Weekly Road Report – West End Ward

DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL – WEEKLY ROAD REPORT

REPORT FOR WEST END WARD WEEK COMMENCING MONDAY 30 JANUARY 2017

Blackness Road/Glamis Road – temporary traffic lights for 2 weeks for gas main renewal.

Greenmarket – prohibition of right turn into South Marketgait on Thursday 2 February from 9.00pm   6.00am for BT cabling works.

Nethergate (eastbound from South Tay Street to West Marketgait) – closed on Thursday 2 February from 9.00pm   6.00am for BT cabling works.

Hyndford Street – temporary traffic lights from Thursday 2 February for 3 days for water main repair.


Saving our Bumblebees

Lecture on Tuesday 31st January at the Dalhousie Building Lecture Theatre 1, University of Dundee  :

Bumblebees are amongst the most important of wild pollinators; many wildflowers would not set seed without them, and they are the main pollinators of crops such as tomatoes, blueberries and raspberries. Concerningly, many bumblebees are in decline, with 3 species now extinct in the UK and the first global extinction recently occurring in USA.

Dave Goulson, Professor Of Biology (Evolution, Behaviour and Environment) at the University of Sussex, will discuss the drivers of these declines, and the many things we can all do to halt and reverse them, at the Biochemical Society sponsored lecture.

Dave has published over 200 scientific articles on the ecology of bees and other insects, and is author of ‘Bumblebees; their behaviour, ecology and conservation’ (2010, Oxford University Press) and ‘A Sting in the Tale’ (2013, Jonathan Cape), a popular science book about bumblebees.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.  

In 2010 he was BBSRC “Social Innovator of the Year” and in 2013 he won the Marsh Award for Conservation Biology from the Zoological Society of London.

The lecture will be followed by a drinks reception from 5-6pm, giving the opportunity to meet with Dave in a more informal setting.

Tickets are free but should be booked in advance here.


Progress for the campaign for free public wi-fi

As reported in the press earlier this week, I have welcomed progress towards the provision of free public wi-fi for the Waterfront and City Centre, something that has been a long time coming.

The City Council’s Head of Customer Services & IT has now confirmed to me that a working group involving the council’s IT and City Development Departments along with representation from the Scottish Futures Trust has now been established to drive the initiative forward.      The Head of Customer Services & IT advised :

“A Public Wireless project is still being investigated by Dundee city council for the waterfront development and city centre and we are actively  working with the Scottish Futures Trusts Public Wireless program to get best value for the city given the financial implications.    The discussions are on-going and I attended a meeting with them … and have established a short working group to take this forward.”

Going back as far as 2014, I highlighted the need for Dundee to progress free public wifi for the City Centre.   Many cities are discovering free wi-fi is a good way to attract more visitors.   Already local businesses from coffee shops, hotels and restaurants, churches and bars are among the locations discovering the value of offering free wireless but a city centre wide wi-fi facility would be a boon for our city.

Other cities in Scotland are already providing free public wifi such as Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness and I am anxious that Dundee does not fall behind.

I am pleased that the council now has a working group with the Scottish Futures Trust whose remit is to deliver a free-wifi offering for Dundee City Centre and the Waterfront area.    I wanted to see momentum behind this and delivery of free public wi-fi for Dundee.


Temporary Traffic Order – Nethergate

From the City Council :

THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 – SECTION 14(1)

THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of water service works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in Nethergate (from its junction with West Marketgait  to its junction with South Tay Street), Dundee.

This notice comes into effect on  Sunday 29th January 2017 for one day.

Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained.

Access to premises will be maintained where possible

Alternative routes for vehicles are available via West Marketgait/Hawkhill/Hunter Street/Old Hawkhill/South Tay Street and reverse

For further information contact 433168.

Director of City Development          
Dundee City Council


Friends of Riverside Nature Park meeting

Last night, I attended the latest Friends of Riverside Nature Park committee meeting, held at the Mitchell Street Centre.

There was a useful update from environment officers from the council’s Neighbourhood Services about proposed landscape improvements on Riverside Drive and Avenue running from the nature park, eastwards along to the Riverside Pavilion east of the airport.     At the east end of this area, there will also be parking improvements I highlighted yesterday.

The landscape proposals will be discussed a the council’s Neighbourhood Services Committee in the coming weeks to obtain necessary approval.