People power got work done faster
Success has many fathers but failure is an orphan.
Nowhere was that old adage more evident than at the opening last Friday of the newly-constructed Kerse Road bridge.
The city’s political representatives joined councillors from all parties and bosses of Network Rail to mark the completion of the £8 million project, which has either shut or restricted access on one of Stirling’s main routes for much of this year.
Network Rail and its contractor are to be congratulated for getting the bridge open to two-way traffic earlier than the six months scheduled .
And Stirling Council staff also deserve plaudits for putting in place a traffic management programme which generally helped avoid the travel chaos which many anticipated when the proposal to replace the bridge was first mooted.
Credit must also go to readers of the Observer, who backed our Keep Stirling Moving campaign which ran early last year and was aimed at cutting the time during which Kerse Road was to be closed for the bridge replacement work.
Around 1000 people backed our petition calling for the road closure time to be cut.
That show of strength undoubtedly stiffened the sinews of councillors and officials in negotiations with Network Rail and ultimately led to the closure time being cut from 12 months to six months.
City folk will now hope that all the problems of the last 12 to 18 months – traffic disruption, overnight noise caused by rail track electrification work and train delays and cancellations – will have been worth it as we move into the era of “faster, greener more efficient” electric locomotives. Let’s see.
Finally, a regular reader, angry about the “ugly” metal plates screwed to the top of the Shore Road bridge by Network Rail, suggested the Observer should have a “moaning page”.
Well, this is it. If there’s something you want to get off your chest email john. rowbotham@trinitymirror. com or write to the Observer at 34 Upper Craigs, Stirling, FK8 2DW.
John Rowbotham, Editor