No card payments at car parks

Card payment will no longer be available in Aberdeenshire Council’s pay and display car parks – such as Market Square, Stonehaven, from next week (14 May).
This is due to a change in legislation relating to security and the high cost of upgrading the machines.
Cash will still be accepted and payment can also be made using the RingGo smartphone application, or by phone. Currently council car parks make a loss of around £140,000 a year, and the council is considering changes so that they cover their own costs, as they have in the past.

Buses, bikes, dogs and winter roads

But more importantly it included some issues which may of interest locally.

BUSES – Councillors agreed that the local authority should be a member of the North East of Scotland Bus Alliance Quality Partnership. Its aims include arresting the decline in passenger numbers and improving the performance of bus services. The partnership has a passenger charter which says that bus operators will “provide a modern, accessible and high quality fleet. I took the opportunity to point out that many would not agree that the X7 buses are “accessible”.

The report also mentioned the proposed park and ride north of Portlethen. I asked officers what the next steps are in that regard. I was told that it “very much exists as a project, and has been in the strategy for a number of years.” I was assured it is still on the agenda.

CYCLE ROUTES – A local transport strategy update contained the news that officers have submitted bids to Sustrans for funding for the design of a cycle route from Portlethen to Wellington Road, which I described as the missing link. Bids have also been submitted for financial support for the construction of cycle routes in Portlethen from Muirend Road to Badentoy Road and on Cookston Road. There is more at https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/fp/news/local/council-beats-a-path-to-sustrans-door-for-cycle-route-funding/

WINTER ROADS – There was much discussion about improving the roads winter service, in light of recent experiences, which cost the council more than £7m, compared to a average winter spend of £4m.

Mention was made of the lock-block roads in Portlethen which became skating rinks, the need for more, suitably situated grit bins, clearing playgrounds, improved planning of treatment for priority routes, enlisting more help from farmers, better communications, and involving the public in helping themselves.

I urged officers to provide more grit bins, and in the right places.

A root and branch review of policies are to be carried out by dedicated staff, with further reports to come back to councillors.

DOGS – Councillors agreed that a report with various options be taken to area committees about the presence of dogs in school grounds, enclosed council playparks and cemeteries. This could see dogs being banned from these specific places, either as a result of a policy decision or perhaps as a new by-law. Another option would be to take no action. A final decision will be made by the infrastructure services committee after the summer recess.

AWPR to close country road

I have just been told that owing to AWPR works to remove concrete plant crossing protection slab, road reinstatement, and permanent barrier installation it will be necessary in the interests of public safety to close the U63K country road at Blaikiewell near Kirkton of Maryculter for 20 days.
The closure will begin on Wednesday 23 May.
Emergency and pedestrian access to be maintained. Vehicular access to affected properties to be maintained whenever possible.

Grant sought for new Xmas lights

On Tuesday Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee will decide on an application for funding from Newtonhill Festive Lights group to fund the purchase of 32 low-wattage, light-emitting diode festive lights.

The lights are replacements and will not include any new sites. The total cost is £8,300. The group has raised £4,050 and seeking a grant of the balance, £4,250.

The report can be read by clicking on this link and scrolling to item 5 on the agenda: http://committees.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/committees.aspx?commid=8&meetid=18921

Warning of more A90 lane closures

BEAR Scotland is to carry out essential bridge repair work on the A90 at Stonehaven from June to August. The work is due to take eight weeks to complete and will include lane closures.
The work is needed because the surfacing and waterproofing on the bridge over the Cowie Water has deteriorated to a point where emergency repairs have been required on numerous occasions over the last few years.
BEAR Scotland says that to rectify the issue “we plan to carry out phased replacement of the surfacing, structural repairs and the replacement of bridge waterproofing systems to both the north and south-bound carriageways. The work can only be done using lane closures and this will incur unavoidable disruption/delay to travellers.
“Being acutely aware of the impact of recent AWPR work on travellers using the A90, we aim to work in a manner that will reduce the total project duration and keep delays to a minimum.
“It has been identified in our traffic-modelling study that the best option to minimise disruption to travellers is to complete our work prior to the formal opening of the AWPR. The alternative option of postponing the work until after the opening of the AWPR has been considered, but this runs the risk of introducing significant traffic disruption/delay at this location and therefore is an option we would clearly wish to avoid.
“A further phase of work over a four-week duration will see the bridge parapets and safety fencing replaced, however we aim to do this during late evening/night time periods for which we do not envisage any notable delays.”

Assurances over lane overgrowth

I have been assured that Aberdeenshire Council’s landscape services staff will be cutting back the trees and bushes which overhang the lane between St Anne’s Wynd and the cul-de-sac running up the Elsick Valley from the railway viaduct at Newtonhill.
This work should be completed within the next 14-21 days. The timing of the pruning is dependent on whether or not there are nesting birds present.
This lane is an emergency access, should it be required, from the A90 to the Saints area of the village.
By the way, the lane has been adopted by the council but the adjacent verge areas are not. Nonetheless the council will do the work in order to maintain a safe passage through the lane.

Netherley road closes for repairs

Owing to Aberdeenshire Council’s roads service carrying out patching works it will be necessary in the interests of public safety to close the B979 Netherley road near the South Deeside Road junction (click on the map below for better definition).

The road will be closed for five days from Monday 21 May. Only once that work is completed, a second phase will see the Netherley road closed at Craigie Cat (see second map) for five days commencing Monday 21 May.

Site notices will be erected in due course indicating the temporary restrictions to traffic and the alternative route.

Vehicular access to affected properties is to be maintained whenever possible.

Please note that council officers tell me there will be no access for school transport while these works are taking place. The public transport unit tell me that the information has been forwarded to operators to look at what alternative route will be in place and whether some additional taxis will need to be in place for some pupils (which is more than likely, especially for the second closure by Netherley). As everyone will appreciate this takes a bit of time.

I have been assured that as soon as the alternative arrangements in place, the public transport unit will communicate this to the school who have the facilities to send text messages directly to parents, and update the website with the details as well.

 

Festival promotes wellbeing

The Aberdeenshire Wellbeing Festival is taking place from Wednesday 16 May to Tuesday 22 May, and there are a variety of events locally. The festival promotes and celebrates everyday community opportunities which contribute to our physical and mental wellbeing, and is promoted by the Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership.
Saturday 19 May – 11am to 2pm – Walk from Lethan Park Care Home in Portlethen followed by a barbecue and boogie at the Leathan (dementiafriendlyportlethen@gmail.com).
Sunday 20 May – Come and try day, Bettridge Centre, Newtonhill, offering archery, yoga, netball, meditation, Choi Kwang Do, and other activities. (info@bettridgecentre.org.uk)
Sunday 20 May – Minibeast scavenger hunt (for under 12s), from 11am to 12.30pm from Nether Cairnhill, Chapelton. (ccic_admin@chapeltonlife.co.uk)
Sunday 20 May – Wildlife wander (for adults), from 1.30 to 3.30pm from the Causey Mounth at Chapelton. Take binoculars.(ccic_admin@chapeltonlife.co.uk)
There are other events in Stonehaven and further afield. Send me a personal message with your email address and I will forward details.

Should dogs be banned from schools?

A colleague has put forward a proposal to ban dogs from Aberdeenshire school grounds and enclosed children’s play areas.

This will be discussed at the council’s infrastructure services committee on Thursday which I will be attending. You can read the report by following this link and scrolling down to Item 9 on the agenda.  http://committees.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/committees.aspx…

Any views?

Warning of noisy railway work

I have just received a letter from Network Rail … I half expected it to be warning me about noisy work on the HST 2 route (you’ll know what I mean if you have been reading the local papers), but it is about the Aberdeen to Stonehaven line.

They are doing overnight work using small plant and machinery from Friday 25 May to Friday 8 June from 11:55pm to 9:15am each night.

Noise in unavoidable, but they do the work at that time to cause least disruption to services.