Hard-to-spot bus gates just a road to nowhere for visitors to Granite City

Sir, – I write regarding the bus gates in Aberdeen.

I have been fined three times now on separate roads in the city for bus lane infringements.

They are, or were at the time, so poorly signposted that I was unaware of being in a bus lane. If people are to be made aware of these bus gates they need to be very clearly marked, taking into consideration drivers have to be aware of other cars and pedestrians as well as signposts or painted markings on the road which can be hidden by other vehicles.

Aberdeen is a rural city and very much reliant on people driving into it from quite a large radius.

To instigate bus gates at the very places people visit i.e. the shops, is crazy.

The diversion to circumnavigate the said bus gates – I only just learned of their geographic places on the streets of Aberdeen since receiving fines – is going to damage the economy of the likes of Union

Square as well as having cars driving more miles to avoid the bus gates.

I have been a very frequent visitor to Aberdeen over the years.

Myself and my family have enjoyed many days there dining out, shopping, having picnics in the likes of Hazlehead and walking through Duthie Park.

But with these restrictions in place it has become a place I don’t intend visiting any more.

I don’t need to remind anyone that shops are fighting a battle with internet sales giants but the internet doesn’t facilitate a day out meeting people and having a nice meal at night – the internet also doesn’t impose charges for poorly signposted bus gates.

My question is, has anyone else raised these concerns?

The worrying part is the impossibility of appeal and the possibility of the fine being increased if you do appeal.

CONCERNS: Bus gates and fines are putting people off visiting Aberdeen. Picture by Scott Baxter.