SIR, – With reference to the closing of Aberdeen Prison, Alex Salmond is showing his true colours, and he is no friend of Aberdeen. First, he cancels the Aberdeen-Edinburgh airport rail link (which would have been a great benefit to us flight starved/overcharged Aberdonians). Now, he closes our prison. Both are cynical political decisions. The new super-prison will reward his hardcore SNP supporters in Peterhead. It is a disastrous proposal.
Sadly, anyone can end up in jail; one mistake is all it takes to feel the wrath and retribution of the Victorian-minded criminal justice system. Craiginches Prison houses fewer serious offenders and allows friends and family to visit and assist with the rehabilitation process. Now, these low-risk inmates will be herded into a super-jail along with sex offenders and murderers.
How will this assist society? It will not. The isolation will harden the petty criminals, increase suicides – and, of course, family and friends will suffer terribly.
It has been said that a society can be judged by how it treats its prisoners. I trust that Mr Salmond’s stewardship will be judged appropriately.
Lance Black, Seafield Road, Aberdeen.
SIR, – The rising price of oil on the world market during the last two years has meant that we have all suffered. That’s very bad news for car drivers, but dire for operators of lorries and vans – and worst of all for hauliers, whose entire business is to move other people’s goods. Fuel now represents almost 40% of their total operating costs.
Sadly, the problems are compounded in the UK by our ultra-high tax regime. Duty on diesel is 50p a litre, compared with a European average of 25p. A single 40-tonne lorry, doing about seven miles to the gallon, now faces an annual fuel bill of between £40,000 and £45,000.
The price of diesel, and the tax paid on it, impacts on the whole population. It is an ingredient in the price of everything. That is why it is so important for the Government to change its tax strategy and reduce the level of duty paid by commercial vehicle operators – not just for the benefit of those operators, but for all of us as consumers. High diesel prices stoke inflation.
Gavin Scott, head of policy – Scotland, Freight Transport Association,
Melville Terrace, Stirling.
SIR, – I am shocked to read the story in the Press and Journal on June 5. I regularly walk in this area and have been watching and patiently waiting for this work to be satisfactorily completed. It is nothing short of a public disgrace that Balfour Beatty, on behalf of Scottish Water, has desecrated the beachfront and it is now down to the public to come up with some kind of brainwave to disguise these hideous concrete structures.
The surface on the new pedestrian Cowie Bridge is extremely poor, already showing wear and tear, and the pavements in both directions are like a patchwork quilt, a mixture of tarmac and concrete. The top surface is a mass of deep cracks from end to end.
The planning authority has surely been involved from beginning to end of this project, acting as the public guardian – and if not, why not?
Scottish Water should be brought to account and required to renew the road and pavement surfaces all along the beachfront that they have damaged, and provide total funding to have these horrid structures disguised.
Mrs J. Duncan,
Farburn Drive,
Stonehaven.
SIR, – Stagecoach have stopped running the No. 10 Aberdeen-Inverness bus service via Aberdeen Airport. The replacement offered is to change buses at Blackburn.
For those of us living north of Aberdeen, this is a retrograde step. While all the world is progressing towards integrated public transport to encourage people to leave the car at home, we are making it worse. With all the hassle of air travel these days, adding the uncertainty of catching a connecting bus at Blackburn, and waiting in the rain outside the hotel there, means that we shall be using our car in the future.
No doubt Stagecoach have operating reasons for making this change, but they are certainly not thinking of their passengers or helping to improve the transport offered to the public. Think again, Stagecoach – please!
Ron Smith,
Rhus, Banff Road,
Keith.
SIR, – The lack of progress in improving public transport in and around Aberdeen cannot be laid at the door of Road Sense. They, like many stakeholders, including community councils, have tried to influence the regional and local transport strategies.
The LTS (Local Transport Strategy 2008-12) promises a rail action plan. However, proposals to improve the Aberdeen-Inverness line are currently with the rail regulator and the outcome is not expected until the autumn of this year.
And Transport Scotland has no plans to open new stations at Newtonhill, Kittybrewster and Tullos/Altens, although these stations were part of the Aberdeen Crossrail proposals. Thus, the only thing that seems to be agreed is a new station at Laurencekirk.
Aberdeen City Council’s vision for the bus service seems to be based on bus improvement measures that include enforcement of existing bus lanes and the introduction of more traffic controls. In return, First Aberdeen will provide a few extra buses with improved passenger information. This hardly represents a transformation of the bus service leading to a significant change in public behaviour to use buses as opposed to cars.
Peter Reiss,
Colthill Circle,
Milltimber, Aberdeen.