CUSTOMERS AND SHOPKEEPERS are being left baffled and angered over continued delays to repair work on escalators at the St Giles Centre in Elgin.
For several weeks one of the escalators connecting the two floors of the centre has been out of action – on Monday, however, further chaos ensued as the second escalator was also switched off – leaving people with long detours to reach stores, toilets or the adjoining bus station.
One customer contacted insideMORAY last night to say: “One of the escalators has been out of action for weeks, but things got seriously bad on Monday when the other one was also stopped.
“A notice is telling people not to try and walk up or down the escalators and to use the lift – but that is clearly too small to hold the 13 people it claims to, far less when there are many parents with ATV buggies that are increasingly common.”
The issue has left those arrived at the Bus Station finding their path blocked to the upper level – so having to go back out again, walk to the High Street via North Street and re-enter at the upper level. Likewise those who had entered through the upper level were being forced to walk back to the High Street to make their way to the lower level via North Street and the bus station.
The main complaint was that no explanation over the issue was being provided by Centre management: “No apology has been forthcoming from the management – just a brusque instruction to stay off the broke elevators. Quite the effect this will be happening to trade for stores is not clear – but will not be good.
“They have had long enough to fit a brand new set of escalators never mind fix the faulty ones – and it also begs the question on why a public staircase was not put in place in the first instance.”
Nobody was available from St Giles Centre to speak to insideMORAY last night.