7 of us on the 'closed' bit this morning.
Hey CEC, if you make it wide enough and genuinely keep cars off it, guess what, people use it more!
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure
George St cycle lane
(297 posts)-
Posted 8 years ago #
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One of the [cycle symbol] ONLY signs has been scraped off the N St David St/St Andrew approach lane, but one remains.
What was the big white mobile crane doing this morning? Installing The Dome's christmas decorations?Posted 8 years ago # -
Ooh, I didn't see that, so whatever it was doing it was doing it quickly!
Posted 8 years ago # -
Posted 8 years ago # -
Which page in the Design Guide did this come from?
Or did it just get inspiration from this?
Posted 8 years ago # -
chdot - Page 52, Cycling by Design 2010.
Posted 8 years ago # -
@ M
I presume you are not joking(?)
Rationale??
Posted 8 years ago # -
I assume because the lane is painted with a door zone already there, between the parking bays and the cycle lane?
(I'm not saying it is good, I'm saying that I think that is what it is...)
Posted 8 years ago # -
I continue to be flummoxed by the Council's refusal to put the cyclelane on the inside of the parking bays, perhaps with one of those "temporary" kerbs like in chdot's St Andrew Sq photo between the lane and the cars (with adequate door zone, obvs). No car road space is lost compared to the new set up, but cyclists and cars are immediately protected from each other.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Also the fact they close the cycle lane to take it away without offering any diversion / alternative for cyclists going that way (I always remember at times like this the simple, screened, cycle diversions in Copenhagen I saw over there).
It really is generally half-baked.
Posted 8 years ago # -
(I always remember at times like this the simple, screened, cycle diversions in Copenhagen I saw over there).
Same in Stockholm:
https://flic.kr/p/a9JimX
Posted 8 years ago # -
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@adamchandlerltd: Can’t wait to see this in #London! @sustrans unveil modular street furniture system http://t.co/xIsCdeg8pM
"
From first link -
"
Matt Winfield, Deputy Director Sustrans London: “Streets make up 80% of the accessible open space in our towns and cities and offer huge potential as a community resource, as a place to meet our neighbours, and to socialise and play.
“Sustrans street kit borrows from a number of successful experiments in San Francisco and Portland in the United States that helped to change the way people thought about roads and public space through semi-permanent installations to reclaim space from motor traffic.
“I hope that from the confidence gained through testing street redesigns thanks to the Sustrans street kit, communities and local authorities will be able to make permanent changes to our towns and cities to create better places for people.”
"
Posted 8 years ago # -
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@SpokesLothian: #GeorgeStreet Another drop-in consultation!! - this one is "final" https://t.co/3SSNlSGply @CyclingEdin @edfoc @DrCarolineBrown @ArcDesSco
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Posted 8 years ago # -
Posted 8 years ago # -
"
But Dave du Feu of cycle group Spokes was more enthusiastic about the year-long trial.
“Overall there has been a pretty positive response to the experiment from both cyclists and the general public,” he said.
“One of the questions asked of cyclists using George Street is had they cycled more as a result of the cycle lane being there and 40 per cent said they had.”
He said there had been “niggles” with the experimental scheme. “At one point the cycle lane changed from one side of George Street to the other. That was definitely a problem, but overall people were very supportive.
"
Posted 8 years ago # -
Is that... in the photo...
"...different quality and different awnings completely upset the balance of the street..."
Perhaps it would be better for the balance of the street to have eastbound and westbound traffic swap sides at Frederick Street, for axial rather than rotational symmetry.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Aye!
Posted 8 years ago # -
I love the commenter who has a bit of a rant about this and that and finishes with,
"There you are CEC - you consulted, I responded. Any chance of you listening to me and those who share my opinion?"
Yup, cause that's how the consultation process works. ARE YOU LISTENING CEC?!!1?!
Posted 8 years ago # -
americanbob:
Where does the EEN's tame SPOKESman get the idea that cyclists "liked" the George St shambles?
I never saw more than one or two cyclists using the track and yet dozens of them preferred daily to dice with death amongst the buses and trams on Princes St (if not on the pavement)!Which is interesting, cos I saw loads more cyclists on George St than Princes St, definitely didn't see them on the pavement (though I suspect there will have been some), and I can't tell whether he thinks cyclists were 'choosing' to 'dice with death', or were doing so because George St was so awful (in his eyes).
Renegade Master
Spokes: "Overall there has been a pretty positive response to the experiment from both cyclists and the general public," he said.
Please qualify that statement you idiot. I would suggest that he's completely made that up and presented it as fact.
I suspect it's come from the post-implementation consultation results... (also RM seems to think that a newspaper will use every single word someone says and not edit anything out, so there may well have been qualification - I also think he means 'substantiate' anyway).
I did like the comment from City Cabs man in the article as well:
There is a large section of people who don’t go to the higher-value shops if you can’t get a car near them. It has been working fine for decades – how about they just leave it alone?
Decades ago there wasn't the same traffic, nor the same population. Most people will have used public transport, as a much smaller percentage will have even owned cars (and if they did it would just be one per household).
There still seems to be this presumption that the city centre will simply wither and die if it can't be driven through, and he had an example of a businessman who wouldn't consider a city centre office as he couldn't get a taxi to the door (no idea where that office was as most places are pretty accessible for bus-lane-permitted taxis...). That one businessman trumps.... Lots and lots of offices already here and occupied....
Posted 8 years ago # -
On that idiotic cabbie quote:-
In my view, George St has only gained 'higher-value' shops in recent times, certainly the last 10 years, which coincides pretty closely with CEC's baby steps at restricting car access to the interior grid of streets (no cars on Princes St, no entrance at Charlotte Sq end, no right turn at St Andrews, there are probably others). Also possible to cross at will using zebra crossings.
In the same timescale, Princes St has lost a lot of whatever shopping cachet it once had (dept stores apart) as it has increasingly become a diesel-choked, mile-long bus stop, where you have the choice of waiting for minutes to cross the road or quite literally taking your life in your hands.
But Swiss Tony ignores all that, it's "been working fine for decades" apparently.
Posted 8 years ago # -
...and they are ignoring the rise of online shopping (more than 15% of volume I think) which will reduce the number of shops as well.
We were discussing Copenhagen the other day. Strøget seems to do very well as a shopping street without any cars.
Closer to home Buchanan Street in Glasgow....
Some people just can't imagine any kind of change.
Posted 8 years ago # -
If we are talking 'higher value' shops (whatever that means?) shopping, what about Mulltrees Walk, which is car (and bike) free and always has been! Its not falling on it's rear due to lack of parking on the kerbside!
Posted 8 years ago # -
Well, Multrees Walk always has a few empty units, but I suspect that's more to do with rent than footfall.
New St James' will have 850,000 sq ft of retail only accessible on foot. Shame about all the parking.
Posted 8 years ago # -
“Cafe culture is great, but you don’t get it all year round. We have to accept we’re not in the Mediterranean and we’re not going to have eight months of the year when you can sit out in the sunshine.”
Ah, that old chestnut. Interestingly, down in Windermere on Friday night, temperature around about 10 degrees Celsius, two bars/cafes outdoor seating areas were rammed with folk (I'd guess 30+ people) because the establishments had put out blankets on the seats. At least some enterprises are able to learn from our northern European cousins. You don't need a marquee to do it.
While I'm noising up the Cockburn Association (for it is them), does anyone know what their general position on motor vehicles in the city centre is? Given their desire to preserve the World Heritage site somewhere in the late 19th century, I'd have thought they would be against buses and car parking on George Street? The latter being the principal eyesore on the street.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Here we go again -
"
The majority of George Street will be closed to traffic during August for a new month-long pilot project to test out its suitability for outdoor events.
It will coincide with the launch of a digital entertainment festival which will be taking over the Assembly Rooms and also spilling out into the street.
City centre managers hope the changes will help the area better complete with the Royal Mile and Edinburgh University’s main campus during the Fringe. They may also pave the way for George Street to host more one-off events throughout the year.
"
http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/george-street-to-get-activated-for-edinburgh-fringe-1-4165201
Posted 7 years ago # -
Just a reminder of what happened last year -
http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=14657&page=7&replies=295#post-195671
Posted 7 years ago # -
Thank goodness I no longer work there
Posted 7 years ago #
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