More Madness on The Brae
June 22nd, 2010 | 
Author: 
Brae "crossing"
You’ll recall that before the work on The Brae was started there were numerous concerns expressed about the road layout, kerbs, parking and above all general safety. One clear indication of nonsense in planning was the fact that the traffic calming strip was generally regarded as a crossing particularly as there was a gap in the railings and a dropped kerb. Complete and utter madness. It would seem that this view is now recognised as mad by the powers-that-be as this “crossing” has now been chained off.
There will be changes made but as another indication that madness is clearly a qualification in the planning office, a new pedestrian crossing is now to be installed across the bottom of The Brae. This greatly improves the chances of motorists toppling a few pedestrians as they speed off the A96 on a near blind corner.
Of course we also have to bear in mind that having got this wrong in the first place, there will now be further disruption and totally unnecessary cost in trying to put it right. New kerbs, new signage, pavement repairs, greater danger to pedestrians. Total madness! More money that could have been better used to support the swimming pool or other important services. I have to say, where do we get our decision makers from? What planet do they live on?
Once again when walking down the brae yesterday morning I had to give way to a lorry that had no choice but to mount the pavement to continue on to the High Street because of vehicles in the ‘loading bay’. There just isn’t enough room for everyone, a total rethink is necessary.
The 20mph signage has never slowed traffic, and the same boy racers can be seen doing 60 plus up that brae as usual. The bollards and pavement layout has certainly slowed other traffic though!
This will compete with the mad crossing at St Ninians Church – a cert that there will be a serious accident sooner or later…
I live in Ballark Place and while I thought the new lay-out would be beneficial for residents exiting on to the Brae from the lane it has not proved to be the case. Cars are often parked outwith the marked parking bays and cars leaving Ballark Place have to reverse back to swing round so they can exit the lane. No action is being taken against those parking outwith the bays. The issue at the entrance to the Brae off the A96 however is much more serious and the lay-out is very dangerous. The chains may be cheap but at least they will stop a potential fatality occurring until a more sensible solution is found. The narrowing of the entrance to the Brae as Jayteescot says has done nothing to slow down the boy racers.
The situation with the brae is potentially disastrous. Let’s hope the lorries on the pavement don’t crush anyone. Quite a few might know this is likely to happen but tourists and even carefree children on their way home from school might not be so lucky.
Whose name is on the design and can the cost of any remedial works be taken out of his/her salary?
Who are the councillors that approved this going ahead and do they stand by their decision?
Will more mistakes be made further up the High Street?
This latest addition to the Brae streetscape is an affront. Nairn folk should be both embarrassed and angry.
They should be embarrassed, because a scheme which was intended to make the street a little more attractive and pedestrian-friendly has in fact had the opposite effect. Pedestrians now find navigating badly-parked vehicles and crossing the Brae even more hazardous then before. Now, having chains slung between bollards and fixed with padlocks looks like a cheap afterthought dreamed up by an off-duty prison guard. What sort of user-friendly impression does that create?
People should be angry because this reveals the ineptitude of the streetscape planners. It illustrates the failure of Council officials to examine and scrutinise the design. It shows a complete lack of imagination and the absence of practical thinking. And it represents a waste of Council taxpayers’ money.
The real pity of it is that the chains, the bollards, the railings, and the specially-paved rumble strips are all ineffective attempts to deal with the symptoms of the problem at that junction, rather than addressing the real cause. The whole problem arises because the main junction is not properly set up to manage either the vehicle traffic or the pedestrians who want to cross. A push-button traffic light for pedestrians, located away from the junction and controlling only the trunk road, with partial box-junction markings on the road, are wholly inadequate and inappropriate.
A four-way set of lights at that intersection, integrated and linked with the other A96 traffic lights and with a programmed phase for pedestrians crossing both A96 and Brae/Harbour Street, would at least give clarity and reduce risk. The present collection of improvised bodges looks bad, doesn’t work, and is unsafe. Nairn should be ashamed.
I suspect it’s such a long time since this post few will read this comment but I thought I’d throw it in the pot for what it’s worth. Last Friday (July 30) I was taking gravel into my garden in Ballark Place. The only means of getting it there short of barrowing it up from High Street was by trailer. I made two trips and at the end of my labours I was returning the trailer to its owner. As I exited on to High Street Brae there was an illegally parked Land Rover with it’s rear nearside wheel on the pavement (Cafe Nairn side). As I tried to get my car past the Land Rover it was obvious the turn was too tight. To reverse a trailer in such a confine space was well nigh impossible and for ten minutes I had to go back and forth causing tailbacks onto the A96. I was reaching the stage where I was going to disengage the trailer when a neighbour, seeing my predicament, bounced the trailer round into a position which enabled me to complete the manoeuvre. I returned the trailer to my brother and went back home. The Land Rover was still illegally parked in the same position. It must have been there for half-an-hour at least. If it was seen by a passing police car certainly no action had been taken as there was no ticket on the windscreen. despite my anger I opted not to call the police and decided instead to write a note and leave it on the windscreen advising the driver of the inconvenience she had caused not just to myself but other vehicles caught in the tailback behind. By the time I went back up the lane however the vehicle had gone. Just thought I’d post this hoping it may highlight how inconsiderate parking in this area can cause so much inconvenience.