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Go
with the flow
ARE you planning to take your car to town
when the tall ships are here? Think again and take the easy option
instead -- Sail Shetland is providing a FREE park and ride scheme.
So you can leave the traffic hassles behind with your car at
the former Shell pipe yard and hop on a bus into town. There
will be space for upwards of 800 cars on the site, at the north
end of Lerwick. Buses will be running every five minutes, dropping
off and picking up at Holmsgarth and Stewart Building. They will
operate from early until late, so there will be no excuse for
clogging up the streets with cars. If you really can't keep out
of town, there will be a few parking spaces at the Anderson High
School multi-court. But you will have to walk from there!
Let's try to keep the town centre clear of traffic, for everyone's
comfort and safety.
Proposed
road closures
If approved, these closures will be put into effect from Monday
9th August to Thursday 12th August from 10am to the following
4am. This would leave a few hours through the early morning for
goods vans and other trafffic.
Town
Centre
The main road will be closed from the Stewart Building seafood
centre, right along the Esplanade to the Tolbooth, at the foot
of Church Road.
Commercial Street will be closed from the same junction at Church
Road, right along to the south end of the Fort Charlotte wall.
This will leave the car park below Fort Charlotte open. The Market
Cross and all the smaller roads leading from the street to the
Esplanade will also, of course, be shut to traffic.
Holmsgarth
The service road at Morrison Dock may be closed. It is hoped
it can be kept clear for pedestrians from the weighbridge to
the south end of the Co-op building.
Exemptions
Exempt from the traffic restrictions will be the following: disabled
badge holders, all emergency services and other agencies like
Lerwick Harbour Trust, Scottish Hydro Electric, British Telecom
and the Post Office.
People going on the Bressay Ferry will still be able to get to
the terminal.
Disabled
parking
The Scottish Co-op, one of the event sponsors, is setting aside
the back wall of their small car park, around 14 spaces, for
disabled badge holders. There will also be four spaces at the
end of Alexandra Building and 20 spaces on the seaward side of
the Esplanade, including the bus layby.
Taxis
Taxis can be picked up from ranks outside Alexandra Building
and at the bottom end of Church Road, just above the traffic
lights. At Holmsgarth, taxis will be waiting on the service road
beside Morrison Dock.
Row,
row, row the boat
FOR the Best view of the tall ships, you'll have to take to the
water.
Fair Isle boat builder Ian Best is bringing four of his own yoals
to Lerwick for the event. At least three of these will be available
for anyone to hop aboard for a burl around the boats. The yoal
trips will be absolutely free, but you must provide your own
muscle power. Ian assures us that even novice rowers will manage
the craft, which will be fully equipped with lifejackets. The
self-drive yoals will be based at a pontoon near the Maritime
Exhibition Area, in front of Alexandra Building.
Free
drink all night
That got your attention! The drinks in question are soft. The
beneficiaries will be people who have pledged to stay stone,
cold sober in order to drive friends and families home after
a right hooley in the harbour. The nominated driver scheme already
operates in other parts of the UK. Now Shetland Alcohol Forum
is hoping to have it up and running in the isles in time for
the Cutty Sark fleet's visit. The aim, of course, is to prevent
drinking and driving. The success of the scheme will depend very
much on the backing of pubs where free soft drinks will be administered
to genuine drivers.
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