Blackness Avenue
Tree replacements – Blackness Avenue
Walkabout – Blackness/Corso/Abbotsford area
Yesterday, along with a representative from the Housing Department and a representative from the Environment Department, I took part in a walkabout around the Blackness/Corso/Abbotsford area.
The six-monthly walkabouts take place in a number of areas (Pentland and Logie are other examples) and are a useful way to look at local issues and problems and ensure these are taken up and resolved.
Here’s a couple of photos of matters discussed yesterday, which also including bins/cleansing issues and overgrown trees in the area.
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New improved street lighting being installed in the area |
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Pavement trip hazard at Peddie Street/ Abbotsford Place junction reported for repair |
Getting things done – Blackness Avenue
This years annual street tree survey will be carried out mid / late summer. All empty tree pits will be identified for potential replacement planting during this survey. My intention will be to replant in this tree pit and we will top dress with wood chip as a weed suppressant and reduce the trip hazard.
At present there are provisional plans to carry out tree pruning and felling works in Blackness Avenue and planting works will be carried out next planting season. In the short term prior to planting season I will arrange for the pit to be top dressed with wood chip.
Blackness area walkabout
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Eurobins in Peddie Street – I have raised the emptying schedule with the Environment Department |
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Tree bed in Blackness Avenue – now a muddy trip hazard since the removal of the tree – I have taken this up with the City Council |
Wednesday activities
Getting things done – Blackness Avenue, Hyndford Street and Seymour Street
Blackness area walkabout
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Abbotsford Street |
Blackness Walkabout
Update on Hawkhill situation …
Concern raised over handling of Hawkhill power cut issue
Action on slippy leaves …

West End Wednesday …
Yesterday, I took part in a site visit with the Head of Transportation and a Senior City Council Engineer at the junction of Balgay Road/Blackness Road/Blackness Avenue – see right. Last year, I welcomed proposed road safety improvements at this junction as constituents have mentioned what a difficult junction this is – very busy and many vehicles making right turns.

Walkabout – Blackness area
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A foggy Abbotsford Street |
City Council meeting tonight
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Road safety improvements welcomed |
Road safety success at Sinderins
I’m pleased to see that, following my last update about pedestrian safety at the Blackness Avenue/Hawkhill junction, the City Council has erected the agreed six bollards at the footpath edge on Blackness Avenue and immediately to the east on Hawkhill.
These will emphasise to drivers not to drive too close to the pavement along Hawkhill, where pupils are walking to and from school.
Thursday …
Back in June, I reported on a useful site visit held then with City Council road safety officers, West End Community Council and Blackness Primary School Parent Council representatives about road safety at the Sinderins junction. The time length of the noise signal to advise pedestrians that it is safe to cross east-west at the bottom of Blackness Avenue was doubled in time length and we also discussed possible safety barriers at Hawkhill.
Today, we had a follow-up site visit (a very wet one in pouring rain!) at which the City Council representatives brought forward their proposals relative to the “barriers” idea. They are proposing six bollards – at the footpath edge round the Blackness Avenue/Hawkhill junction and immediately to the east on Hawkhill – to emphasise to drivers not to drive too close to the pavement along Hawkhill, where pupils are walking to and from school. It is a very busy arterial route into the City Centre and pedestrian safety is paramount.
The proposal will be discussed at the school’s Parent Council meeting next week and hopefully an agreed proposal can be implemented soon.
Later on, I attended the third West End estate “walkabout” of the week – this time round Pentland, where numerous local issues were discussed on-site including the condition of paths and steps in the area, grass cutting and parking.
This evening, I attended the latest Dundee West Transition Town Group, where we discussed a number of issues including increasing allotment provision in the West End and the group’s input into the community fayre at the start of West End Christmas Week on 20th November.
Second estate walkabout of the week …
This morning, along with two of my ward colleagues, City Council officers and members of Blackness Area Residents’ Association, we had a “walkabout” around Corso Street, Abbotsford Place and Street, Peddie Street and parts of Blackness Road and Blackness Avenue to look at any repairs required and issues needing tackled in the area.
Another useful and productive walkabout – and on a beautiful autumn morning too.
Tuesday news …
“I am writing to inform you that unfortunately a paper bin within the Neighbourhood Recycling Point on Brook Street Dundee was burnt out at the weekend, now for the second time.
As you may remember was the case with the second act of arson to the NRP on Bankmill Road earlier this, that it is our standard policy to replace the burnt out unit for a second time. Any further incidents, however, will result in the removal of the paper bin from the NRP unit as these are very costly to replace, and could prove to be an ongoing fire hazard.
We have a replacement unit in stock and we will be looking to reinstate the paper bin as soon as our operations are able. We will continue to monitor this site closely in the forthcoming period and hopefully there will be no repeat of the previous vandalism.”
I am advised by the City Council that the replacement cost is £520 and as I point out in tonight’s Evening Telegraph, residents rightly deplore this sort of mindless vandalism that could end up resulting in the loss of a well-used and popular paper recycling facility. This afternoon, our local Police Inspector said he’d progress my request for use of mobile CCTV in the vicinity to deter further vandalism.

Also this afternoon, along with a representative from Blackness Area Residents’ Association (BARA), a fellow councillor and council officers, we undertook a walkabout in the BARA area (a rather wet walkabout as it was raining!) to look at local issues and problems. The walkabout covered Peddie Street (pictured above), Abbotsford Place, Abbotsford Street, Corso Street and parts of Blackness Road and Blackness Avenue.
This evening at West End Community Council, there was an interesting talk on the conservation of resources, given by Doug McLaren of the Tayside Foundation for the Conservation of Resources.
Sinderins – pedestrian safety – an update
I have now had the following positive feedback from the City Council :
Safe crossings for the West End
Crossing Blackness Avenue
I have received the following feedback from the City Development Department :
“The lights at Blackness Library have been modernised and are now of the ‘Puffin’ type.The flashing green man appears for 4 seconds with buzzer sounding. It may appear to the pedestrian that it has stopped but traffic will not move until the far footway is reached and that sensor triggered. The inter-green period ie the period when vehicles are stopped is designed to be long enough to allow pedestrian to complete the crossing safely.
The new design of the green man showing on the nearside or demand side of the crossing is part of a design which prohibits the impatient driver from ‘jumping’ the red light as he cannot see the green man/red man signal.”
Two Friday updates

“Good Afternoon Cllr Macpherson,
I am pleased to inform you that we have now been able to arrange for the above SCP to be manned with effect from lunch time on Tue 27 Oct. The individual concerned will be issued with his equipment/clothing on Tuesday morning and will receive the relevant training before taking up his post. I should point out that the new SCP has had previous experience as an SCP, which explains how we can have him in place within such a short space of time.”
Update 2 : As I indicated earlier today, I had raised residents’ concerns about slippy leaves on pavements at Abbotsford Place and Blackness Avenue. By lunchtime, I had received the following feedback from the Waste Management Department :
“Hi Fraser
The supervisor reports the job is now completed.”
I bumped into one of the Abbotsford Place residents who had complained about the issue in Tesco Metro in the City Centre this afternoon as she was well impressed with the quality of clean-up and the speed of response. The Waste Management Department is extremely responsive, so very many thanks!
Weeds on local roads

Further bus concerns

Street sign vandalism reported

Black Street and Blackness Avenue

I have also had a chat with the community policeman about the area and we both feel that it wouldn’t take much to undertake some repair to the surface to make it useable for football and with some white markings, a reasonable football area could be created. A couple of portable goalposts could be stored when not in use in the nearby Mitchell Street Centre.
On another matter, the Blackness Area Residents’ Association has been calling for a better bus bay in Blackness Avenue (on the north side half way down) so the bus can get properly beside the pavement – this is helpful for the mainly elderly passengers who alight there. I have been in discussion with the City Council about this and am pleased to say that the improved bay has now been painted.