{"id":1196,"date":"2013-09-04T10:30:44","date_gmt":"2013-09-04T09:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/abbeylandsresidents.org.uk\/?p=1196"},"modified":"2022-02-12T10:59:41","modified_gmt":"2022-02-12T10:59:41","slug":"repair-pavements-and-crossings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/repair-pavements-and-crossings\/","title":{"rendered":"Repair pavements and crossings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"1-DSC_0106\"
What happens to the street scene when you remove the cars?<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

One of the defining characteristics of the Dunbar streetscene are the relatively wide pavements along with the cobbled sets that accent the pavement edges, pattern the parking bays and, until recently, framed the pedestrian crossings. The street scheme is relatively new, and possibly, with the exception of the exaggerated lighting scheme which is unnecessarily bright at night, it has helped to enhance the streetscene, at least superficially. A good thing surely?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well the parking scheme largely cancels out the aesthetic benefits and the quality of the views are much reduced, obscuring the positive characteristics and poor maintenance over the years is not helping. But using the natural \/ built characteristics of our high street can we start to re-imagine Dunbar, perhaps as a ‘market town’ and destination?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can already visualise the brown signs saying something like “Dunbar – Historic Town and Harbour”. This seems to be what is happening up and down the country, but why not have some of this here?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"bedale-before\"<\/a>
Bedale, Yorkshire – the clutter before<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"bedale-artists-impression\"<\/a>
Bedale, Yorkshire – the clutter removed<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But leaving aside that on street parking can reduce the quality of our streets, lets focus on the cobbles themselves. Whilst very good quality stone was used for the pavements, the cobbles have not stood the test of time. I don’t know whether heavier duty sets or a different construction technique are the fault here, though settlement is an extremely common phenomenon with roads, so hardly unexpected and easily fixed. The ornamental kerbside sets were never properly laid \/ bedded and are now prone to lifting – presumably through freeze thaw action, and I guess in part due to cars mounting the pavements when parking. It may also have been in part due to the use of overly aggressive street cleaning regime employed until recently, not fit for the job. Though I can understand why ELC was anxious to automate the cleaning, as the pavements do need scrubbing down regularly (weekly?), as they are not as porous as other materials so tend to enhance any liquid deposits that are discarded (yep, its urine, fizzy drinks, beer, ice-cream, puke, take-away discards). Returning to the cobbles, I don’t know how often they’ve been repaired over the years, but it looks like they’ve been thoughtlessly patched without too much attention to detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The loose cobbles are now hazardous, but not a reason to remove them. Resetting the cobbles correctly around the town should also prevent litter accumulations (I’ve heard this is the excuse used by the cleansing department for the omnipresent residual fag litter). I think it is fair to say that on balance cobbles add to the attractiveness and interest of the street scene, wherever they are. Materials like cobbles can reduce speed by both visual perception and by the physical characteristics, or so say the new Scottish Government street design guidelines. I would certainly favour their reinstatement – ie the informal crossings – at the earliest, as I feel traffic speeds have increased since their removal and drivers are now much less likely to stop for pedestrians, if at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paradoxically beneath the current road surface lie stretches of the original cobbled road, which in places must be fairly intact. I wonder if it is of historical or archaeological interest and if anyone has ever been given the opportunity to inspect it? Roads, pavements and street surfaces are as much part of the historical landscape as the buildings. Inverness had granite cobbles that once paved the streets of the city centre. They were overlaid between the First and Second World Wars, then excavated over a period of time over the past 10 years as part of the city\u2019s Streetscape Scheme. However they were not discarded. In 2010 they were incorporated in the Housing Expo at Lilton Leys. The use of the City\u2019s historic setts and cobbles was naturally welcomed by the local Architectural Association, who just like me love blending the old with the new. In environmental terms reclaiming materials is the smart thing to do. But listen to this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Socially we are reclaiming the public realm for pedestrians and residents and using these materials to reduce the impact of cars, rebuilding a sense of community. In terms of character and identity we are reclaiming part of the town\u2019s history.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A load of old cobbles you might say? Or food for thought?<\/p>\n\n\n\nhttps:\/\/www.pinterest.co.uk\/phiiota\/cobbles-unbound-sets-for-life\/<\/a>\n\n\n\nhttps:\/\/www.pinterest.co.uk\/phiiota\/cobbles-unbound-sets-for-life\/<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the defining characteristics of the Dunbar streetscene are the relatively wide pavements along with the cobbled sets that accent the pavement edges, pattern the parking bays and, until recently, framed the pedestrian crossings. The street scheme is relatively new, and possibly, with the exception of the exaggerated lighting scheme which is unnecessarily bright … Continue reading Repair pavements and crossings<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion","category-ten-things-to-improve-dunbar"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":684,"url":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/dunbar-high-street-crossings-drivers-1-pedestrians-0\/","url_meta":{"origin":1196,"position":0},"title":"Dunbar High Street Crossings – another win win for drivers","author":"templar","date":"January 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Not content with allowing the otherwise attractive cobbled sets forming the crossings on Dunbar's Historic High Street to fall into disrepair, East Lothian Council have finally decided to remove them. The reasoning is a bit opaque. No doubt\u00a0pedestrians were asked about this in an unrepresentative vox pop survey of resident's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/topics\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1164,"url":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/ten-things-to-improve-our-high-street\/","url_meta":{"origin":1196,"position":1},"title":"Ten things to improve Dunbar High Street","author":"templar","date":"August 29, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"There are literally dozens and dozens of ways to improve our High Streets and as you would expect some people have thought about this at greater length than me, so I am not going to give you an orthodox list. Some of the issues that are faced are structural and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Opinion"","block_context":{"text":"Opinion","link":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/topics\/opinion\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":571,"url":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/trees-are-not-just-for-city-folk\/","url_meta":{"origin":1196,"position":2},"title":"Trees are not just for city folk","author":"templar","date":"August 4, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"There is a view that folk that live in rural towns or perhaps by the sea, don't need trees lining their streets. For these folk probably have large gardens or can within short walking distances - or more likely these days a car journey - take a stroll in real\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/topics\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Street trees multi benefit communities","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/files\/2012\/08\/street-trees-multi-benefit-communities-300x257.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1651,"url":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/daft-dunbar\/","url_meta":{"origin":1196,"position":3},"title":"Daft Dunbar","author":"templar","date":"February 20, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 By the way - they're setts (regularised, squared off) not cobbles (irregular, round). I stand corrected. A muddled end of year spend a few years back has caused much synthetic rage and minor headaches for local transport officers. There was little or no consultation on the removal of most\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/topics\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/files\/2013\/03\/cobbles.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/files\/2013\/03\/cobbles.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/files\/2013\/03\/cobbles.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/files\/2013\/03\/cobbles.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/files\/2013\/03\/cobbles.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1452,"url":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/high-street-voice\/","url_meta":{"origin":1196,"position":4},"title":"High Street Voice","author":"templar","date":"October 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"High Street Voice - Dunbar was launched yesterday evening, with a view to any parties interested in getting a Dunbar High Street Residents Association to sign up. As well as a representative voice, I would like to see the association set up a factoring scheme to facilitate essential residential property\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/topics\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1442,"url":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/its-aboot-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":1196,"position":5},"title":"Its aboot time","author":"templar","date":"October 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It did not take Police Scotland long to review traffic warden services, and the plan, entirely expected, is to remove them as a police responsibility, with in all likelihood the local authority taking on the role. If you were paying attention you may have noticed that parking offences were decriminalised\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/topics\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Illegal parking is rife - that is a problem","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/files\/2012\/07\/DSC_0052-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1196"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1196\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2586,"href":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1196\/revisions\/2586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourlocality.org\/abbeylands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}