The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Calls made for removal of ‘dangerous’ barriers
Abusinessman has called for traffic barriers erected in a town to be removed amid fears over safety after high winds blew them over.
Large blocks erected on both Church Street and Bell Street in St Andrews town centre, which are supposed to remain rigid and secured to each other, were scattered by high winds that battered the town overnight.
Eric Milne, whose fifthgeneration business, bakers Fisher & Donaldson is on Church Street, fears someone could have been seriously injured and has now called on the local authority to remove them.
The controversial red and white plastic barriers were installed in October as part of the People and Places initiative designed to reduce parking and ensure social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.
However, following a barrage of criticism from shop owners, who claimed the barriers were hindering trade and hitting the livelihoods of many businesses, the council later removed a number of the bollards from the town centre.
Those on Church Street and Bell Street were among those which remained, however.
Mr Milne has said enough is enough and it is time to get rid of the restrictions.
“The barriers are more danger to the public than the risk of catching Covid-19 they were designed to help safeguard against,” said Mr Milne.
“They should be filled with water to give them weight so that they can’t be moved but there’s nothing in them.
“The council needs to see reason and admit that they are no longer needed and are actually being ignored by the public.
“What we actually want is more parking in readiness for coming out of lockdown, not ill-thoughtout restrictions that are actually killing the town centre.
“These were supposed to be a temporary measure but have been here at least six months and are now just a danger to the public.”
The council deployed work crews to both affected streets yesterday morning to make the barriers safe following the overnight winds.
Altany Craik, convener of the economy, tourism, strategic planning and transportation committee, said: “It’s disappointing that the temporary barriers were blown over and I’ll be speaking with officers to see how they can be made safer.
“It has been a difficult process ensuring safe spaces for people during the pandemic and I’ll be discussing with officers about what we can do regarding the temporary nature of the barriers in St Andrews.”