I had a chat with a Councilor on the T&E committee at PoP, the content of which I am still mulling.
I'd copied the whole committee in to my e-mail to Councilor Macinnes which I wrote because, as usual, the consultation was like trying to dance in a diving suit.
I wanted the Chair of the committe to know that I was thoroughly annoyed with the whole back-to-front approach and wanted her to insist on a complete rethink based on the correct hierarchy of interests: residents, pedestrian travelers, cyclists etc etc.
What the Councilor said was that although my e-mail expressed my irritation with great eloquence (I paraphrase) what was actually needed was a technical message setting out the ways in which the proposals deviate from published council policy and suggesting remedies. This on the grounds that Councilor Macinnes, although fully behind making Leith Walk livable and safe for cycling, is entirely in the clutches of her officers, who are chain-smoking Flying Squad officers from 1973. (Again I paraphrase, wildly.)
I'm still aghast at this idea. I'm not a road, street, path or tramway designer. I pay council tax to employ people who are and elect councilors to provide them with strategic vision for the city. It's the vision which appears to be entirely lacking, or at least the courage to do more than talk about it.
I am quite baffled as to how the council actually works now.
posts
