Council officers working to address traffic problem
Work is “ongoing” to address a number of issues identified on the roads in and around Blairgowrie town centre by the charrette process earlier this year — including a new 20mph speed limit in theWellmeadow area and the controversial junction between Reform Street and Perth Street.
Work to revamp the Reform Street junction was initially planned to take place in early October but was postponed after an initial consultation.
The reconstruction of the junction is aimed at ensuring that the rules of the road are more obvious to drivers in terms of giving way to oncoming traffic.
And the implementation of a permanent 20mph speed limit on the A93 through the Wellmeadow has been on the cards since the traffic lights were switched off in June of last year.
Blairgowrie and Rattray Community Council member Stuart Nichol said that he, along with local councillors for the area, Bob Ellis and Caroline Shiers, and roads officers from Perth and Kinross Council, had recently walked round the town discussing various areas for potential improvement.
Mr Nichol was speaking at the most recent meeting of Blairgowrie and Rattray Community Council — the statutory organisation behind the charrette process — held last week in the Balmoral Church Hall on Balmoral Road in Rattray.
He reported that proposals for changes to the junction of Reform Street with Perth Street and the High Street were currently being drawn up by council officers and should be available for consideration by the community council within the next couple of weeks.
Mr Nichol also said that council officers have informed him that the 20mph speed limit in the Wellmeadow is “currently in the process of being made permanent” and “should be in place a week or two”.
Proposals to change the length of time that people can park for free in the town from half an hour to one hour, and to remove the superfluous double yellow lines and loading bay areas on Allan Street, are also going through the necessary legal processes required before they can be implemented, according to Mr Nichol.
He added that he has been told by council officers that designs for a long-awaited new “puffin-type” crossing on Perth Road at Blairgowrie Cottage Hospital are currently being drawn up and that they are expected to be submitted for approval in early 2017.
A spokesperson for the local authority confirmed: “Following feedback from the local community, the council was asked to consider revised proposals for the top of Reform Street.
“The design process for these proposals is in progress, and they will then be brought before the community and local representatives. Subject to local agreement, the work will be undertaken and the measures implemented.
“Regarding the Wellmeadow, council officers recently undertook a ‘walkabout’ with local elected members and representatives from the community council.
“As a result of this, we are now in the process of preparing the proposals and will be seeking agreement to implement these proposals as soon as possible.”