones. Speed bumps are also being looked for but the advice from Roads officials is that these would be unacceptable at this particular location, as they create noise problems for adjacent residents but also because drivers in turning the corner would be crossing them at an angle and therefore four wheels would be individually bumping across them rather than two sets, again adding to the noise disturbance.

At Drumlanrig Square, the road layout plans are pretty well finalised and it is the parking situation which is causing the delay. Residents and business proprietors have made clear that they do not want any less parking than was previously available. On the east side of the Square, two scenarios are possible and these are being examined to decide which would allow maximum parking while allowing deliveries to businesses and the free movement of buses. I feel it is better to take longer to study the scheme than to make mistakes and have to go back to the drawing board!