Road works cause chaos
Some firms have seen losses of up to 50 per cent
Stirling MSP Bruce Crawford has written to the local authority to request an urgent review into the new city centre roads layout.
The calls come after he met with a group of traders from Murray Place, Friar Street, Barnton Street and Maxwell Place areas who are worried about the negative impact the measures have had on their businesses – with some saying they have seen losses of up to 50 per cent.
Work costing around £750,000 has been ongoing in the area for months to widen the pavements and make them more pedestrianfriendly, alter bus and taxi stances, remove roadside barriers and implement a one-way system in Murray Place and Station Road.
Paul Tortolano from Smiling Jack’s, Ali Masri of Phone Doctorz, Jackie DeLuca of La Ciociara and Araf Hamid from Urban Bubble were present at the meeting, which was also attended by councillor Jim Thomson, with all agreeing that they were experiencing a bleak Christmas in what is traditionally one of the busiest areas of the town.
Mr Masri told the Observer earlier this week: “We have all noticed a real difference since the changes have come in. The place is just a ghost town – if you look around there is nobody here.
“I hope something can be done to bring people back into this part of the town. Shops have been shutting down here because they are struggling to cope and that’s just going to continue.
“We should all be busy in the run up to Christmas but it hasn’t worked out like that. Before we know it it’s going to be January, February and March which are quieter months anyway.”
In his letter to Chief Executive Stewart Carruth, Mr Crawford said: “Their [the traders’] concerns centred primarily on alterations to the roads network with the introduction of the new one-way system and changes to bus routes and stops.
“The traders contend this area of the city is very much less convenient for access for both car users and those using the bus. As a result, the traders tell me that the footfall of potential customers has reduced dramatically.”
Mr Crawford added that while it was always the plan to conduct a review into the new layout, traders agree that this needs to be carried out on an “urgent” basis.
A spokesperson for Stirling Council said: “As it’s too early to tell what the benefits of the changes have been at this point, we would be happy to carry out some form of review in the New Year when further data can be collected and analysed.”