Thursday, April 30, 2015

December 22, 2012

The Lochside Press News from around the Clyde sea lochs
SPT tried to portray it as the panacea for problems with Kilcreggan s ferry link to Gourock, while the Scottish Government has long been demanding investment in it as a shovel-ready infrastructure project.
But it s hard to imagine that any planners could approve professional courier such a huge, ugly structure next to the village s most iconic structure, and if they did, few locals would share the consultants confidence that it will survive the waves and tides on that shore.
When Clydelink sailinsg are cancelled because of weather, it is normally strong winds at Gourock that are cited so if the study s proposals went ahead, 500,000 of public money would be spent without making the ferry service much more reliable.
The professional courier plans for Dunoon have predictably attracted most of the speculation, although since the figure of 2m has regularly been bandied about we can only assume that Kilcreggan would have been included as well.
There is still enormous pressure for a car ferry service to be reinstated at Dunoon, and the Herald has speculated that constituency MSP Mike Russell would be electoral toast if he supported pontoons instead.
The Cowal Courier speculated that the pontoons study would be unveiled by Nicola Sturgeon when she visited Dunoon last month, professional courier only for the visit to be cancelled because, ironically, ferries were cancelled and roads closed professional courier by bad weather.
Shovel-ready professional courier ? Hardly. Before any more money is wasted, our local and national politicians need to realize that the problem is not our piers, which have been doing service for many decades, but small, light boats which are just not suited to these waters.
December 22, 2012 • 12:45 pm
As a resident of Cove, and wheelchair user, I corresponded with SPT over the tendering process and the replacement ferry. The tender specifications said all the right things about mobility access (pushchairs, walking difficulties, wheelchair use), but, as with many things, the temptation of making 200+k savings was just too much and the specifications were ignored professional courier in various respects including accessibility. Wthin the correspondence, SPT mentioned professional courier that future use of pontoons was being considered. The purpose of my making this comment is the final sentence in your news article, where you say that the problem is not our piers, professional courier but the unsuitability of small light boats in local waters. Whilst the boat problem is undoubtedly true and the coming winter weather is about to prove that over and over again – professional courier please be aware that there is a problem professional courier for wheelchair users and others with mobility issues connected with the piers, which pontoons would deal with. Andrew
I seem to recall a rather large admiralty professional courier pier at Cove rd Gourock albeit a bit rundown which could be used for ferries with a bit of upgrade. Historicallyu Cardwell BAy was used for small hovercraft as well so there are options.
Fair point Andrew, and I remember a rather bogus argument about access being made in favour of the Seabus. How is current access at Gourock though? If this carefully hidden study says pontoons there are too expensive, is there any point even thinkng about Kilcreggan? Happy to be corrected on that. Can’t help wondering though how long certain people have known about this and chosen to carry on giving a false impression professional courier that it’s a magic cure all,
Absolutely no point in doing anything to improve accessat Kilcreggan, without also fixing any access problemsGourock. I’m not being flippant it’s a serious issue but, as I’ve never got further than the end of the pier at Kilcreggan, I don’t know what access professional courier is possible at Gourock. But, for those who know that landing, professional courier the question is what difference the tides make to the slope/gradient of the ramp between boat and pier, and whether a pontoon or some other measure is best to counteract that variation between high tide and low tide. I also understand that there are lots of steps in all circumstances at the Gourock pier, so that would also be an issue for wheelchair users, pushchair pushers and people with mobility difficulties. We got someone to the moon more than 40 years ago now, Virgin Space is about to launch commercial flights into the stratosphere, but getting an accessible ferry service from Kilcreggan to Gourock (or even just a regular service on inaccessible professional courier ferries) …………………….etc, etc
I find it pretty depressing that a report like this makes no mention of the fact the whole Gourock seafront is due to be redeveloped at huge cost in the next few years, or that there may be cost saving available from combining this activity with construction of a durable ferry quay that is pleasing to behold and accessible by all. The feeble offering of a pontoon placed exactly where the existing boarding steps are is risible.
Something not addressed by the s

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