It is just 18 months since everyone was seething over the long-running road works in Market Street, surely one of the busiest streets in Aberdeen city centre. When the work was finally completed everyone breathed a sigh of relief – particularly those who found themselves trying to conduct a business in the middle of the chaos. Read More...

The number of deaths and serious injuries on Scotland's roads fell to their lowest level for more than 50 years in 2007, according to latest statistics. Read More...

Figures just released by the Scottish Government show Scotland had a current budget surplus in the last two financial years. The most recent surplus is said to be £837 million, compared with a UK deficit of £4.3 billion. Read More...

Are we actually going to see some action over one of Scotland's worst traffic black spots? The infamous Haudagain roundabout has been accused of costing the country between £15 and £30 million in lost time, delayed deliveries and wasted fuel, let alone the undoubted diversion of trade away from Aberdeen.

Anyone who lives in the area is aware that the Haudagain is an undoubted disincentive to travelling into the city centre to do business. Suddenly, doing business elsewhere, or on the internet, seems much more attractive.

So we have a proposed solution. But will it work?

The solution being put forward is not a flyover. It does not even involve any changes to the existing Haudagain roundabout!
In short it is the cheapest of the options.

Most of the people I have spoken to reckoned the junction needed a flyover to work better. But the argument against a flyover was that it would be a massive structure like the Friarton Bridge!

I have heard of exaggeration, but, frankly, that is ridiculous!

The Friarton Bridge runs high above the Tay Valley outside Perth. A flyover need be no more than, say 20 feet above the surface or, in the case of an underpass it could even be at ground level.

The proposed scheme is to do nothing with the Haudagain roundabout. Instead the transport planners propose to add two new traffic light controlled junctions on the A90 and A96. (Yes, I know what you are thinking... 'isn't that going to make things worse?"). These two new junctions will be connected by a link road through Middlefield.

What we wanted to see was an effective and radical solution that befits a country and a region that wishes to demonstrate a determination to be a "competitive place" for international business and more world headquarters to locate.

Instead, I can see potential international investors continuing to shake their heads in disbelief at this example of our inability to really tackle our transport infrastructure needs, as they continue to hit the interminable queues on the way to and from our disconnected international airport.

I there is not a rethink on the plans, all I can fervently (and genuinely) hope is that I am proven wrong and that it works a treat. But, I am not confident.

Donald Trump added an element of show business to the normally staid atmosphere of a public inquiry. His motorcade arrived at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre on Tuesday and the star of the show strode through the door, surrounded by some 40 television cameras, journalists and photographers. Read More...

The Accounts Commission report into the financial state of Aberdeen City Council is yet another blow to Aberdeen City and Shire's reputation, coming, as it does, hot on the heels of the Trump debacle. Read More...

Sounds a bit like a promotion for a competition, doesn't it? But we could all be having fun with our money soon, even if we only have loose change. Read More...

Isn't it funny how the Prime Minister and Chancellor suddenly remember the importance of Aberdeen as the centre of the UK oil and gas industry when they need a favour? Where were they when the industry was calling for help to extend the life of the North Sea? Where were they when the industry was pleading for an equitable tax regime? Where were they when we were pleading for investment in our infrastructure to support the industry? Read More...

I normally don't pay a huge amount of attention to email funnies, but this one I did like. See what you think. Read More...

The rally yesterday - albeit organised by the Labour Party - cannot be dismissed as purely a political stunt. It shows the depth of anger in the city about the £27 million cuts and how they will impact on the most vulnerable members of Aberdeen's society. It matters not whether it is Aberdeen City Council who have brought this financial crisis on, or whether it is a desperately unfair system that means Aberdeen gets £320 less per head than any other local authority in Scotland. Read More...

It seems there is more to these £27 million cuts in Aberdeen City than meets the eye. Many of us may take issue with the services that the councillors have chosen as the target for their axe, but there seems to be a basic unfairness in the way Aberdeen City Council is funded. Read More...

Aberdeen City Council's announcement of £27 million of cuts in its budget has caused shock tremors throughout the city and further afield.

The initial headlines concentrated on the loss of the Bon Accord Baths and the Lynx Ice Rink. However, as time has gone on, there has been growing shock at how deeply the cuts may impact on Aberdeen's most vulnerable citizens. Read More...

You have to hand it to the politicians. They really know how to screw things up good and proper sometimes. Donald Trump is clearly not a man known for having endless patience. He wanted to build "the world's greatest links golf course" here in the North East of Scotland.

I'm sure that even he would not have expected the proposal to get the green light without due scrutiny. But he could never have expected to get lost in the dither and prevarication that is the British planning system. Read More...

Patio heaters are the latest target for the beuocrats in the EU. Apparently they are not environmentally friendly enough. But, are there not issues about restricting personal freedom? Read More...

Which is the bigger oil producer? Kuwait or the UK? The answer may surprise you. It also raises questions about why our politicians are not supporting and sustaining the North Sea industry for the future.
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The National Planning Framework has gone out for consultation. It identifies nine infrastructure developments of national significance. Guess what? None of them are in Aberdeen City and Shire! Read More...

Judging by the letters and columns in the newspapers, I am not the the only one who is watching the ever unfolding Trump saga with growing disbelief.

First Aberdeenshire Council get themselves into a total guddle, because a minority committee rejects a planning application. The majority of the councillors are apparently in favour, but the council is unable to refer the decision for ratification by the full council. Now when the £1 billion plan looks like it has been saved by the Scottish Government, other politicians now pop out of the woodwork desperate to stick more spokes in the wheel and, potentially, derail the plan. Read More...

The removal of Councillor Martin Ford from the chairmanship of the Infrastructure Services Committee and the decision that major projects must be capable of consideration by the full council go some way to sorting out the Trump mess at Aberdeenshire Council. We can also take heart from the support demonstrated by the full council for the Trump International Golf Links Scotland development. Read More...

It is no exaggeration to say that the credibility of Aberdeenshire Council is on the line as a result of the Trump International Golf Links Scotland debacle. How on earth can a council allow seven councillors to halt a £1.5 million project? That's only around 10% of the councillors on Aberdeenshire Council! Read More...

Donald Trump has confirmed that he will not appeal Aberdeenshire Council's extraordinary decision of just seven councillors to refuse planning permission for the Trump International Golf Links Scotland development. Reports say he is already talking to landowners at an alternative site in Northern Ireland. Read More...

Why would you turn down the potential of a £1 billion investment to create a prestigious development that would not only draw thousands of visitors to Aberdeen City and Shire, but also focus international attention on the quality of the environment and services here in the North East? Read More...

The Herald has come up with the answers to blast Kelvin MacKenzie's outrageous anti-Scots outburst on the BBC Question Time programme. Read More...

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is urging people to take special care following the changing of the clocks early on Sunday morning. Indeed RoSPA goes further and is calling for the Government to keep the clocks one hour forward. RoSPA claim this would save 450 lives and serious injuries each year.

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Kelvin McKenzie's outburst on the BBC Question Time programme where he said that the Scots love to spend (Britain's) money but don't like to earn it, is the sort of racist comment that fuels the drive towards Scottish independence. Read More...

The Offshore Europe conference and exhibition opens in Aberdeen today, with delegates from a hundred countries converging on the city for the biggest oil exhibition outside the USA. True to form, if you are not in Aberdeen you probably don't know it is happening. That's a shame, because the role of North Sea Oil in underpinning the UK economy is something that is all too easily forgotten. Read More...

Scottish Ministers have formally adopted the title Scottish Government to replace the term Scottish Executive as an expression of corporate identity. Read More...

At the time when the Offshore Europe Exhibition is about to open its doors, the news that Aberdeen will finally have a direct air link with Houston, Texas, starting in January is excellent news. Read More...

An expert group that will advise the government on road safety issues was announced yesterday by Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson. Read More...

Transport seems to be constantly in the headlines in Aberdeen. Perhaps it is no wonder considering how our transport infrastructure was largely ignored during the period when the North Sea Oil industry baled out UK plc. Read More...

The Scottish Government has put forward its proposals for a referendum on independence, with the launch of what it calls Scotland's Future: A National Conversation. Read More...

Well done to all the lads and lassies at Newton Dee Bakery which has been nominated for Local Hero 2007 in celebrity chef Gary Rhodes' UKTV award scheme. Read More...

The First Minister's decision to set up a Scottish Broadcasting Commission has to be a step in the right direction. Read More...

Being involved in a near miss involving four cars at the Kingswells roundabout this morning highlights the risks that impatient drivers are taking with their safety and others... and with endorsements on their licences. Read More...

The news that Glasgow is likely to be the Scottish centre for the UK Government's proposed Energy Technologies Institute is completely illogical. It is like establishing an institute of crofting research in Swindon, or putting a financial services institute in Barra. Read More...

The announcement by the Minister for Transport, Stewart Stevenson, that the completion of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) would not now be until 2012 is extremely disappointing. But it is not surprising.
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Some of us in Aberdeen City and Shire wonder whether people in London and the Home Counties ever bother to stop and think what it was that built our current strong economy? Do they ever wonder where most of this country's energy comes from? Read More...

I simply cannot understand this controversy about Scottish Prime Ministers, which seems to have been whipped up at the time of Gordon Brown's elevation to the Premiership.
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Do you remember summer 2007? Wasn't it great? Long hot days of constant sunshine.
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The £1 billion Trump International Golf Links Scotland plan for Menie Park, just north of Aberdeen, goes before Aberdeenshire Councillors in a few weeks time. So now is the chance to have your say on whether it should be approved - and you can do so in just a few seconds online! Read More...

Remember when Scottish strawberries were a mouth-watering taste of the best soft fruit in the world? Now, if you buy them in supermarkets strawberries are tasteless and unexciting. Why? Read More...

The SNH objection to Donald Trump's proposed Trump International Golf Links must not be allowed to stop the £1 billion development. As Aberdeen City and Shire looks to build on its role as a global centre for energy, what better boost could we have for our economy than the best golf complex in the world? Read More...

The suggestions (probably mischievous) that the Scottish Government is planning to ditch the massively expensive plans for trams and a rail link to Edinburgh Airport in favour of dualling the A9 road to Inverness have been orchestrated to try and create conflict. The schemes should be looked at on their merit. Read More...

The news that Aberdeen is to have a teenager as deputy Lord Provost and that two other councillors in their early 20s will take control of powerful committees on Aberdeen City Council has produced a froth of coverage in the media.
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As Scotland looks forward to the appointment of a new Government, following one of the most exciting election battles for years, the Lib Dem spokesman this morning took a swipe at the SNP. Basically he was sounding remarkably like Gordon Brown, in effect saying that they wouldn't work with anyone who wanted independence. Read More...

The UK North Sea oil and gas industry, which is predominantly controlled and operated out of Aberdeen, provides the UK with 75% of its prime energy needs. By 2020 it is estimated that figure will rise to a staggering 80%. It also sustains something like 400,000 jobs in the UK. Read More...

The news that Esslemont & Macintosh is to close with the loss of more than 100 jobs is sad news for Aberdeen. E&Ms has been a local institution for more than a century and was Aberdeen's last remaining department store with real local roots - albeit that it had been bought out of local ownership by Owen & Owen, only for that company to crash into administration.
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Aberdeen City & Shire was the hot spot of the UK and one of the hottest spots in Europe today with temperatures in the city topping 20C and going even higher in some places. Read More...

Remember when getting a loaf of bread or a pint of milk meant just a short walk if you lived in any North East town (or a short drive in Aberdeenshire) to the local corner shop? Now you probably make a family excursion to your nearest Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury's or Morrisons. Now think about refuelling your car. Remember when refuelling the car was something you did when the fuel light came on? Oh, fuel light on, there's a station... fill up. Read More...

In response to the Evening Express transport survey in which 55% of all respondents identified the Haudagain roundabout (junction of the A90 south, A90 north and A96) as the worst traffic blackspot in Aberdeen and the call by 75% of respondents for a flyover or underpass, the paper reports Transport Minister Tavish Scott as saying that the option is being considered. Read More...

News that a new underground automated parking system is being proposed for Golden Square has to be good news. It potentially solves the problem of the unsightly clutter of parked cars in one of Aberdeen's most magnificent squares, while also providing much-needed additional parking to help re-vitalise our city centre. Read More...

As someone who will usually take roads like the Lecht over to Tomintoul rather than brave the dreaded A96, it was good to hear the First Minister Jack McConnell say that he believed the A96 should "probably" be the next priority for upgrading. (Of course, one has to recognise the timing of his comments, just weeks before a parliamentary election at which he hopes Labour will have enough support for him to serve a new term as First Minister.) Read More...

In something of a U-turn (hope he checked U-turns were allowed before carrying out the manoeuvre) Tavish Scott, the Scottish Transport Minister, has apparently said that the toll tax will not fall on Scotland's road users for at least four years. Read More...

If, like me, you recall a fanfare at Christmas time about the road works on Market Street being completed, you may also have found out how much of a false dawn that was Read More...

Putting 1.25p on a litre of fuel will hit businesses and hauliers in the North East very badly, but it could be seen as road users getting off lightly. Certainly, all the green campaigners who have been baying for motorists to be squeezed till their pips squeaked, have been clamouring to get on the media to tell us so. Read More...

Transport really is making the headlines recently, now with the news that Aberdeen City councillors have approved the 300-metre runway extension at Aberdeen Airport. This clears the way for a massive redevelopment of the airport to allow it to take transatlantic flights and possibly even jumbo jets. Read More...

With road fatalities now topping 61 this year in the North East, there should be growing concern not just from the public but also from the authorities charged with looking after our roads.

Last night, on the commute home I happened to be the car immediately behind a fortunately minor collision but which could easily have been much more serious.

In the absence of proper roads round Aberdeen (roll on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route - 20 years late is better than not at all) we were travelling on a minor route from the Westhill area across to Blackburn. In front was "white van man" driving his vehicle in a manner that only someone who wants to get home from work can.

Despite being in a modern, four wheel drive vehicle and driving reasonably quickly there was no way I could keep up with the determined white van driver.

The inevitable happened. At a 90 degree left hand bend, the white van lost its grip on the road surface and slid into a car coming the other way.

The driver's fault? Of course. He was not driving within the capabilities of the vehicle and the road conditions.

But, if our authorities provided us with roads fit for purpose it would help. That includes the AWPR, but it also means improving other busy roads and it most certainly means resurfacing roads. Over years, inevitably, the passage of thousands of car tyres polishes off the stones that give road surfaces their grip. Resurfacing the road used to be carried out regularly, to ensure that grippy surface was maintained.

Now, resurfacing is a rarity. And that despite road users handing the authorities £36 billion in taxes every year.

The focus in the last few weeks has been very much on transport, with the Eddington Review, the National Transport Strategy in Scotland, the announcement of the draft orders for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route and now the launch of Nestrans Regional Transport Strategy for North East Scotland. Read More...

The Eddington Review has been published and proposes, surprise surprise, a tax per mile for the roads you use. A satellite receiver in your car will track your every move and the government will send you a bill for the roads you use. You can find an e-petition on the Downing Street website.
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Donald Trump's organisation has submitted its plans for what Trump says will be the world's best golf course on the Menie site just north of Aberdeen. Read More...