It is well known that the history of traffic calming ideas and pedestrianisation of the Esplanade and Commercial Street has been long and difficult. The specific matter of relocating the poorly sited pedestrian crossing at the bottom of Church Road has also run and run.

It has been my opinion for man years that the best idea would be to get rid of Church Road entirely. As I see it, this would have several beneficial effects on the amenity of the whole town centre, as well as providing significant safety improvements.

I would suggest having the space between Vaila Fine Art and Hanse's old sweetie shop filled with a new building (in a traditional style), but to leave the gap between the old Tollbooth and Solotti's open. Access to the south end would then be made from the Esplanade, with the section from the Cross becoming one-way. The existing car parks in Church Road could then be redone more efficiently, increasing the available parking spaces, as well as making them much safer to access.

By making the Esplanade from the Cross one-way, it would be possible to narrow the road and join-up the pavement which currently fades out at the Post Office. This would be much safer, as well as more convenient.

Completely closing Church Road will, no doubt, seem to some to be quite a drastic act, as it is currently part of the A969. However, it is worth noting that on several occasions recently it has been blocked for lengthy periods. I made a point of asking many drivers for their opinions on the impact of these closures. It was very interesting to find nobody was complaining, unlike with the road work disruptions in Scalloway Road and parts of the A970. During the periods when Church Road was blocked, the Esplanade was appreciably more pedestrian friendly.

It would be awfull nice if your organisation would support the idea of having Scandinavian(Norway,Faroe,Finland,Denmark,Sweden&Iceland) flags flying permanently somewhere on the Esplanade during summer months.

There used to be flags displayed during summmer back in the 80s/90s but not many today.

Perhaps the new peerie boat harbour walkway street lights could be an option to hang the flags.

Thank you

Is there anything your group can do to tackle the ongoing mess of chewing gum and fag stubs?

The small streets especially outside Da Noost is often messy but mostly due to fag stubs.

I also have to say that outside of Da Wheel Bar is becoming grotty on a daily basis again with fag stubs.

I have complained to Enviromental Dept twice but still nobody has felt the need to act upon the mess.

Perhaps your committee may get a response to this?

Many thanks.

Alistair

On Saturday both myself and wife were enjoying a lovelly lunch at Karibuni a really nice eatery. We must have been in for over half an hour and in that time the amount of cars and vans wizzing past came to 38 in total.

Would your group or any council member take this up with the roads dept and get a better solution for the small space in Harrison Square?

The staff in karibuni were so enthusiastic about us mentioning the amount of cars etc bombing around the square just for the fun of it.

Its a wonder no one has ever been flattened when leaving the cafe or perhaps made to jump out of the way.

Also without a traffic warden this area and the whole of Commercial Street has become unbearable and dangerous.

We are expecting great spectacles such as Tall Ships, Cruise Liners and surely a traffic calming solution would not be a major hurdle to take into account?

I really would hate to see dedicated buisneses such as Karibuni or DIY shop next door feel responsible if perhaps an accident occured.

Thanks