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Showing content with the highest reputation on 31/12/17 in all areas

  1. Link says ""For detailed route specific data click any of the graphs"" and it works........well there is then another link to the actual data.
    2 points
  2. Interesting read, it would be great to have first class infrastructure similar to the Faroe islands, we seem to be decades behind the Scandinavians in almost everything. People will be hovering about in flying cars by the time we ever get round to fixed links, then we'll have the last laugh at their silly tunnels.
    1 point
  3. ll

    Inter Island Ferry Service

    Pretty interesting statistics on here: http://www.shetland.gov.uk/ferries/ferryoperationsstatistics.asp Clearly a massive over capacity on all routes and a need for peak pricing.
    1 point
  4. Just out of interest, how many ex-isle residents have you spoken to to come to that conclusion? I think most young leavers will tell you that they leave to go to university/college and/or that they want to live in or near cities/towns. Why? Because it’s a more appealing lifestyle with more educational, career or social opportunities for them. How are fixed links going to change that? Fixed links will give everybody, young and old, access to both mainland and the other isles 24/7, unlike what is inflicted upon us now. Perhaps that will offer a little more to the youths that want to go on to further education or want decent access to a social environment, instead of only having access to the rest of the world during the hours provided. *If* the young folk who left just moved to Lerwick and *if* the primary reason for doing that was because of the cost/hassle of having to use a ferry to get to/from the isles every day then I might be inclined to agree with you. For a lot of young folk though, it’s a lifestyle choice. When they get to a certain age, life in rural areas just doesn’t appeal to them anymore. They want to be right in towns/cities to experience the opportunities they offer, not just to have 24/7 access to them by road. I’m saying all of this as an ex-isles/ex-young person myself. My choice to leave had nothing to do with the transport situation. I’m not saying that’s necessarily the case for everybody but I very much doubt my experience is unique either.
    1 point
  5. Ferry service for north isles is a joke today yes it's windy but can't get off north isles to get to slmg final sale of the year I am disappointed to say the least. It's another reason fixed links need to be brought into play ASAP so the isles as a whole can get into the 21st century so everyday people can get about and do there work.
    1 point
  6. Perhaps SIC should look at what the Faroe Islands have done over the past 50 years and continue to do so. Even as I sit here typing this, the Faroe Islands are busy building yet another new tunnel, which will have three mouths and an undersea roundabout. Once the boring machine has completed its job, which should be sometime next year, it'll be relocated to another part of the islands to bore yet another new tunnel. Both will be over six and a half miles long. They're even considering building a massively long 26km/16-mile tunnel to link the island of Suðuroy to the main island. Seems to have worked for them over the years, and it must be working as they continue to build. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tunnels_of_the_Faroe_Islands
    1 point
  7. Oil and the roll on roll of Ferries arrived almost at the same time creating many jobs, on Yell and Unst also Fetlar. Many of those with good jobs bought and built houses ,some within the islands others moved to the mainland,but it was a time of prosperity that is what kept the islands vibrant. Times are now changing there is no longer (at present anyway) the same level of work in Unst and with fewer jobs in the oil/gas industry at Sullom less prospects available all round. Good news today though regarding North Sea gas which ultimately might bring about a few more jobs. The bottom line is to keep this "vibrancy" in the islands requires jobs. We can build all the tunnels and bridges we want but they will only be a help if there is something to keep and retain the population . shetlander has hit the nail on the head, a bridge/tunnel might see facilities like schools ,care centers ,health centers ect that are already on the islands being relocated to the Mainland creating more unemployment. One other point many who have had the privilege of also having a little croft as well as a job,might because of the Brexit situation find they will be receiving a lot less subsidy in the future,another blow to those trying to survive on the islands. What would Shetland look like if we spend £millions building and constructing tunnels and bridges then the population on those islands dropping.
    1 point
  8. I’d be very surprised if fixed links weren’t the cheaper option in the long run. I don’t think it’s that simple though – as I’ve said before, we’re speaking about huge infrastructure projects that will need a massive capital outlay at the start. Where is that amount of money going to come from? And even if it was on the table today, I’d be willing to bet it’d be impossible to build tunnels to Bressay, Unst, Yell and Whalsay before some of the current ferries/terminals have to be sold for scrap/crumble into the sea. As suuusssiiieee has said, it may all have been feasible 20 or 30 years ago but not now. The problem is that in the time the council/councillors have been chasing the dream of providing fixed links - but with no real prospect of them actually being able to be funded or delivered - no thought has been given to replacing ferries and terminals. 7 years have passed now since councillors decided to throw out plans to build new terminals for Whalsay and look at a fixed link instead. And how far has that progressed since? Nowhere. In all likelihood those terminals would have been finished and open by now. As for whether fixed links would be good or bad for the isles – I have mixed views. The isles have changed a fair bit in my lifetime – and that’s all been in the days of inter-island ferries. Isles folk are travelling to the Mainland a lot more for work (and in some cases the other way around) for shopping, social events etc. I think that’s meant fewer shops, pubs, local employers finding it hard to get folk to work for them etc. I can only imagine that increasing still with fixed links. When they’re already under threat, it’ll be harder still to justify keeping island fire stations, secondary schools, care centres, leisure centres, health centres etc. if (for example) a drive from Symbister or Mid Yell to Brae is cut to less than half an hour. Burra is indeed a case in point. On the other hand, I’m sure they’d benefit island industries, folk who work off the isles, residents who want to socialise on the Mainland etc. But I don’t think they’ll be the depopulation ‘cure all’ that some folk make them out to be.
    1 point
  9. I think tunnels are the way forward if the North Isles are to prosper and thrive. Opportunities must be greater with a fixed link as this will make the island accessible 24/7, businesses can do their work unhindered by weather or mechanical issues, tourists can get to the Isles at any anytime making Yell and Unst far more attractive to visit. This sadly [tunnels] should have been built 30 odd years ago with on onset of North Sea oil, a huge opportunity was missed then to link the Isles. Constant dithering by many councils has lost so much time. Looking into the future you have to weigh up expenditure on terminals, ferries, not to mention fuel which is only going to rocket in price. Long term tunnels have to be the way ahead, it's really a no brainer frankly.
    1 point
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