Gentle touches of late afternon sun on the brae

The Brae hits the P&J

The Brae crossing that is not a crossing receives coverage in the P&J today here's what Liz has to say:

“The safety officer has now recommended that the crossing is placed right at the bottom of the Brae although I find it difficult to understand how that makes it safer when it is a wider part of the street. I think there could also be some form of physical barrier to stop people using the rumble strip as a crossing.”

More from the article and a picture here.

Brae chains - symptomatic of a malise in the system?

The new brae chains (& padlocks) have prompted an exasperated response on the Nairn Matters blog. This observer thinks that the well-crafted words will resonate with many worried about the brae road layout. It's all over to be read on More madness on the brae.

Shop available on the brae from April

Let's hope there's a quick response when the premises becomes available, there's been quite a lot of new retail activity in the High/Leopold Street recently and we don't want to see things going the other way.

'Retail Unit for Rental. Currently operating as a popular hairdressing salon but easily adapted for other trading activities. A well maintained property on a busy High Street location in the centre of Nairn. ' More information on HSPC. Thanks to the Gurnite property watcher that sent this in.

Brae danger - lessons to be learned for streetscape 2010?

The money spent on the brae was meant to make the area safer for pedestrians but this picture illustrates what now happens regularly. If a large vehicle is in the loading bay then quite often other lorries and vans have to mount the pavement to pass. The lorry in the bay had parked as close to the kerb as possible too. Quite often vehicles passing will not only be on the pavement but very clost to the fabric of buildings on the other side of the street. We've gurned about this before and wonder if one day part of this improvement will simply have to be ripped up and restored to the original layout?

The picture will enlarge (please note we have obscured any marks that would identify this lorry, it isn't the fault of the drivers, what are they supposed to do when they see that there isn't enough room to get by - reverse out onto the A96 and look for another route?)

Let's hope that the road will be left wide enough in other parts of the High Street to avoid this situation being repeated as the next phase of the streetscape gets started in the summer of 2010.

N.B. Previous Gurn article and comments about the Streetscape project here.

The brae by twilight

Picture will enlarge.

Still no room to get by

Despite the lorry driver trying out a bit of the pavement on the brae the car behind still couldn't proceed. The brae was meant to be safer now wasn't it?

Nairn in the spotlight

A visitor to Nairn has left a comment on the new Brae thread.
Bill McDonald is a first time visitor to Nairn and feels the improvements to the Brae are worthwhile, but it is let down by:

‘the shabbiness of some of the store frontages. 

As a first timer I entered Nairn with a sense of foreboding when greeted by the tatty superstore and associated buildings but soon became charmed by the open spaces and beaches. 

I feel the shopping facilities badly let down a jewel on the Moray coast - I found the staff generally helpful but the shops often overpriced and shabby’! 


We have often aired views on the Gurn with regard the poor state of the town and what the visitor must think. Here we have a visitor’s impression and it’s not very good when it comes to our High Street.
The Gurn would like to thank Bill for his honest opinions and hopes that he will indeed return as a visitor to Nairn.

Open Brae

Months of work and disruption, thousands and thousands of pounds spent, and the Brae is finally open to traffic. The now narrowed road has a speed limit of 20mph and sports pavement mounted signage (Will this prove a hazard for pedestrians?).
The East bound A96 is going to be extremely disrupted once Gordon Street is closed for the next phase of the streetscaping work, when traffic wanting to get to the High Street will be forced to use the Brae and will have to queue for a right turn on the A96. Businesses on the Brae suffered badly through the months of work; will business take a downturn for the whole High Street in the autumn with what will be limited access?
Still as you may see, the Brae is now greatly improved!

Brae Heart

It’s good to see that humour still exists with Nairn bookshop displaying a children’s book in their window that clearly relates to the scene outside the shop.
The disruption has been horrendous with one trader reporting that he has seen his passing trade fall away as folk either avoided the Brae or scuttled past the shops as fast as they could, no doubt the same is true for other businesses.
Autumn sees the next part of the work kick off which is in Gordon Street. Fun and games as that will mean all High Street traffic will have to be diverted up the newly refurbished Brae!

Update: I've been informed that the work on Gordon Street might well start directly after the Brae work is finished. Just watch for increased A96 congestion as traffic trying to turn right into the Brae to get to the High Street backs up on the A96.

Brae days

New hours for Ross Outdoors Ltd on the Brae.

As scheduled the brae is closed