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East Dunbartonshire council rejects 20mph zone

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  1. SRD
    Moderator

    The details all here in magnatom's blog http://www.magnatom.net/2013/06/caps-unravelling.html

    But the report from the council is worth reading. PP 219 - 225

    On the one hand we could just say they're not interested and have clearly interpreted things to suit their own interpretation (eg Edinburgh Council thinks their pilot a success, and speeds have dropped).

    But it also shows how CAPS fails local communities.

    There is massive local support for this initiative, including 7 out of 7 primary school parent councils chair persons; 10 out of 10 Bishopbriggs Church Leaders; local business leaders; Residents group chair person; the community council chair person.

    So where is the leadership?

    Posted 12 years ago #

  2. SRD
    Moderator

    Perhaps the most upsetting thing about this is the section on cycling Scotland, which says:

    "Cycling Scotland said that 20 mph would of itself constitute a cycle safety measure and not require additional measures. They also said that the 20 mph limit needs a national lead. They recognise the increased financial and resource cost in signing, promoting orders and junction treatments where these roads meet a 30 mph limit. If the national government pushed for 20, instead of simply allowing it, the process should become less onerous."

    So Cycling Scotland, which signed off on CAPS, is saying that more national leadership is needed, even though CAPS explicitly passes the buck to the councils.

    And the Council then uses CS's position to justify doing nothing.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  3. Calum
    Member

    East Dunbartonshire is as car-sick as they come: it's a place with a cycling modal share of just 0.5%, which must surely rank amongst the lowest in the industrialised world. The main supermarket in Bishopbriggs town centre has not a single cycle stand and nor do many other important trip generators in the town.

    Even though their own Local Transport Strategy consulation figures show that new road-building is a very low priority for residents, they are doing their very best to get the Bishopbriggs Relief Road built. They're also busy adding extra car parking spaces to Kirkintilloch town centre in the name of "regeneration". Like all councils, EDC are obsessed with the accomodation of motor vehicles and are fundamentally disinterested in cycling. It's no surprise that they've rejected even the rudimentary measure of a 20mph speed limit.

    It shows up the Scottish Government's idea that councils like this can be expected to take the lead and deliver a twentyfold increase in cycling in 7 years for the sick joke it really is.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  4. amir
    Member

    The Police's lack of will to enforce 20 mph limits is disturbing and seems to act as a brake on their implementation.

    One of the issues that they talk about is measurement accuracy, both on car and the speed traps or readers. Surely this is not insurmountable if there were political will. I get astonishing levels of agreement between my bike speedo and the speed indicators dotted around.

    I agree that we need national leadership, both to get the police to take pedestrian and cycling safety seriously and to push councils to adopt safety schemes such as 20mph zones. Midlothian Council, for example, seems very unwilling to be a trendsetter. And in some locations the 20mph zones need to be enforced.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  5. Dave
    Member

    There are two ways of looking at the impact of i.e. the southside 20mph pilot.

    Either you can say that as very few drivers stick to 20mph these schemes are doomed to fail, or you can say that without any enforcement whatsoever and no investment beyond low-cost signage, 50% of vehicles are now travelling at 20-25mph in a former 30 zone.

    Imagine if a "no underage drinking" zone consisting simply of signage had a similar effect. Would it be derided because some underage drinkers persist, or lauded because it slashed underage drinking?

    I don't believe it's appropriate for the police to be involved in the setting of legislation. It's not their job to change (or resist change to) society according to their own agenda.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  6. sg37409
    Member

    On the other hand, the canal path and thomas muir trail in east dunbartonshire were recently surfaced and are now amongst the very best cycle trails I've used anywhere in the world. The leisure centres in bishopbriggs and kirky both have cycle racks, not that the lack of one would prevent most folks I know from using a bike to get there.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  7. crowriver
    Member

    Having read the report, the ED officers seemed to be looking for reasons not to implement a 20mph limit. Unsurprisingly, they found them! Why did they do this? There was "no budget allocation" for the sixty grand's worth of consultants and consultation deemed necessary. So, in short, they said to themselves: "There's no money for this, why bother?"

    I suspect we are going to see a lot more behaviour like this from council officials across Scotland as their budgets continue to shrink.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  8. Baldcyclist
    Member

    Heard something on the radio the other day about the results of the public consultation on 20mph zones in Edinburgh. Very +ve, over 70% of respondents were in favour it seems. Headline for news piece was something along the lines of "Public Consultation paves way for 20mph zones"

    Must admit, I don't see why this is left to the councils to decide. Seems silly that you should drive at 20mph in residential areas in Fife, but not in Edinburgh. It should just be the law that any residential street any where in the country should be 20mph, and it should be enforced.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  9. Dave
    Member

    It's also really hard to understand why enforcement is so difficult.

    We built a GPS system that is so precise it needs to account for time dilation, and radar systems so accurate that they can track birds in flight over the horizon, and even raindrops.

    Yet enforcing the speed limit at a range of just a hundred feet presents such a challenge that the police actively campaign against said enforcement.

    Bizarre or what?

    Posted 12 years ago #

  10. fimm
    Member

    Isn't it that the police think they've got better things to do than persecute prosecute "otherwise law-abiding" criminals motorists?

    Or am I becoming cynical in my old age?

    Posted 12 years ago #

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