ON Wednesday night, returning from Edinburgh to Fife, we came to a complete halt at about 9.50pm a long way from the bridge. Two lanes of traffic completely stationary. From that point it took nearly an hour and a half to cross the bridge.
When we eventually inched our way through the night, using large amounts of fuel and creating large amounts of emissions, we discovered that the purpose of this bizarre and inept attempt at traffic management was due to works being carried out around
the toll plaza – again – so traffic was being taken up and over the Echline roundabout in single file.
I am appalled at the lack of information and simple traffic management which left the lane coming from Edinburgh stopping completely every few yards because it had no way of joining with the traffic coming off the new road (which appeared to have no problems at all).
I expected to see a hive of activity at the toll plaza but only saw a few desultory workmen wandering about. At least having achieved the end of the hour and a half's imprisonment, workers were busy on the other side of the bridge.
I say "busy" but what we saw was lots of flashing lights on lorries, eight men standing round one hole and further on, four men standing round another: nothing changes! Could I respectfully suggest that the person responsible for traffic management during road works at the bridge would be better employed looking after a public convenience?
Mrs S Polson, Main Street, Crossford, FifeGreen turns to grey with regenerationTHE regeneration of Leith seems to be going hand in hand with the degeneration of green places in Leith. Until about ten years ago you could still hear birds singing in Henderson Street – but now nearly all the trees have all been felled and the grass replaced by concrete to make way for more and more multi storey buildings and no place left for a bee to buzz or a bird to sing.
The huge redevelopment planned for Leith docks doesn't look as if the environment is going to be top of the list of priorities either.
The day will come when children in Leith won't know what grass looks like.
Margaret MacPherson, Henderson Street, LeithI swear I'll never watch this againAT the weekend, I chose to watch an amateur football match in Edinburgh.
I was absolutely stunned at the lack of respect shown by the players, and the few spectators who were at the game, towards their opponents, the referee and even their own players.
Even before the game started the language coming from the players was disgraceful and when the game began it got worse. Every time someone opened their mouth, what came out of it began with "f", "b" or "c".
After a mere 15 minutes of the game the referee had cautioned four players for abusing either their opponents or him.
At the end some of the defeated team wanted to fight with their opponents and had to be prevented by a hard-pressed referee. It took at least five minutes for the tantrums of the defeated to die down. The referee wisely asked the winning team to stay on the field until their opponents were in their changing room.
It didn't end there, though. A "charming" young lady, who was watching the match as a supporter of the winning team, decided to offer her thoughts on the match to one of the defeated players as he left the field. Then she gave him a good hard kick on the back of the legs and was only saved from retaliation after she was dragged away by her boyfriend, a player from the winning team.
It is no wonder that people were scared to go into town of an evening if that was how young men, and women, behaved without a drink in them. How would they be after a night in the pub?
The next day, a rugby tournament was held on the fields behind my house. I never heard the slightest bit of foul or abusive language. Credit to them.
Ian Taylor Cromarty Court, LivingstonNo chance to sit and stare in SquareEDINBURGH'S new St Andrew Square park is at last open, and it's fine until you want a seat.
The narrow walkway does not afford any room for comfortable wooden memorial seats.
Why not a couple of cul-de-sac walkways with comfortable seating, or would that not be in keeping with the modern bland design? Nice to look at but keep walking.
Tom Loughray, Muirhouse Gardens, EdinburghThanks for helping water struggle winWE would like to thank all those from across Scotland who signed the petition to the Scottish Parliament, marking the culmination of our successful campaign to continue water charge exemptions and reliefs for charities and churches beyond 2010.
Over 2300 signatures were gathered from charities, churches and individuals, making it one of the largest petitions lodged with the Scottish Parliament. While the Scottish Government is now minded to have the exemptions and reliefs from these charges extended, the challenge now is to ensure that any new scheme put forward is broader, less costly and less bureaucratic in scope than the current arrangements.
Since the introduction of exemptions and reliefs more than half a century ago it has been recognised that charities and churches play a vital social role, a situation even more strongly relevant now with the increasing reliance placed by the Scottish Government on these bodies to deliver and supplement social services.
We look forward to continuing to deliver these services and to working with the Scottish Government on ensuring an appropriate water charges scheme is implemented.
Lucy McTernan, Director of Corporate Affairs, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations; Peter Kearney, Spokesman, Scottish Catholic Church; Rev Jock Stein, Dunfermline Presbytery of the Church of ScotlandThe full article contains 992 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
