Campaigners have welcomed the Scottish Parliament’s decision to implement a nationwide footway parking ban. Continue reading Scotland becomes first UK nation to ban pavement parking
Tag: Roads
City parking proposals ‘respond to community concerns’
Telford to become a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ)
Councillors have approved recommendations to progress proposals addressing parking pressures across Edinburgh, following the publication of findings from a citywide strategic review of parking.
The decision will see 25 new Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs) created across the city and a host of Priority Parking Areas will also be introduced.
Continue reading City parking proposals ‘respond to community concerns’
Holyrood committee asks: Are Scotland’s roads properly funded?
The Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee is looking for views from a wide range of road users on the effectiveness of the current approach to road maintenance in Scotland and whether current funding levels are sufficient. Continue reading Holyrood committee asks: Are Scotland’s roads properly funded?
Roll up, roll up to see Candlemaker Row in a new light
Candlemaker Row will be transformed this Sunday as part of a consultation on major proposals to reshape the surrounding area.
Continue reading Roll up, roll up to see Candlemaker Row in a new light
Scottish Government acts to cut disruption on roads and pavements
Communities will face less disruption with new standards to manage road works and speed up the installation of fibre broadband. A national code of practice will see the standardisation of faster and more modern techniques for trench digging for improving utility services.
The development of more compact cables has seen modern techniques, such as requiring narrower holes and less excavation required, increasing the speed of delivery. The technique also safeguards the roads by reducing the need for return visits to repair failed trenches.
As well as broadband cable installation, this will mean shorter periods of disruption for power, water and gas works who use this technique.
Connectivity Minister Paul Wheelhouse (above) visited a Virgin Media dig to see a new broadband installation taking place and discuss the new code with the installation team. He said: “The Scottish Government has listened to the views of companies who tell us that narrow trenching can help companies deliver fibre broadband faster and with less disruption to communities.
“We understand that utility companies operate in a competitive market. They are therefore constantly looking for ways to improve their efficiency and to reduce their costs in order to keep ahead of their competition. This has led to innovation in how infrastructure, such as broadband, is deployed.
“We have updated the code to enable narrow trenching to take place consistently, and in a manner which protects our pavements and road network, and this has the added benefit that will result in the faster deployment of broadband across Scotland and a reduction in the disruption communities face during the roll out itself.”
Julie Agnew, Regional Director for Scotland at Virgin Media, said: “As Virgin Media continues to invest in bringing ultrafast broadband to more areas of Scotland, this new code gives much needed clarity for networks to be built in a fast, flexible and efficient way with minimal disruption.
“We thank the Scottish Government for working with us and creating an environment that encourages and supports broadband builders like Virgin Media.”
The Code of Practice comes into force immediately.
More Traffic Misery – Part 312
With the disruptive road works on Queensferry Road still fresh in the memory, here’s some more great news for local residents …
Scottish Gas Networks are commencing a major set of works which will affect parts of Cramond and Davidson’s Mains – with a knock-on effect on neighbouring communities – until NOVEMBER. Continue reading More Traffic Misery – Part 312
Here we go again: Disruption expected as Trams to Newhaven prep work commences …
… and there’s major road resurfacing too
Contractors preparing to begin construction as part of the Trams to Newhaven project will carry out investigation works at various points on the route from later this month.
Ground and site investigation work has been programmed for a number of locations between York Place and Newhaven, starting in Lindsay Road in the week commencing 20 May 2019. Continue reading Here we go again: Disruption expected as Trams to Newhaven prep work commences …
Open Streets: ‘a signal of our intent’
Transport and Environment Convener, Councillor Lesley Macinnes, writes about the inaugural Open Streets event and how it will inform plans for the city centre:
Last weekend we made history in Edinburgh. On Sunday we became the first city in the UK to join the international ‘Open Streets’ movement.
The High Street is free of cars, vans and buses and thronging with visitors throughout August, but to experience the Canongate, Victoria Street or Cockburn Street as peaceful, pedestrianised spaces is something else entirely.
I’m sure anyone who ventured into the Old Town will have been struck, like me, by the noticeable sense of calm that had descended upon the loop of Open Streets, even though thousands were strolling through the area. Instead of traffic-dominated thoroughfares they became places for conversation, enjoyment and play.
The beautiful, colourful backdrop of Victoria Street was revivified in the absence of queues of traffic, the Canongate, usually filled with cars and buses, was the site of open-air yoga and the Lawnmarket became a place to stroll and enjoy the beautiful, historic buildings.
Of course, this was a wonderful experience to which so many have responded very positively. Over the next year and a half these monthly events will bring a new vibrancy to Edinburgh’s Old Town, letting people experience our historic centre in a completely new way. But what does it mean to the future of the city?
This is about so much more than closing roads to cars. Open Streets is a signal of our intent to create a people-friendly environment, taking a holistic rather than purely transport-led approach, incorporating placemaking, well-being and economic growth.
Over the next 18 months we will be able to monitor the changes that will gradually develop in response to the initiative, learning from that understanding as we grow and develop our vision for the city centre.
Later this week we will publish a suite of reports which significantly moves forward our ambition for change, in particular reports on City Centre Transformation, Low Emission Zones and the City Mobility Plan, all of which are designed to re-negotiate the contract we have, as citizens and businesses, with the Capital.
We want to step into the future with confidence, a future where transport and environmental choices help to support continued economic success at the same time as improving people’s lives.
We know, from extensive consultation, that many understand clearly that the status quo is no longer an option, that radical change is needed to build resilience.
Like other cities, we face enormous challenges from population growth, air pollution, increased car use and the fast-paced tempo of modern life.
I want to be clear that the forthcoming changes are for the people of Edinburgh – we want to equip future generations to face these challenges, to improve quality of life and to conserve the city’s heritage for centuries to come.
As part of this we want to ensure a truly inclusive, accessible centre. This isn’t about putting up walls – we know that many people with mobility issues rely on cars and taxis and, as was the case with Open Streets, we want to make sure that this continues.
But, for our own sakes, we can no longer ignore increasingly urgent conversations around the climate change, air pollution and public health – and we want to be part of the solution.
Sunday’s Open Streets event was an illustration, an initial sketch, of what we want to do, and it’s thanks to the extremely hard work and support of Council officers, partners, community groups and residents that it was able to take place.
Over the coming months I look forward to many more citizens and visitors joining us to reclaim the streets, helping us to better understand how we can reshape and transform the city for everyone’s benefit – and for other cities to follow suit.
Twenty’s plenty? Roadside education in Inverleith
Continue reading Twenty’s plenty? Roadside education in Inverleith
Holyrood committee backs Transport Bill … but calls for clarity
Holyrood’s Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee has endorsed the general principles of the Transport (Scotland) Bill but has warned that some of the proposed measures will stretch the financial rrsources of cash-strapped local councils.
Continue reading Holyrood committee backs Transport Bill … but calls for clarity