Tag: public meeting

“A City where you Don’t Need a Car”

Spokes public meeting, Wednesday 24 May

Speakers

  • Cllr Scott Arthur, Edinburgh City Transport Convener – the Council’s plans
  • Phil Noble, Strategy Manager for Active Travel and Streetspace – more detail on the policy delivery documents, including ATA, the Active Travel Action Plan
  • Adrian Davis, Professor of Transport & Health at Napier Transport Research Unit – he will critique the policies – are they sufficiently ambitious? will they work?
  • … followed by our one-hour panel QA, chaired by Dr Caroline Brown, Spokes member, Transform Scotland policy adviser, transport academic – your chance to interrogate and challenge the speakers

Arrangements

  • Where Augustine United Church 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EL
  • Date Wednesday 24 May
  • Time Starts 7.30, Ends 9.30. Doors open 6.45 for coffee, stalls and chat
  • Queries & Questions Queries, or questions for the speakers, can be emailed to spokes@spokes.org.uk. However, questions in person from audience members are likely to have greatest priority on the night
  • Online We hope to live broadcast on our youtube channel – details nearer the time on Spokes website. We also intend to make the recording available a few days later.

Background

Edinburgh City Council is consulting on a new Active Travel Action Plan (ATAP) and a series of other Mobility Plan ‘delivery documents’ all aimed to support Edinburgh NetZero 2030, and a 30% reduction in car-km by 2030.

Our public meeting will hear from the Council, followed by an expert critique, and then there’s a full hour panel discussion – your opportunity to challenge the speakers.

Do the delivery plans live up to the Council’s ambition to cut car-km 30% by 2030, alongside greatly increased travel by foot, bike and public transport? Will they enable more people to live car-free? Will they lead to speedy implementation? Our meeting is your opportunity to find out!

The ambition “to create a city where you don’t need to own a car to get around,” mentioned in several of the documents (e.g. Parking Action Plan, p8) is very welcome, for reasons of climate, public health, congestion and equalities. Such an ambition is also essential if the Council is to achieve its ultra-tough target to reduce car-km 30% by 2030.

A top cycling takeaway from the draft ATAP is the new focus on main road segregated routes. It says [chap 5],

“The (off road) traffic-free routes will continue to play a vital role, and we will seek to improve their comfort,safety and security. However, we now plan to develop a joined-up network of routes that feel safe to everyone at all times of day. This network will need to use segregated cycle tracks on main roads, as well as unsegregated on-street routes that have low volumes of motor traffic.”

The three highlighted phrases above [our emphases] neatly summarise important major developments, which we strongly welcome, in the Council’s approach to cycling policy, and we urge determined implementation.–

** Spokes: spokes.org.uk; twitter.com/SpokesLothian

Public Meeting: What do YOU want for Cramond Campus?

A reminder of the community meeting being held in Cramond Kirk on Monday!

It will be chaired by the mediator, Keir Bloomer. Keir led the process involving all parties – CBCC and the Brighouse Resident Association.

North Edinburgh Community Festival 2023: Public Meeting on Thursday

Our inaugural festival in May was amazing & the community of North Edinburgh came out in your droves! #northedinfest Now we want to make the festival better!

We need your help to shape next year’s festival. Come to our Public Meeting!

Register here

https://eventbrite.co.uk/e/north-edinburgh-community-festival-open-public-meeting-tickets-469049508707

North Edinburgh Community Festival: Shape the future at public meeting

Our inaugural festival in May was amazing & the community of North Edinburgh came out in your droves!

#northedinfest

Now we want to make the festival better! We need your help to shape the festival for next year, 2023.

Come to our Public Meeting:

Register https://eventbrite.co.uk/e/north-edinburgh-community-festival-open-public-meeting-tickets-469049508707

Cramond Inn…or Cramond Out?

Public Meeting to Discuss the Future of the Cramond Inn –  TONIGHT 7.30 pm

The Cramond Association has arranged a public meeting to bring the local community together to discuss the future of Edinburgh’s historic Cramond Inn which has remained closed since the pandemic. 

Working in partnership with Cramond & Barnton Community Council, the meeting is geared to creating a local action group to get the Inn, owned by brewery company Samuel Smiths, open and functioning again. Speaking at the event will be a representative of Community Shares Scotland to present a ‘model’ for community ownership. 

Chair of the Cramond Association Adam Cumming said: “The ongoing closure of the Cramond Inn is one of the most important current issues of concern both for local people and for the thousands of visitors who regularly visit the Cramond Foreshore. 

“The Inn has always played a historic role in providing an important local focal point for our community, as well as providing a stunning location from which to explore and enjoy the local area. 

“To have its doors shut, with no immediate prospect of reopening is a very sad state of affairs for all of us.  We would like to open a positive dialogue with the Inn’s owners to explore all possibilities of it opening up for business and, once again, being at the heart of our local community.”

The open meeting will take place tonight Monday 24th October at the Millennium Hall at Cramond Kirk Halls, starting at 7.30 pm.

For more information, visit www.cramondassociation.org.uk 

Spokes: Cycling & Transport Policy in the new Edinburgh Council

Spokes Public Meeting

Friday 23 September, 7.30 – 9.30pm

New Transport Convener Cllr Scott Arthur will speak and answer questions at our first in-person public meeting since the covid restrictions ended.

  • Where Augustine United Church 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1EL
  • Date Friday 23 September
  • Time  Starts 7.30, Ends 9.30.  Doors open 6.45 for coffee, stalls and chat
  • Online We are hoping to live-stream and video-record the meeting – details later
  • Queries Email spokes@spokes.org.uk  [questions for the speaker may also be emailed in advance]

Website article … http://www.spokes.org.uk/2022/09/spokesmtg-fri-23-sept-cycling-wider-transport-policy-in-the-new-edinburgh-council/

Tweet here …  Hashtag #SpokesMtg

Further information:

MARTIN McDONNELL [meeting organiser]
Phone: 07884 265071
Email: mcdbristol116@0130318582789

Following the May Council elections, councillors unexpectedly voted in a minority Labour administration, replacing the previous SNP/Labour coalition, and the Labour group then chose Cllr Scott Arthur as new Transport Convener.

We’ve asked Cllr Arthur to speak to our public meeting about the transport policies of the new administration, with particular reference to cycling and active travel.

At the first full-council meeting Cllr Arthur stated that the objective of the administration is to implement the manifesto on which Labour was elected, whilst recognising that working with other parties is essential.

At the first Transport Committee, Cllr Arthur said that his top personal motivations as Convener are:

The #NetZero2030 policy

The policy to reduce car-km 30% by 2030

Cleaning the city, not just the #CityCentre

The wellbeing of Council staff

Our meeting gives you the opportunity to question Cllr Arthur on administration policies and his intentions as convener – and how realistic they are, given that the administration is a minority one. This is discussed further in our website article.

After Cllr Arthur’s presentation, there will be a full opportunity for questions and discussion, hosted by Kirsty Lewin of Spokes Porty.
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