Tag: Travel

Local rail fund is just the ticket for Lothian, say Greens

Lothian could be on track to win a share of a new £2 million Local Rail Development Fund set up during the Scottish Greens’ negotiations with the Scottish Government over the 2018-19 budget. Continue reading Local rail fund is just the ticket for Lothian, say Greens

Transport Convener: aiming to make our city centre “a better place to be”

Transport Convener Councillor Lesley Macinnes writes on the aims and ambitions of ‘Central Edinburgh Transformation’:

I think it’s safe to say that we boast a world class city centre, in terms of architecture, culture, education and a raft of other qualities. Time and again I meet people struck by its beauty, compelled to visit or who never want to leave this place they call home.

But with this success comes added pressure. With an ever-growing population – a mixture of residents, commuters and visitors from far and wide – occupying a compact centre, we face a real challenge when it comes to moving people around the city.

I’m sure anyone waiting for a bus on the Bridges, navigating advertising boards on the Lawnmarket or cycling through the city centre would agree – we could do better.

Under Central Edinburgh Transformation, we want to bring issues like congestion, street clutter and poor air quality to the fore, working with residents, communities and businesses to rethink transport priorities, in turn unlocking the potential of our historic streets.

While we’re famous for our built heritage, it’s clear that some of our key places and spaces don’t work well enough. In line with the Management Plan for the World Heritage Site, our vision is to enhance the city’s public realm while supporting liveability within its centre. We must not forget that, while we’re proud of Edinburgh’s status as a thriving cultural hub, it’s also home to a great many residents, and their needs must be central to our vision.

By making it easier to walk and cycle around the city centre, improving the public realm while also increasing public transport efficiency, we want to create an environment that is sustainable, healthy and safe for our future generations. In this, the Year of Young People, it is more apparent than ever that we need to leave this legacy for the citizens of tomorrow.

Just as importantly, our aim is to make our city centre a better place to be, whether it’s for business, socialising or just strolling from east to west.

And though we ultimately hope to create a change in behaviour and a shift away from private cars, this is not a case of ‘driver vs pedestrian’ or ‘tourist vs resident’.

We are absolutely committed to creating a safer and more enjoyable experience for everyone. But we simply can’t ignore the fact that we need to make significant changes in order to protect our environment, ensure the safety of the public, providing access to people of all abilities and improving the quality of life here.

We are still at the very early stages of this project but as we move forward we will be engaging closely with citizens, transport operators and stakeholders, gathering information and seeking ideas to ensure that any progress takes full cognisance of the habits and requirements of the very people our city serves. We very much intend to take a people and evidence-led approach to the design process.

Under the expert guidance of lead officer Daisy Narayanan, who brings to the role years of experience as Deputy Director at Sustrans Scotland, I am confident that the Central Edinburgh Transformation project will make great strides toward achieving our vision.

We can, and will, be a modern, accessible and environmental capital, worthy of its status as one of Scotland’s most iconic and important locations.

This article first appeared in the Edinburgh Evening News on Wednesday 11 April

THE GREAT SCOTTISH OUTDOORS: THE TOP 10 PLACES TO TAKE YOUR CHILDREN TO THIS HALF TERM

Keeping the kids entertained over the school half term can be a costly time, but nothing inspires young minds – or stretches little legs – like the great outdoors. It’s the perfect time for kids to be kids – to celebrate the joy and freedom of their pre-teen years after months being cooped up for the winter. Continue reading THE GREAT SCOTTISH OUTDOORS: THE TOP 10 PLACES TO TAKE YOUR CHILDREN TO THIS HALF TERM

£1.2 million investment spearheads Timberbush Tours expansion plans

Timberbush Tours, one of the country’s leading coach tour operators and celebrating 20 Years touring in 2018, has signalled its ambitions for the forthcoming holiday season by investing £1.2million in nine new coaches, which brings the Timberbush fleet up to 23. Continue reading £1.2 million investment spearheads Timberbush Tours expansion plans

Drayton Manor Park is an eggs-ellent choice for all the family this Easter

Drayton Manor Park has an egg-citing offer available, not only for Easter but for the whole of its 2018 season*, with four tickets available for the brilliant price of £80**, making this theme park the perfect choice for a family day out.  Continue reading Drayton Manor Park is an eggs-ellent choice for all the family this Easter

Edinburgh is Scotland’s pothole capital

The true depth of Scotland’s pothole problem revealed 

  • Scroll to the murky depths of Scotland’s combined 154,0001 potholes reported in 2016 using interactive animation –
  • Confused.com’s scrolling animation reveals Scotland has the greatest pothole problem in the UK, drilling down OVER SIX KILOMETRES2 deep – that’s deeper than the Mediterranean Sea.
  • The animation’s regional view reveals Edinburgh has the deepest pothole problem in Scotland, with a total depth of OVER ONE KILOMETRE.
  • Scroll the total depth of the UK’s potholes combined, which is more than 40km deep – almost FOUR TIMES the depth of the Pacific Ocean.
  • In 2016, Scottish councils forked out almost £27,000,000 to repair potholes and more than £226,000 in compensation to those who’ve had their car damaged by craters in the road.

As the cold weather starts to set in, more and more potholes may start to appear on roads – a dreaded issue for both drivers and local councils. New research presented in a scrolling animation reveals just how deep Scotland’s pothole problem goes, and it is far worse than it appears on the surface.

A freedom of information request by Confused.com, the driver saving site, reveals a total of 154,310 potholes were reported to the region’s councils in 2016 – more than in any other UK region. Each local authority was asked for the minimum depth of a road defect to be considered a pothole, and this figure was aggregated against the total number to reveal a depth of over 6km (6,364m).

The animation allows users to visualise the true depth of the region’s potholes combined, scrolling passed iconic recorded depths such as the bottom of the English Channel (174m), Loch Ness (230m), and the Mediterranean Sea (5,270m). Users can then scroll all the way passed the Mariana Trench (11km) and the world’s deepest man-made hole (12.3km) into the Earth’s upper mantle (30km) before arriving at the combined depth of the UK’s 1,033,486 potholes. This is over 40 km deep and 3.7 times the depth of the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean.

The animation also allows users to drill down to specific local authority areas, and Edinburgh comes out on top for having the deepest pothole problem of the region.

Having this many potholes can be a very costly job for councils, as they fork out for repairs, as well as compensation to victims of damage caused by the craters in the road. In fact, a third (33%) of motorists in the UK say their car has been damaged by a pothole.

  • In 2016, the region’s councils spent a whopping £26,830,077 repairing potholes.
  • They also spent a combined sum of £226,238 to compensate drivers for damage to cars caused by potholes.

Top 5 local authority areas within Scotland with the biggest pothole problem, ranked by depth

Local authority areas No. of potholes reported Total depth £ spent on repairs £ spent on compensation
City of Edinburgh 35,329 1,413m n/a £69,385
Fife 29,188 1,168m £975,000 £519
Dumfries & Galloway 26,028 1,041m £1,820,892 £7,755
Glasgow City 13,128 525m £1,035,793 £16,945
Perth & Kinross 6,059 364m £746,157 £1,949

Amanda Stretton, motoring editor at Confused.com, said: “Scrolling to depths of more than 40km really puts into perspective just how deep the UK’s pothole problem really is. They are a major bugbear among drivers, not least because of the damage they do to our vehicles – around £3.1 million worth of damage, which has been paid out by almost half of the UK’s councils.

“If drivers experience a bump in the road, they should report it to their local council as soon as possible before the problem gets any worse. The cost of motoring alone is getting more and more expensive and damage repairs is a big contributor to this, as car parts increase in price as well.

“For advice on pothole damage, and other ways to save on motoring costs, drivers can find more information at Confused.com.”