Would you like your road repaired?

I've just received the following email... if you have any suggestions please get back to me and I'll add them to my list!

Dear Elected Member

Following the Council’s decision to award a further additional £8M capital to address the road condition challenge in Glasgow we are currently finalising our suggested programme for next year.

Could I, therefore, ask that you provide me with any detail based on local knowledge of locations or schemes that you would wish to have considered in the 2011/12 spend before we finalise this proposal.  Thereafter we will discuss the draft programme with Area Committees and other interested groups.

A response by Thursday 31 March 2011 would be appreciated as it would allow us to consider your priorities with those currently being developed by our Roads Investment Group.

 
Thanking you in anticipation for your assistance.

Regards.


Robert

Robert Booth
Executive Director
Glasgow City Council
Land and Environmental Services
231 George Street
GLASGOW G1 1RX

Living Streets

I participated in a 'Living Streets' audit in the Calton area last week - it was interesting to hear all the views of a range of local residents about the problems they perceive in the streets where they live and the improvements they would like to see. From my point of view, this gives me a far better understanding of where resources and assistance should be targeted.

I walk about in my ward on a very regular basis - only yesterday walking with the pram from my home in Dennistoun to my surgery in Bridgeton library. I report potholes and other problems with the fabric of the area when I see them, and I hope that this is helpful in improving the area. The issues I see on my travels however might not be the same as those local people notice, and everyone sees the world in their own way.

Problems can be obvious, like the absence of footpaths and the blind corners in Millroad Drive, or really quite specific to particular groups. One example from the walk where I didn't realise there was a problem was a rut in the road next to St Mary's - elderly and infirm people crossing Abercromby Street to go to the Chapel had tripped on this. It had been reported to the Council but, because the Council staff didn't make that journey regularly themselves, they couldn't identify the rut and it hadn't been repaired. I've taken a photo, and will make sure LES staff know where it is!

While there isn't money to do everything residents would like right now, activities like this will help to form a wider plan which can be implemented as and when resources become available.

Shining more light on the Calton

It's taken a long, long time, but I finally recieved confirmation this morning from Land and Environmental Services that the crumbling street lights in the Calton will be being replaced.

This issue started for me with the election campaign in 2007, where local people identified the dim lighting in the area as a problem. People didn't feel safe walking about at night, as they couldn't see other people, or indeed the ground beneath them, clearly. Older people had tripped and fallen, and for my own part, I kept getting my heels stuck in the cobbled bits!

I managed to get the more modern street lights in the Millroad Drive and Chalmers Street areas upgraded with brighter bulbs, but improving the older lights in Stevenson Street, Green Street Millroad Street and Tobago Street has been more problematic.

During the storms at Christmas 2007-January 2008, a street light was brought down on Millroad Street. Luckily, it fell on to the road, so no-one got hurt and no property was damaged. Nevertheless, I asked officials in LES if it would be possible to replace the lights in the area as a result. They're all of a similar age and condition, so I reckoned it was a fair bet that if no action was taken, this could happen again. I got agreement for the works to be carried out, but due to various budget issues (and despite my chasing LES on the matter), nothing happened between then and now.

Out of the blue this morning, I recieved an email saying that works will start next Monday, 7th June, in Stevenson Street, Green Street, Millroad Street, Tobago Street, Tobago Place, Drake Street, and Arcadia Street. These works will result in new white light sources being deployed as outlined in the Council’s lighting strategy and the Lighting Network Renewal (LNR) project framework.

I just called one of the community activists who had been calling for this, and she's delighted. It's been a long time coming, but the new 'white lights' will definitely be an improvement in the Calton area.

Out and about

I love going out and about and meeting people in my ward - getting an insight into people's lives is one of the great privileges and pleasures of this job.

Today was particularly busy, but kicked off with me lying in bed this morning, sniffling and whimpering, waking after a poor night's sleep with a heavy cold. It was so tempting to call off the many things I had scheduled, but I hate to stand people up.

First on the agenda was a meeting of Pensioners Action Group East. I love this group - they're so committed to helping other pensioners, and society at large. Many of the members volunteer time to help with other groups and work a lot with young people. The Chair, Andy, does so much, and even found the time to do a bit of hillwalking to raise funds for PAGE. I hadn't been to see the group for a wee while, so it was good to catch up. I was really touched that they had gotten me a present for the baby. Lovely people.

Next up was a quick visit to Tots Bots. While researching real nappies online, I noticed this company were based in the East End in Carntyne. I decided to nip in, and found them very welcoming. I'm quite keen to avoid contributing to the landfill waste that disposable nappies create, and after having seen the products Tots Bots produce, I'm seriously thinking of giving them a try. It's also nice to know that the nappies are produced right here in the East End, rather than in some remote factory. I aim to go back once the baby is born - I don't have room to store things in the flat just now!

I attended the weekly maternity exercise class at the Princess Royal at lunchtime. It's reassuring to know that the exercise I'm doing is appropriate and supervised. The class is a small one, but I've enjoyed the social aspect of meeting other pregnant women. I would recommend it!

After the class, I rushed off to meet with housing, GCSS and LES officers, and my fellow ward Councillor at a site in Barrowfield. Residents have been complaining for some time about fly-tipping, which has reached epic proportions. The site is owned by a private developer, and local people cut across the site as a short cut. It's been a tricky one to resolve, but enforcement officers hope to be able to get the site cleared, and charge the owners accordingly. Owners should take responsibility for their sites, but all too often, they are left for years without any kind of maintenance. The effect of this is a blight on communities; it's completely unfair to those who take care of their properties and try to improve their area.

Attending the class and the site visit meant that I couldn't be at today's Finance and Audit Committee. I'm loathe to miss Committee meetings; over the past three years I think I've only missed one or two and only when it's been completely unavoidable. It's difficult to get so many officers together for a site visit at any one time, so this time the Committee had to take second place.

I headed over to London Road Nursery to hand in some Tesco vouchers for clubs and schools. I try to share around the vouchers I collect, and this year some have also gone to St Anne's Primary and Elba Lane Nursery. It seems to take a lot of vouchers to get anything, so I hope my wee contribution helps a bit. If you have any stashed at the bottom of your handbag, please hand them in to your local school as soon as possible! It was nice to catch up with the head teacher at the Nursery, and see what's been going on since the last time I was in. I was already aware that nusery places are still oversubscribed in this part of Glasgow - as expected, the closure of Queen Mary Street and Mile End have only made this more difficult. I'm not sure how this can be resolved; it's a serious problem for families, especially those who work.

After visiting St Anne's last week, I popped back in again to see their parent-child cookery classes in action. In this pilot programme, parents and children participate in a series of classes, run by staff at the school, which teach them about cooking and nutrition. Basic cookery might sound simple, but many people have never made a meal from scratch, and have little idea what goes into the food they eat. Roasted vegetables, macaroni cheese and muffins were all on the menu tonight; the parents were amazed at how easy, cheap and tasty the meals were, and the children really enjoyed working together with their mums and dads as well as their teachers. I heard from the parents how much they valued the experience, and the staff spoke about the changes they had seen. The course has proved to be an important step for some, and has really broken down the barriers between school and community.

I also heard about the early progress being made by the Triple P programme. It's early days, but from what was said, it sounds as if it's already making an impact on some parents.

I finished my day with a surgery at Dalmarnock Primary. It was quiet tonight, so I got a chance to catch up with emails and prepare for tomorrow. Pretty tired, but it was a really interesting day!

Bus Shelters, Dalmarnock Road

I recieved a complaint from residents at the bottom of Dalmarnock Road, regarding persistent vandalism to the bus shelters in the area.

I asked Land and Environmental Services if there was anything they could do about this, and in cooperation with SPT, CCTV cameras will be installed on the bus shelters for the end of next month.

While I don't believe CCTV is always the answer, I'm hopeful that this will deter would-be vandals, and also enhance people's feeling of safety in the area.

£2.8m for Dalmarnock Station!

More good news for Glasgow today - and excellent news for my constituents.

A bid for European Regional Development Funding for the refurbishment of Dalmarnock Station has been successful, and will bring nearly £3m in investment.

As you can see from the photos, there's a lot of improvement to be done, and works will need to get underway soon to ensure the station is ready for the Commonwealth Games in 2014.

This station has been neglected for many years, and I'm glad to see that it's being brought up to scratch by an SNP Government. This will benefit my constituents, people travelling to the area for the Games and the football, and local businesses.

Scottish Government press release:

Dalmarnock Station in Glasgow's East End to be redeveloped European funding of 2.8 million pounds is being invested in a project which will help support the redevelopment of Dalmarnock Rail Station in Glasgow's East End.

John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, announced the funding package for the station, which will be a key transport hub for the Commonwealth Games in 2014.

The work at Dalmarnock will offer commuters more travel choices through the heart of the Games village and help meet travel demands beyond the Games.

Mr Swinney said:

"The Scottish Government is working tirelessly to ensure the right infrastructure is in place to support sustainable economic growth. That's why I'm delighted to announce this 2.8 million pounds investment from the European Regional Development Fund which will help support the redevelopment and refurbishment of Dalmarnock Station.

"When delivered, the station will not only provide additional transport services for the Commonwealth Games, but also help support the regeneration of the wider Dalmarnock area.

"As we look forward to the Games in 2014, this investment will help deliver an efficient transport network for visitors to the city, as well as a lasting legacy of improved transport links in Glasgow's East End."

Background Project Partners delivering Dalmarnock Station refurbishment are Transport Scotland, Glasgow City Council, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, Clyde Gateway and Network Rail. Project partners are currently working up preferred options for the station redevelopment. This work is progressing well for delivery in 2013. The ERDF contribution towards the funding for the scheme has been confirmed as 2,859,500 pounds.

New bins for Millerston Street

Millerston Street in my ward, between the Gallowgate and Duke Street, is particularly prone to litter and fly tipping. A lot of people pass along the street on their way to and from Celtic Park and, sadly, they tend to leave a mess behind them.

I had a request from a constituent to have the area cleared up, which Land and Environmental Services duly carried out. To prevent the same mess happening again, I made a modest request for an extra lamp-post bin. To my surprise, LES have responsed enthusiastically with a promise of eight bins, for on each side of Millerston Street. This should make a huge difference to the area, and football fans now have no excuse for dropping their litter!

Dalmarnock station

As part of the investment for the Commonwealth Games and in connection to the regeneration taking place in my ward through Clyde Gateway, the train station at Dalmarnock will be receiving a substantial upgrade.


I went for a meeting with SPT officials this week, and got a bit more information on the plans for the station and the timescale for the improvements.

I use the station occasionally going to meetings in Dalmarnock, but it's a bit isolated and it's usually easier to get the bus.

I'm not alone in this view, as it's pretty quiet. At the moment, the station faces out on to Swanston Street, which makes it all but invisible from the main road. Some early plans show a change in the entrance to Dalmarnock Road, and this seems to have been a popular idea at Clyde Gateway's consultation meetings.

SPT are currently working with partners to draw up a series of options, and working out the costs of the improvements.

The station itself, as you can see from the pictures, is pretty unusual, with large concrete beams supporting retaining walls, and bridges going overhead. This makes it more challenging to get the station up to the best standards to allow access for disabled passengers. Lifts would clearly be the best solution, but with limited space, I can see that careful planning will be required to fit them in safely.

The station will be well-placed for the Commonwealth Games, and everyone is keen to see it play a part, bringing tourists, and then being available for the new residents who will come to live in the area afterwards.

The officials hope to have the refurbishment work completed by the autumn of 2013, and I'll certainly keep you updated with any further information.






Eastbound platform - this may end up being the new entrance from Dalmarnock Road.







Platforms and tunnel - the roads above are Swanston Street on the left and Dalmarnock Road straight ahead.








Bridge over the tracks and supporting beams - you can see how narrow the station is, and how little room there is to redevelop.



I'd like to give my thanks to Cllr Watson and his staff for their time and the helpful information they provided.

Platform performance

When I went to visit my in-laws between Christmas and Hogmanay last year, I was pretty appalled at the state of the trains and the stations. I don't spend a lot of time in English train stations as a rule, but I do spend a fair amount of time in Scottish ones. It seems there's more of a distance between them than I thought!

Anyway, to get to Derby, I had to change at Crewe. The journey hadn't been great up until then; the train turned up several carriages short, leading to fractious disputes about reservations, luggage everywhere, no food, and some badly behaved wean deliberately trying to open the loo while I was in it. And then I arrived at Crewe. It was dilapidated, dirty, the cafe was expensive and the food poor. The chocolate brownie I chose had all the appeal of nibbling on a charcoal briquette. I'm really not surprised to see Crewe up there on the list of dismal stations, and I hope investment comes before I need use its platforms again! What interests me is a remark on the difference in Scotland:

The champions argued that Scotland had avoided the problem of poor stations by organising funding more effectively over a number of decades.

A welcome comment on Scotland's way of doing things. Our major stations are quite nice: Waverley, Central and Queen Street have had a lot of cash spent on them, and they look the piece. Once the Central hotel project is completed, Glasgow Central really will be the jewel in Scotland's railway crown. I don't mind waiting at Stirling, which is pretty, with a proper waiting room and vending machines. Stations along the Perth-Inverness line are very picturesque, and those in the central belt pretty functional.

From recent visits, I feel Perth and Inverness could do better; I've not been in Aberdeen or Dundee for some time, so I can't comment on them. Most stations I use are well kept and clean - there's a guy at Alexandra Parade most mornings ensuring there's no litter. The stations can be a bit glum though. Most don't have waiting rooms or indeed any kind of ticket office (which is fair enough given the number of people who go through them) and they're not much to look at. I think the notion of community involvement where appropriate could be a workable one, particularly when you see the work of groups like Friends of Walkden Station. This shouldn't be about maintenence on the cheap of course, but stations could be made a bit prettier.

I have four train stations in my ward - High Street, Bellgrove (where the name of the blog originates!), Bridgeton and Dalmarnock. The latter two are the more dilapidated, although there are plans to spend significant sums of money on Dalmarnock as part of the Commonwealth Games regeneration. I believe Clyde Gateway are also hoping to improve Bridgeton station. These are very different stations, and could all do with a bit of investment. I'd be happy to hear from constituents who have any ideas for improving them.

My small piece of tarmac

I recently asked Land and Environmental Services if there was anything they could do about the state of the access footpath from the Gallowgate down into Camlachie.

The rutted surface had made getting a buggy or wheelchair across very difficult, and it would also be a hindrance to those not so steady on their feet.

I use the path almost every time I go into the area, as I tend to walk or take the bus to go to things in my ward.

I was delighted that LES very quickly came up with a solution (so quickly I suspected someone else must have asked!), but they confirmed they'd done it after receiving my email. I'm sure you'll agree, it looks good! As I'd raised a few issues about the area, they're also doing a litter pick, and are looking into improving the local environment.