Tag: traffic

Motorists: Waverley Bridge diversions from Tuesday

Waverley Bridge one way only for four weeks

wavreley bridge

Vehicles heading south will be diverted away from Waverley Bridge from next week so that further work can begin on pedestrian access improvements around Waverley Station. For four weeks from 6am on Tuesday (24 February), Waverley Bridge will become one way to northbound traffic only.

This is to allow the construction of a setted raised table, or an elevated section of road, on Waverley Bridge between the north and south ramps of Waverley Station.

The works are part of a £1 million programme to improve pedestrian access around Waverley Station.

The first phase of works on Market Street was completed in mid-2014 and included the creation of a temporary taxi rank, new loading areas and a cycle lane.

The second phase, which is ongoing, involves carriageway resurfacing and the widening of footways on Waverley Bridge, as well as the installation of upgraded drainage, kerb realignment, laying of sandstone and Caithness paving and improved pedestrian crossing facilities.

The raised table is designed to act as an informal or uncontrolled pedestrian crossing, encouraging traffic to slow down and making it much easier for pedestrians to cross the Bridge to and from the Station ramps.

Councillor Lesley Hinds, Transport Convener, said: “We appreciate that these works will inevitably cause some inconvenience for traffic heading south and we would ask for the public’s patience while we get this much-needed improvement work completed.

“The new raised section will create an informal pedestrian crossing so that people leaving or arriving at the Station on foot can feel much safer about crossing Waverley Bridge.”

Diversion routes will come into effect for southbound traffic, namely:

Princes Street – North Bridge – High Street – Jeffrey Street – Market Street

or

Princes Street – South St David Street – Queen Street – Hanover Street – The Mound – Market Street

Advance warning signs have been installed on site informing the public of the upcoming works and local businesses have been informed.

The Airlink bus service will remain on Waverley Bridge and the tour buses will be relocated to Market Street.

The taxi rank on Waverley Bridge will remain in its current position with access and egress only in a northbound direction.

 

Skate parks and car parking on Drylaw Telford agenda

skater

The proposed priority parking scheme in Telford and an update on Drylaw skate park feature on next week’s Drylaw Telford Community Council meeting agenda.

The meeting will be held in Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre on Wednesday 25 February at 7pm. All welcome.

Work to start on Foot of the Walk junction

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The next phase of the Leith Programme is due to get under way on Monday (16 February), focusing on upgrading the junction at the Foot of the Walk.

Contractors MacLay Civil Engineering Ltd, who are carrying out the project on the Council’s behalf, have begun preparing the site for the works, which are expected to take 15 weeks to complete.

Aimed at simplifying and improving the junction, the redesign will see four improved pedestrian crossings installed at the bottom of Leith Walk, Duke Street, Great Junction Street and Constitution Street.

Once fully operational the junction will allow pedestrians to cross more easily than at present, enhancing the overall accessibility of the area in line with the design principles of the Leith Programme.

Councillor Lesley Hinds, Transport Convener, said: “We’ve been delighted with the positive feedback we’ve had on how much the Leith Programme has already transformed the look and feel of Leith Walk and we know residents and businesses are keen to see the Foot of the Walk brought up to a similar standard.

“As always, every effort will be made to keep noise and disruption to an absolute minimum and we appreciate the public’s patience while this next phase of work is carried out.”

Traffic management arrangements have been drawn up in order to minimise disruption to traffic flow as far as possible. Constitution Street will be closed at its junction with Leith Walk for the duration of the works and local access to this area will be via Laurie Street, Queen Charlotte Street or Bernard Street.

Meanwhile, three-way temporary traffic lights will be in operation at the main Leith Walk junction to control traffic flow.

For details of the most up to date information regarding any bus diversions and traffic conditions affecting Leith Walk, members of the public are advised to keep an eye on Lothian Buses’ website or Twitter account as well as @edintravel.

Man in hospital following Telford Road collision

Accident

A man was taken to hospital following a two-car collision on Telford Road last night. 

The accident happened at about 22:40. The man was cut from the wreckage by fire crews and taken by ambulance to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. The hospital’s Medic One team was also in attendance at the scene.

No-one else was injured in the collision.

Road rage!

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A section of busy Pilton Drive will be closed for four weeks from Monday – but the local community council wasn’t even informed!

Pilton Drive will be closed to through traffic between Morrison’s and Ferryfield House from Monday morning to allow work to start on utility connections to the development site on the former City Park. Work is expected to last until 20 February.

Granton and District Community Council secretary Dave Macnab said last night: “I have just heard that Pilton Drive between Morrisons and Ferryfield House is closed. I did not know about this and we were certainly not advised.

“This is for four weeks – this during the period of course when Spartans have their cup match! There is also the issue of traffic from The Strada having to use local routes with the inherent dangers to pedestrians. Where was the communication with the community?”

Granton and District Community Council
http://grantonanddistrictcommunitycouncil.com/
Follow us on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/GrantonDistCC

Boy knocked down on Groathill Road North

Accident

A five year old boy has been hit by a vehicle near Ferryhill Primary School on Groathill Road North.

The accident happened at around 2.45pm this afternoon. The boy was treated by medical staff at the scene before being transferred to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children. His condition is not thought to be serious.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “Police in Edinburgh attended a road traffic collision involving a five-year-old child outside Ferryhill Primary School this afternoon. The child was taken to the Sick Kids Hospital to be treated for a minor injury.”

A similar accident involving a child happened close to the same spot in 2012 and Easter Drylaw Residents Association has campaigned on the issue of local road safety for over three years.

Witnesses should contact Police Scotland on 101

 

News from Trinity Community Council

tromotyTrinity Community Council met on 12 January – these are some of the issues raised at the meeting:

Working with the neighbours

Twelve Neighbourhood Partnerships (NPs) cover Edinburgh. Trinity lies within Forth Neighbourhood Partnership. Peter Strong (Manager of Forth and Inverleith NPs) presented proposals to monitor City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) performance locally but first gave a broad description of how CEC’s organisation is planned to change.

NPs were set up by CEC to find better ways of planning and delivering services across the public sector – so only only CEC but also police, NHS and voluntary organisations such as community councils. Forth NP currently has direct responsibility for Services for Communities while other CEC services (e.g. education, health) remain centralised. Part of CEC’s latest organisational planning is to devolve further services across four localities to align with NHS, Police etc and make all more jointly answerable to local communities.

Monitoring is proposed based on the 4 key priorities in the Forth Local Community Plan. Of those, “Improve the way we engage with and support our communities” has the most developed local statistics. Local statistics need to be jointly developed for the others e.g. NHS Lothian is leading on “Healthy Lifestyles”. Monthly/quarterly statistics suggested to monitor “Improve the way we engage with and support our communities” include:

• Street Cleaning – random checks by Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB) grade streets for litter, dog fouling etc. This will be supplemented by statistics on walkways.

• Refuse Collection – complaint volumes, by reason.

• Parks – grading versus standards and Green Flags.

• Council Houses – Time to let, repair speed and rent collection rates (though less relevant for Trinity)

• Roads & Transport– Officials are drawing up indicators

It was also agreed to maintain a rolling status update of all items identified during the annual TCC Walkabout.

Do you have thoughts about the information you would like to see about public services in our area? Let us know.

Contact in the Capital

You may have received a paper copy of the December North Edinburgh News (NEN). The final edition of this trial will be issued in February and decisions on its future taken thereafter. Do you have a view? Let us know.

East Trinity Road

CEC councillors are to be briefed on the results of the East Trinity Rd/Lower Granton Rd traffic study, following which the data should become available for discussion with TCC.

Proposed Sainsbury’s Local in Craighall Road

CEC Planning Committee undertook a visit to the site on 15 January and we expect a decision very shortly now.

Planning Application – 127 Trinity Road

Many will be aware of this application for 5 new town houses on the site of the disused car repair garage just off the lower end of Trinity Road. While the site needs development, we have concerns about the number of dwellings being fitted into the site, their height and access arrangements and are submitting an objection reflecting that.

North Edinburgh Transport Review?

Regular readers will know that we have been pushing for a North Edinburgh traffic and transport review given the extensive development since the previous review (2008), removal of trams to North Edinburgh from that plan, and the considerable housing/commercial development planned.

It is beginning to look like this might be getting somewhere as a meeting with the CEC Director of Transport has now been scheduled. We hope that this will consider the full range of ways to reduce congestion including car clubs, parking zones and the impact of the 20mph limit extension.

Fancy Improving Our Environment?

We have been asked by one resident if there might be interest in setting up an Improvement District which would fund enhancements to a specific amenity e.g. a park, over and above what CEC has responsibility for undertaking. It would involve a small annual contribution from all nearby residents if approved in a ballot.
What do you think?

New Trinity Community Council website

We’ve set up a new, uncluttered website at

https://trinitycommunitycouncil.wordpress.com/

Take a look – let us know what you think and how we might improve it.

Liz Grant

Sadly Liz Grant, a community councillor until very recently and former Chair of TCC, has passed away. Liz was a well known and loved face in our community and she will be missed for her contribution and easygoing personality. Her funeral was at Warriston on 15 January.

Next Trinity Community Council meeting will be held on Monday 9 February at 7pm in St Serfs Church Hall, Clark Road on the question of PARKING. Join us if you have something to say or simply want to listen.

Did you find this useful or informative? If so, why not show it to a neighbour? Anyone in Trinity can subscribe to the bulletin by emailing

tcc-comms@outlook.com

Or drop us a line and tell us what you think could be better!

Edinburgh set to become Scotland’s slowest (and safest) city?

‘Edinburgh is taking a very bold step’ – Cllr Lesley Hinds

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Speed limits on more than 80% of our city’s roads and streets – including the whole of the the city centre – will be slashed later this year if plans to make the Edinburgh Scotland’s first 20mph city are approved next week.

A map of proposed 20mph limits for hundreds of Edinburgh streets has been drawn up after a public consultation on the plans attracted nearly 3,000 responses. Meetings and discussions with stakeholders including Lothian Buses also informed the final proposals.

20mph speed limits encourage more considerate driving, leading to safer streets for all road users, including motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. The lower speeds reduce the risk and severity of road collisions.

Reducing traffic speed helps make people feel more confident about being on their local streets and helps children and elderly people to travel independently and safely.

Calmer road speeds also help to make walking and cycling more attractive options, contributing to less traffic congestion, better health, less noise, more social interaction, an improved environment for local businesses and stronger communities.

The new 20mph network, which will go before members of the Council’s Transport and Environment Committee in a report for approval on Tuesday (13 January), would see the majority of the city’s residential streets and streets in shopping areas become 20mph zones.

Councillor Lesley Hinds, Transport Convener, said: “We were absolutely delighted with the huge response to our consultation in the autumn and it’s great to be moving on to the stage of finalising exactly which streets will become 20mph, provided the necessary Traffic Regulation Orders are secured.

“Edinburgh is taking a very bold step in introducing slower speeds for so much of its roads and we’re aware that other cities in Scotland are watching our example keenly.

“There’s obviously a lot of work to be done to raise public awareness between now and the first new limits coming into effect. It’s undoubtedly a culture change for the whole city but we’re very encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive response we’ve seen to the pilot project in South Edinburgh. Support for 20mph limits was already high before the pilot began but it increased even more once people tried out the slower speeds in practice.”

John Lauder, National Director of Sustrans Scotland, said: “It is fantastic to see Edinburgh Council rolling out 20mph speed limits across more and more streets in the capital.  Sustrans wants to see increasing numbers of people choosing to travel actively on an everyday basis, whether on foot or by bike, and we think that reducing traffic speeds is a key way to helping achieve this.

“Many other towns and cities across Scotland will no doubt be watching Edinburgh closely as implementation of the new 20mph network gets under way.  Hopefully they will like what they see and learn from Edinburgh’s experience.”

The plans were finalised at the end of 2014 following a far-reaching public consultation process across the Capital.

Prior to this, previous market research and consultation in Edinburgh showed strong support for more extensive 20mph limits. The Edinburgh People’s Survey in 2012 showed a sizeable majority in favour of 20mph limits in residential areas, shopping streets and the City Centre. And 67 per cent of people supported a 20mph limit for all city centre streets, while just five per cent opposed such a limit, with 29 per cent uncertain.

The results of this latest consultation process, which concluded in October, show that 60% of respondents supported or strongly supported the proposals, with 36% opposed or strongly opposed.

One of the key priorities of the Council’s Local Transport Strategy 2014-2019 is to consult on detailed proposals for the citywide 20mph network. Consulting “with a view to extending the current 20mph traffic zones” is also one of the Capital Coalition’s pledges.

If the proposed 20mph network is approved by the Transport and Environment Committee, the project will move into the implementation stage.

An implementation plan will be presented to the Committee in March 2015, providing details on how the Council will roll out the 20mph network across the city. It is anticipated that the programme will be rolled out over a maximum of three financial years.

Motoring organisations suggest local authorities should limit zones to where they are most effective and, when introduced, that regulations must be robustly enforced.

AA president Edmund King said: “What we would advise Edinburgh and other cities looking at 20mph limits is to target them where they really are needed.

“The busiest shopping streets, the road outside the school, the residential areas, rather than just introducing blanket limits, which generally aren’t supported by motorists and therefore it’s very difficult to enforce.”

Supt Phil O’Kane, of Police Scotland, said: “We will not routinely police the 20mph zones, however we will respond to any particular zones where there is a casualty reduction requirement. We will enforce the 20mph zones outside schools because that is important for the children of Edinburgh.”

 

Be aware: Dundas Street resurfacing starts tomorrow

Road resurfacing works will get under way at the foot of Dundas Street tomorrow (Monday 15 September) and are scheduled to last three weeks.

The work, part of the Council’s 2014/15 Capital Maintenance Programme, will see the carriageway resurfaced on Dundas Street between Fettes Row and the junction with Henderson Row.

One traffic lane will be maintained in each direction under contraflow traffic management and the permanent traffic lights at Henderson Row junction will continue to operate as normal.

However, right turns from Dundas Street into Eyre Place will be prohibited for the duration of the contract. 

The hours of work will generally be 7.30am – 5pm Monday to Friday, although on occasion work may take place up to 10pm. No work will take place on Saturdays or Sundays and every effort will be made to keep noise and disruption to a minimum.

The parking and taxi rank will be suspended to allow the works to take place, while temporary bus stops will be provided when the bus stops are out of commission. In addition, Fettes Row both to the east and west of Dundas Street will need to be closed for certain periods.

Access to the western side of Fettes Row will be maintained for residents and local businesses as this is a cul-de-sac with no alternative means of access. A local diversion will be in place for access to the eastern side of Fettes Row.
You’ve been warned!