Police called in as traders party for tram hole turns nasty

Published on Tuesday 7 October 2008 10:01

TRAM workers have been accused of behaving like thugs after trying to break up a "birthday party" for a pothole thrown by fed-up traders.

Businesses on Leith Walk decided to mark the one-year anniversary of an unfilled crater on the busy street by throwing the street party.

Balloons and a homemade banner with the message "Happy Birthday Hole" were tied to barriers around the hole and traders even made a cake.

But the good-natured protest turned sour when tram contractors came along to pop the balloons and attempt to rip down the birthday banner.

When confronted by angry traders, a scuffle broke out and one of the shop owners was knocked over before the contractors backed off. The police were called but no charges have been brought against anyone involved.

Traders later returned to the pothole to attach more balloons to the barriers.

Tram chiefs have launched an investigation into the incident, which involved workers from construction firm Carillion.

Diane Taylor-Wallace, owner of the Snail Mail shop, said: "I'm still a bit shocked, it got nasty really quickly. I was in the shop chatting and I heard the noise of balloons popping and automatically thought some kids had got hold of them.

"So I went out with my best stern granny look but to my amazement I saw all these grown men bursting the balloons.

"We went over to try and stop them and I ended up getting knocked into the hole with one leg in the hole and one on the road.

"There was then all these arms all over me to try and force me out but I think the fact I got my phone out and started to phone the police made them back off."

Traders claim the hole outside Leith Cycle Co has been there for a year with very little sign of work on it in recent months.

Richard Dowsett, owner of Leith Cycle Co, said: "I have never seen anything like this in my life, it is the worst bit of public relations activity you can imagine. That hole has been there over 12 months – this is the most activity I think we've ever seen."

As well as work to move utility pipes, tram firm TIE is about to start work on building tracks at the foot of Leith Walk.

This work was meant to get under way on Monday but has been delayed until tomorrow after the utility works overran.

Keith Hales, of Leith Walk Barber's, said: "It was unbelievable, this was just a simple, peaceful protest and these heavies came in and were being very aggressive.

"This was just meant to be a light-hearted way of bringing attention to the sort of problem we've had here but these guys were just thugs."

A TIE spokesman said: "The safety of the public, our staff and our contractors is paramount in everything we do. TIE is launching a full investigation into the incident to find out from Carillion exactly what happened and the reasons behind the initial complaint.

"Once we have the full facts we will take the necessary action to make sure our work sites remain safe for all concerned."

New Mound traffic plans to be in place at weekend

TEMPORARY traffic management measures on The Mound are set to be made permanent by the weekend in the latest plans for the troubled junction put forward by tram firm TIE.

The move would see a lane for buses kept open westbound on Princes Street, as well as improvements to signals on George Street to improve traffic flow.

The plan is set to be given the go-ahead today by a new "peer review group" of the city's senior transport officials set up by council leader Jenny Dawe, and would be implemented by Sunday.

City leaders are also considering creating a number of temporary park-and-ride sites around the Capital in a bid to help ailing city centre shops.

Emergency action saw Princes Street reopened to buses westbound last week after diversion measures around The Mound junction failed.

The latest plan comes after days of deadlocked talks between traffic planners.

An emergency summit held by council chiefs yesterday agreed to create a new review group, involving top officials from the council, TIE, Lothian Buses and the police, which will scrutinise all traffic management plans and contingency plans before any future changes are given the green light.

Ms Dawe said: 'This is the biggest construction project Scotland has ever seen, and we apologise again for the delays last Wednesday. I can assure drivers and travellers that actions have been taken to ensure we do everything we can to stop this happening again."