I am writing to you about my concerns with the junction at the bottom of Station Road. I stay at the top of Station Road and use the junction daily as do the rest of my family. The amount of times we drive down the road to be faced by vehicles parked at the junction blocking the left hand lane – you then have to sit in middle of the road to get past and you have difficulty to see the traffic. If the junction is busy then you have people turning up the road who can’t get in because you are in the middle of the junction. The large tarred pavement area seems to be handy for some people to park on, making your visibility even worse.

To me they have constructed a very unsafe area but of course it has a lot to do with the inconsiderate people who park there.

Cairnlea must be the most new-neighboured house in Birnam – well, Perth Road anyway. Eighteen months ago Sandy and Rosaleen moved in to Rosewood. Yesterday, the builders moved out and Fiona and Ross and their three children moved in to Elwood, on the other side. So now we’re sandwiched by newcomers.

Of course, after only seven and a half years here, we’re relative newcomers ourselves. But in a friendly community like Birnam, that’s more than long enough to get to know your neighbours, and you learn to love them as much for their foibles as for their friendship. We soon got used to the odd foray by Wilson, Margaret and Dave Scott’s black Labrador, through our hedge in search of our cats; while Ian Stewart’s rock’n’roll barbeques became an entertaining feature of a summer Saturday evening. And I’m sure there were moments when our teenagers unexpectedly enlivened their evenings.

When first Ian, then Margaret and Dave, sold up and moved on, we were genuinely sad to see them go. But life goes on and communities need new blood, new energy to stay vibrant and alive. Right now, we’re lucky enough to be at the centre of a little pocket of change, and we say a heartfelt Welcome to our two sets of new neighbours, and hope that they have as many happy years here in Birnam as we have.

For more of a writer’s personal ruminations on life and language, you can read my weekly blog at http://afewkindwords.blogspot.com

Regarding the previous post, Biggest Pavement Awards, I received the following response from Perth & Kinross Council on 22nd November. I made the fifth paragraph bold. Sorry about the delay in posting this.

I refer to your email which was received by the Council’s Customer Service Centre this morning.

The works being carried out were agreed in full consultation with the Community Council and Elected Members. The school was also involved as part of the school travel planning process.

The works include widening the footway and narrowing the junction bellmouth. We had received concerns about the size of the junction, difficulties crossing the road because of this and the restricted visibility with parked cars, and vehicle speeds.

The scheme will improve the safety for pedestrians and encourage lower vehicles speeds on the main road. It does not affect parking but improves visibility for pedestrians.

It had been the intention to send out consultation letters to the adjacent properties but it would appear that the Officer in charge of the scheme did not do this. He had thought there had been sufficient consultation through the Community Council and Elected Members. I can only apologise for this.

In terms of costs, the order value of the works is £7066.34

If I can be of any more assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.

Jillian Robinson
Principal Engineer (Traffic & Road Safety)
The Environmental Service
Perth & Kinross Council

If there was a Biggest Pavement Award for the Birnam and Dunkeld area it would surely go to the extended pavement opposite the Spar in Station Road, Birnam. This seems to have been imposed upon us by Higher Beings without consultation, and I have emailed PKC and our local Councillor regarding this.

Regardless of the costs, who in his/her right mind thought that this was a good idea?

By the way, did anyone notice the improvements to the “road” along Birnam Terrace/Gladstone Terrace? Half-hearted to say the least. And there’s still no pavement there whatsoever, nor any signs to limit the speed of traffic.