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Living Streets Edinburgh was contacted by a forum reader who had been in touch with the Council and Historic Scotland about cycle and pedestrian access to the park. I thought this would resonate with some of you here, so am posting several bits of correspondence in posts below.
Living Streets Edinburgh agrees that this is an important issue, and will be following up on it. Perhaps others would like to contact Historic Scotland (especially if you are members) or their councillors.
This is a cut and paste of the email that we received:
There are a couple of things in it that might be of interest to Living
Streets:
1. the lack of formal crossings into the Park across Queen's Drive - and apparent absence of plans for improving the situation; 2. Historic Scotland's plans for extending mixed-use paths.
I contacted Historic Scotland because access to the Park is very poor on this side of the city for walkers and cyclists. I commute daily through the area by bike or on foot, and I frequently see people dashing across Queen's Drive because there are no safe crossings. As the attached pics show, paths lead people to the road edge but they're left to find their own way across two lanes of traffic to rejoin the path. Traffic can move quickly on this road and it's a busy route at rush hour. These crossings are not suitable for anybody with mobility problems or young children.
HS's response appears to say that no formal crossings are planned, although they acknowledge the current road design "causes challenges for various user groups".
The letter also says that Historic Scotland proposes to "make the tarmac paths within the Park into multi user paths", rather than separating cyclists and walkers. This mixed-use path will be extended. My experience of walking and cycling in Holyrood Park has convinced me that mixed use does not work. It creates conflict between the adult cyclists travelling from A-B and the more leisurely Park visitors.
Holyrood Park's infrastructure appears to have been designed to prioritise car users, for example on my commute I see several car parks, but only one zebra crossing. I want to convince Historic Scotland that access on this side of the Park should be made more agreeable by the addition of formal crossings or some other form of traffic control. I also want it to create segregated bike and walker paths, not a mixed-use network.
REPLY FROM HISTORIC SCOTLAND
Historic Scotland recognise that this area of the Park is a popular access route which causes challenges for various user groups. Currently there is no 'ideal'
option to improve access to the path network at this location.
I am sure you will appreciate there are a number of challenging factors to be considered when proposing alterations or additions to the infrastructure in this area including; topography, infrastructure legislation and best practice, current road/path structure and priorities, as well as the safety of the various users.
Historic Scotland has, over the last few years, been investigating various options for improving access for user groups through changes to the existing path priorities. These changes would make the tarmac paths within the Park into multi user paths which would align better with current recommendations and reflect use.
Once this change to the path priorities has taken place, and subject to availability of funds, we propose to extend the multi user path from the Kaims head roundabout (nearest Salisbury Crags and bottom of the High Road) to the St Leonard's roundabout (nearest Holyrood Park Road) along the south side of the road between these two roundabouts. This proposed path would lead to the informal pedestrian crossing at the St Leonard's roundabout on the Duddingston Low Road exit and go some way to alleviating the challenges you currently face.
You note in your email that there is no formal crossing point in this area. Visitor safety is one of Historic Scotland's main priorities and we have reviewed a number of options for improving crossing points in this area.
National recommendations on the placing of formal crossings does not permit us to locate one within the vicinity of the two roundabouts due to traffic flow rates and restricted drivers views due to the topography. If we were to place a formal crossing (eg. a zebra crossing) in this area, it would have to be located further south on the Duddingston Low Road, close to the access to the Wells O' Wearie/Innocent Railway cycleway, and in turn require additional path network extensions to link it to the existing multi-user paths.
I am sorry that I am unable to provide a more positive outcome on this
occasion. Historic Scotland always welcomes feedback and observations from users which we will happily take into consideration as we look to improve our visitor and user experience and safety within the Park.
and from the council:
LINKING THE QUEEN'S DRIVE BIKE PATH WITH HOLYROOD PARK ROAD
Thank you for your email, of 27 April, regarding proposals for cycle routes linking to Holyrood Park.
>
> We agree that the connections for cyclists between the existing cycle path in Holyrood Park and other cycle routes in the area would benefit from improvement. These links form part of the Council’s proposed ‘Family Network’ of cycle routes across the city as set out in its’ Active Travel Action Plan.
>
> In order to deliver a cycle route of an appropriate standard we consider that the work would need to include the addition of a cyclist / pedestrian crossing, significant widening of footpaths / footways and other associated measures. There are therefore a number of technical challenges that will need to be overcome, notably constructing new infrastructure in a way that is sensitive to the park environment. We will also need to request and secure the permission of Historic Scotland who are the Roads Authority for the roads and paths within the boundary of the park.
>
> We are currently prioritising the delivery of other short term priority ‘Family Network’ schemes but we intend to start developing the Holyrood Park links in 2016/17.
>
Perhaps a starting point for HS would be enforcement of
1) the current speed limit
2) the current rule about no commercial vehicles being allowed
"
Visitor safety is one of Historic Scotland's main priorities
"
Haha ha.
Stop through motor traffic.
Simples.
Thanks for this.
At least *something* is happening...
Historic Scotland is a government organisation and is the responsibility of @FionaHyslop.
Holyrood Park is a Park, and 'traffic flow' should only be a concern of HS in the context of reducing it to zero!
HS two key areas of responsibility (see here) are:
1). Safeguarding the nation's historic environment
2). Promoting its understanding and enjoyment
Neither is met by wasting valuable HS funds on a commuter through route. 2 or 3 carefully placed gates would immediately remove any through-route and preserve access for all to the historic environment and help promote it's understanding and enjoyment.
"Neither is met by wasting valuable HS funds on a commuter through route."
I wonder if HS actually pays for the road?
Wouldn't surprise me if CEC did.
"2 or 3 carefully placed gates would immediately remove any through-route and preserve access for all to the historic environment and help promote it's understanding and enjoyment."
Yeah that makes more sense!!
Previous thread on speed
http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8648
(Lots of other HP threads!)
National recommendations on the placing of formal crossings does not permit us to locate one within the vicinity of the two roundabouts due to traffic flow rates
Hang on a minute! There are (not enough) pedestrian crossings on the main roads at the Gyle, including just off the main roundabouts. Surely they're not suggesting the traffic flow is a greater priority in the park than the car centric gyle.
Queens drive is too wide for a 20mph road, the cycle/prams/dogs path is too narrow. Easy fix but HS don't get it.
Actually, HS have been very complacent about their road since that motorbiker was killed on it, near the pond, two years last week, run down by two separate drivers.
@snowy
"Perhaps a starting point for HS would be enforcement of
1) the current speed limit
2) the current rule about no commercial vehicles being allowed"
I was thinking about #2 on Tuesday, when I slowed down before the Holyrood Park Road roundabout (heading out of the park)... in order to let a Kwik Fit van pass on it's way to Duddingston.
I thought, "Hmm, maybe Kwik Fit vans have the same status as that tourist bus I passed near Duddingston Loch?".
@gkgk
"Actually, HS have been very complacent about their road since that motorbiker was killed on it, near the pond, two years last week, run down by two separate drivers."
I was living next to the park then, and was cycling home in time to see the "clean up". Pretty grisly.
"Petition to Close Holyrood Park to through traffic" (lapsed)
http://www.citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=9568
8 year old boy hurt at 'rush' hour yesterday. I can pretty much guarantee you that the car was not doing 20mph.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-33897233
Sorry, only just got round to reading the various first posts in here too.
"This proposed path would lead to the informal pedestrian crossing at the St Leonard's roundabout on the Duddingston Low Road exit and go some way to alleviating the challenges you currently face"
No, no it won't. Because that's an 'informal' crossing (i.e. people use it cos they have no other option). What a weasely get-out. As for 'safety' being one of their main concerns, utter garbage - if that's the case stick up some speed cameras or, as has been suggested, close the bleedin' roads.
"... we have reviewed a number of options for improving crossing points in this area"
And implemented none, natch.
Also, on that crossings near a roundabout thing, there's one very near the roundabout heading east from the Parliament, about 10-15 yards. The response from HS suggests the St Leonard's one would have to be near the Innocent entrance, maybe 100-150 yards away. Why the discrepancy?
Really interesting debate from 1960 in Westminster on raising the speed limit in Holyrood from 20mph to 30mph.
55 years on and the discussion / argument has hardly changed!
Can anyone rack their brains and remember when it was that the crossing was removed opposite the parliament ponds?
We walk to the park very regularly as it's our second-to-most-local park. Trying to cross anywhere except on the single zebra crossing with the pram can involve a wait measured in some minutes, repeated at every point you wish to cross. If I was on my own I'd be more bold and step out at a convenient spot and just stare the traffic down, expecting it to stop. I'm not going to push a 1-year old out infront of me to achieve the same effect.
Fill the park with zebra crossings, that should slow things down.
"Fill the park with zebra"s
That would be popular.
In the meantime bring back the sheep?
"
The Queen's Drive and the approach roads, about five miles in all, are really suitable only for limited and slow-moving traffic, and this is particularly true when cars are parked along the road itself
"
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=1960-06-28a.1343.0#g1343.5
Right, so they banned parking to improve traffic flow(?)
My better half remembers the sheep - she grew up at the top of Willowbrae, so the park was her playground.
Saves on grass cutting costs.
Slow food and slow traffic??
I didn't have a bike camera on Pope Day, but if I had I would have been able to demonstrate how incredibly peaceful and pleasant it was on the road through the park without any cars anywhere.
"Fill the park with zebra"s
...and turn it into a safari park?
C'mon. I wasn't the only one to think that was I?
A tale of two headlines...
EEN get their story straight with :
Eight-year-old boy hit by car in Holyrood Park
BBC typically manage to downplay their narrative with :
Eight-year-old boy hurt in Edinburgh crash
The poor lad appears to have been "in a collision with a car"
Shame on the BBC for their ceaseless motor-supremacist editorial policy
Hope the kid recovers swiftly
STV hedged their bets and ran simultaneous headlines on twitter along the lines of "8-year old boy hit by car" and "8-year old boy injured in road traffic collision".
The latter implies an 8 year old can be road traffic!
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