Stagecoach recently advised in its website :
"Due to road conditions at Sinderins, Dundee, services 77A and 74C will be temporarily diverted from Monday 24th March until further notice.
Services will be required to divert by continuing along the Perth Road to Hyndford Street, turn right up Hyndford Street to Blackness Avenue, then turning right onto Blackness Avenue and following this onto the Perth Road to then resume normal route."
In our view and the view of residents, the use of narrow and residential Hyndford Street is completely inappropriate.
As one resident told us :
"I am writing to express my concern and opposition to the new bus route that has recently been imposed on Hyndford Street. While I understand the intention behind improving public transport access, I believe this decision is not in the best interest of the residents, particularly those with children and those who rely on the safety and accessibility of our neighbourhood.
My primary concern is the safety of children who play on and use the safe street as a route to school. The addition of a bus route, which will pass through an area already heavily used by cars parking on both sides, delivery vehicles making regular stops, and general residential traffic, significantly increases the risk of accidents. Our street is not only gradually narrowing but it also includes an incline, making it a challenging and hazardous route for large vehicles, especially during peak times.
In addition, there is already an adequate bus service located at both the top and bottom of our street, which provides convenient access for all residents. The service does not even make a stop on our road. This makes the new bus route unnecessary and redundant, especially considering the safety and traffic issues it creates. There has been no consultation with residents about this change, and the impact on our daily lives has not been properly considered.
Given these concerns, I respectfully ask that this decision is reconsidered and explore alternative options that would not compromise the safety or convenience of residents. It would be far more beneficial to focus on enhancing the existing bus services at either end of the street, where access is safer and already well-established."
We raised this matter with Stagecoach and the Commercial Director of Stagecoach East Scotland has advised :
"Thanks for sending these across to me to review, and for raising these concerns.
The 74 route was originally registered to operate from Hawkhill to Perth Road via Sinderins, but unfortunately we have encountered issues with the vehicle grounding at this point, causing damage to buses. The diversion to continue west along Perth Road, Hyndford St then Blackness Ave to Perth Road was therefore created to prevent this issue without a significant increase in time on the route.
I'm sorry to hear that it is causing concern for residents in this area, we will certainly take this feedback on board and review if there is an alternative turning arrangement possible in this area. In the meantime please be assured that our professional drivers are well used to operating in more residential areas, negotiating parked cars and traffic conditions and will take every precaution in this area as they do across our network of services.
I'll endeavour to keep you informed if we are able to make an adjustment to the route in due course."
We are pleased that Stagecoach is reviewing its route but if it is not changed as a result we will raise a formal complaint with the Office Of The Traffic Commissioner for Scotland.