http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/topstories/Transport-chiefs-find-land-for.6640827.jp
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » General Edinburgh
"Transport chiefs find land for new park and ride site"
(9 posts)-
Posted 14 years ago #
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"Transport chiefs find land for new park and ride site"
"Behind the sofa the whole time"
Posted 14 years ago # -
Hmm. "...and proposals for a park and ride next to the new £2 billion Forth crossing at South Queensferry" don't sound at all sensible when it would surely be easier to get people from cars to buses before they queue up to cross a bridge?
Posted 14 years ago # -
"it would surely be easier to get people from cars to buses before they queue up to cross a bridge?"
I expect there is not enough land near North Queensferry so they'll have to build a bridge so they can tarmac some nice farmland near S. Queensferry.
So they're coming over here (from Fife) and taking all our jobs.
Or something.
Posted 14 years ago # -
... surely be easier to get people from cars to buses before they queue up ...
You mean like this? Couldn't agree more. Doubling the size of the existing setup on the Fife side would be a lot better.
Posted 14 years ago # -
"You mean like this?"
Yes, presume they could even add more multi-storey capacity.
Once again 'transport decisions aren't (entirely) rational'.
But then neither are people - who make decisions about where to live, work and build bridges etc.
Does anyone believe that the existing road bridge is likely to fall down? Probably not. Can it continue to take the amount of traffic it currently does? Perhaps not.
Is a new bridge the cost effective answer to the 'problem' - getting a relatively finite number of people and tons of goods across the Forth Estuary?
Answers on a postcard to J Swinney, SG, St.AH, Ed.
Posted 14 years ago # -
Posted 14 years ago #
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Park and ride to the south end of the proposed Forth Crossing is a non-starter. The land required for this has not been included in the list of land to be compulsorily purchased contained in the Bill which will authorise the Crossing. Transport Scotland have passed the project to SEStran (regional transport partnership) for appraisal. SEStran has no money to pursue this project.
The structural integrity of the current Forth Road Bridge isn't really being damaged by the weight of traffic using the bridge (although the road surface and certain components are taking a hammering). Very roughly speaking - the problems have been caused by moisture ingress into the main cables, which has produced corrosion. This corrosion has led to wire breakages and a reduction in the strength of the main cables. When the main cable strength drops below a certain level (think the safety factor is 200%) then the Bridge will either close or traffic will be restricted to lighten the load. Much of the weight on the main cables is the bridge deck itself - traffic accounts for a small proportion of the total weight. This is a very simplifed account - before any engineering types decide to point this out.
The dehumidifiers attached to the main cables should reduce humidity in the cables to a point where further corossion cannot take place. The hope being that stopping the corossion will stop further wire breaks and maintain current cable strength, meaning the bridge can stay open indefinately.
Even if the dehumidifiers only buy a few more years of life for the current Bridge, that would mean any decision on a replacement could be delayed for quite some time. Of course, £10's of millions have already been spent on the Forth Crossing project. Much as we might wish otherwise - this project is going ahead.
Vast majority of road freight goes via Kincardine and not the Forth Bridge.
Posted 14 years ago # -
"NEW borrowing powers to be given to the Scottish Parliament could be used to finance the new Forth road bridge."
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/topstories/New-powers-39could-fund39-Forth.6646199.jp
So - they still don't know how it will be paid for(?)
Posted 14 years ago #
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