Dundee council chiefs have been urged to break the “vandalism, repair, and repeat” cycle as it’s revealed bus shelter maintenance could cost half a million pounds.
The local authority estimates it is facing a £480,000 bill over the next six years to pay for repairs to smashed and vandalised bus shelters across the city.
Bosses are now looking for a contractor to provide glazing and repair services for the 348 shelters they manage in Dundee.
About 30 of the shelters are fitted with polycarbonate and the rest with toughened glass.
But West End councillor Fraser Macpherson has called on council bosses to adopt some “blue-sky thinking” to address the vandalism problem.
‘Imaginative approach needed’
The Dundee Liberal Democrat group leader said: “We’ve gone through the cycle of vandalism, repair, and repeat.
“There is one particular bus shelter in Dundee which was repaired and then smashed again within 24 hours.
“We’ve raised with (council chiefs) the need for a more imaginative approach to bus shelters and looking again at alternatives to both glass and polycarbonate.
“There’s a real need for some blue-skies thinking on this.
“It’s all very well looking to procure the maintenance of bus shelters but we have come to the stage that, given the repeated vandalism, the current materials aren’t up to the job.”
Public call for alternatives
News of the £480k price tag for Dundee bus shelter repairs also sparked suggestions from members of the public on how best to address the problem.
Commenting on an Evening Telegraph Facebook post, Emma Harris wrote: “Don’t replace them with glass ones again.
“They may look nice but they are just going to continue to be smashed.
“Put clear plastic windows instead. They will become less clear over time with weathering but they won’t smash and won’t have to be replaced nearly as often.
“Or as others have said, just have all metal shelters.”
Robert Adamson added: “Put metal in them like in Fintry and Whitfield, it’s more cost effective to clean graffiti off them than replace glass that will be broken again within a few weeks.”
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