Road closures bad for business - Sue Webber
In a recent column I argued that a system of fines was needed to bring utility companies to heel for their complete disregard for the needless disruption their road closures cause when no work is being done.
As if proof was needed, just last week there was clear evidence of the impact it can have, thanks to the utterly cavalier attitude of BT Openreach, whose workers erected temporary traffic lights on Lanark Road West in Currie for cable installation.
The work is supposed to take five working days and the lights went up last Wednesday, when work was carried out for two hours. No work was conducted at all on Thursday.
The section of road affected was right outside the local butcher who got in touch to let me know that he had lost valuable business, with no less than 50 fewer customers than the previous Thursday. That can’t be down to the holiday season because the Trades started the week before.
Yes, workers turned up on Friday, but of course the road was blocked all weekend and the last time this happened, because of work by a different utility company, the business lost thousands.
It will be the same for every business on a high street affected by roadworks and the utility companies and their contractors don’t give a stuff.
Near Tollcross, a long stretch of Gilmore Place has been needlessly cordoned off for so long that local businesses use it as a van park.
Fines and guaranteed compensation are the only way to deal with this.