Why companies need to do better for communities before major road closures

It really ought to be ingrained in every action plan whether the work is being done by Fife Council, BT, Scottish Power, Scottish Water or Network Rail, and yet these organisations seem to come up short far too often.

This week, Dysart Road will be closed for up to six months, Next week, all vehicles will be blocked from using Bennochy Bridge for up to 12 months.

Up in Thornton, a proposed 14-month long closure of the main road through the town had to be put on hold such was the community backlash. Only a few months ago, Fife Council got itself into a heck of a fankle as it tried to navigate the anger and backlash over equally disruptive roadworks in Methil.

All of the organisations I’ve mentioned have full-time comms teams -many of them very well paid - who should be on the ball long before a single diversion sign is unloaded from a lorry, but, time after time, we see the same scenario played out.

The closure of Dysart Road - a main arterial route into town - raised the very sort of questions that Scottish Water should have had answered long ago.

“How will customers and deliveries get to my premises?” is a reasonable matter to raise.

Official letters informing businesses of diversions are too often cloaked in jargon and the dullest of corporate language.

One question it didn’t answer was what if a delivery driver heads along Dysart Road and only then realises it is closed. Where does he do a u-turn?

Spaces at the car park at Ravenscraig are also now very limited, but with parking restrictions also in place on the main road, where does that traffic go?

When residents and businesses can’t get simple answers to straight forward questions, it just adds to the sense of frustration.

I’m still bewildered by Network Rail’s Bennochy Bridge diversion. If there is such a thing as the Roadworks Oscars, it has to be a shoe-in as a nominee for the longest way round a town.

The map on the letter which dropped through my door was so small it was difficult to read. I get the thinking to avoid rat runs on all the tight residential streets leading off Victoria Road, but the messaging was poor. Where was the video showing someone driving the route? It may be well known locally, but the more information you give people - and the clearer the explanation behind your thinking - the easier things become.

There has been little backlash to the Bennochy Bridge closure, possibly because we have more options than in Thornton, but I suspect there will be complaints about rat runs, and there will be unexpected pinch points coming the way of councillors, our MSP and MP once the bridge is blocked off.

As for Thornton, Network Rail’s standard approach to informing the community of major works was nothing short of disastrous - hence over 175 locals packing an engagement meeting that bristled with direct questions.

That work is still ongoing and the project is paused to try to minimise a ridiculous 14-month long closure - a timescale largely dictated by utilities companies.

“See when all the utilities were put in, the road wasn’t closed … so why the need when they are taken out?” was a simple question from the floor which has yet to be answered.

I’m sure the “lessons will be learned” response will be issued, but the bottom line is simple. Folk just want them to get it right at the start. Is that so hard to grasp?