I'm going to take a wild stab in the dark and say that our affluent white male privilege driving roads designer is retired... with quite a lot of time on his hands...
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure
Scottish Govmt announces £10m for pop up cycle/walking lanes
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Posted 2 years ago #
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@neddie see also the demographic of PONGS
Posted 2 years ago # -
I'm sure ACH and his merry band of Lib Dems will make sure that no drivers will be inconvenienced in any way. All of course in the interests of safety.
Posted 2 years ago # -
The Dalry Road Spaces for People near Haymarket have now also been returned to being Spaces for Parking.
Posted 2 years ago # -
In defence of engineers, retired or otherwise, is the report linked by LSE not by a planner rather than an engineer? And rather than retired, is the RTPI Licentiate on the first stage of this career, with under 2 years since graduating and before having their professional competence assessment?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Good questions, hope someone knows.
On the other hand, if a planner at start of their career, that report is even more disappointing.
I remember years ago meeting young people, new to the Scottish Office, determined to work their way up and change things.
Never seems to happen…
Many civil servants seem to get stuck at ‘yeah but, that’s not how the system works’.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I know my father was a Chartered Town Planner and a MRTPI (Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute) - now he is retired I don't think he can use those any more - he probably had to do some kind of CPD or demonstrate that he was working in the field or something to be able to use it.
Looking at the diagram at the right of the page slowcoach links to suggests that he is correct that a RTPI Licentate is a planner at the start of his career.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Amazing. More large vehicles using The Mound means that part of the protected cycle lane needs to be removed.
I checked this out - the route is the north bound diversion whilst the Bridges are closed northbound and this section has been removed to ease the pinch-point here
Posted 2 years ago # -
“Amazing. More large vehicles using The Mound means that part of the protected cycle lane needs to be removed.”
Amazing that LB managed.
IF ‘North Bridge Diversion’ IS the reason, perhaps large vehicles need to routed elsewhere OR BANNED FROM THE CITY CENTRE.
Posted 2 years ago # -
"...young people, new to the Scottish Office, determined to work their way up and change things."
The author of that report seems more the type who's determined to work his way up to the top precisely by changing as little as possible. I suppose that's how things are these days: lots of talk about "improvements" while doing the bare minimum, or just paying lip service. Somehow, the budgets get spent anyway, on whatever those who are really in charge committed to twenty years ago. Or something like that.
In the case of the Scottish government, priorities appear to be new or widened trunk roads, new road bridges (with absolutely no tolls for crossing, ever), and free parking at healthcare facilities. Anything else just gets the crumbs leftover after the big construction and engineering contractors have had their fill.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Passed up the Mound this evening. Segregation is gone on the inside of the corner above the Art Gallery and outside the old BoS HQ. At the corner, they have chopped the bolts that held the kerbs in place and left small stubs above the road surface which seems quite unsafe. In fairness to the work crew, they probably had to chop the bolts due to damage caused by THE SHEER NUMBER OF MOTOR VEHICLE DRIVERS UNABLE TO CONTROL THEIR VEHICLE WITHIN THE ALLOCATED LANE, THEREFORE MAKING CEC’S DECISION TO REMOVE THE SEGREGATION A POTENTIALLY HOMICIDAL DECISION.
Posted 2 years ago # -
The Mound today!
Posted 2 years ago # -
“
Stephen Edwards, interim CEO of Living Streets, the walking charity, said: “Our pavements should be wide enough for everyone to pass each other easily. When footways are blocked, it forces people into the carriageway and into traffic. Our research shows that people are more likely to get out and support their local economy when their streets are clutter-free.”
“
Posted 2 years ago # -
“
The Dutch invest €595 million annually on urban biking, resulting in €19 BILLION saved in public health care costs alone. That’s how smart govts do the math on investing in better mobility.
Let’s be clear — it wastes public money to NOT do it.
“
https://twitter.com/BrentToderian/status/1468116671000838145
Posted 2 years ago # -
“
Edinburgh's Spaces for People programme:
Consultation for next stage gets off to bad start Council efforts to carry out a consultation on the continuation of controversial traffic schemes have got off to a bad start after key groups were missed off the mailing list.
“
Posted 2 years ago # -
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Roadworks, cycle lanes and other Spaces for People measures are all cited by motorists as causing reduced road space and bottlenecks.
It’s understood the situation has also been worsened by more commuters choosing to bring their car into the city because they are reluctant to use public transport due to covid.
“
Posted 2 years ago # -
So, it's fine to take up road space to drive into town if you don't want to use public transport due to covid. It is not fine to take up road space to walk or cycle into town if you don't want to use public transport due to covid.
I'm sure that makes prefect sense in the middle of a global pandemic and climate, inactivity and obesity crises.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Yeah, that sums it up nicely.
Though, as usual, it’s unknown which ‘side’ most people are on - or might be given well thought out/rational info/arguments.
Either way, it really needs (still, after all these years) GOVS to actually lead…
Posted 2 years ago # -
I think the council also needs to be clear that this isn't a referendum. Constructive feedback needs to be taken into account but if it's simply a fact of motorists wanting to motor then we need to ensure that doesn't stop the future.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Posted 2 years ago #
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Discussed previously upthread.
He proposes narrowing the roadway to help lower speeds, putting in a textured central reservation to nudge motorists to drive more carefully and planting trees on the pavement to help pedestrians and cyclists to feel safer.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Is this not the wannabe road planner who wrote the LSE report upthread?
So many absolute grifters have attached themselves to this issue.
Posted 2 years ago # -
...nudge motorists to drive more carefully...
It is literally a criminal offence to drive "without due care and attention, or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road". Punishment on conviction can be a fine of up to £1000. If the (probably theoretical) threat of a £1000 fine doesn't discourage careless driving, what impact would a two tone road surface have?Anyone who has cycled along a coloured cycle lane could tell you - none.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I think it's more to do with the difference in texture, like a street-long rumble strip oriented along the axis rather than across. Unfortunately he seems to forget that a lot of people now drive gigantic SUVs that will happily go over *speed bumps* without bothering the passengers, so an imperceptible vibration and a noise they can't hear inside their soundproof air-conditioned mobile living room isn't likely to have much impact in reality.
It'll make for a lovely hazard for cyclists though, after a few months of said SUVs driving over it turn it into a lumpy potholed mess.
Posted 2 years ago # -
The idea is modelled on this in Wales, apparently, which does have a reasonably good review: https://therantyhighwayman.blogspot.com/2019/07/cycling-embassy-of-great-britain-agm_27.html
However note that even here there are comments about too much through traffic and the need to put a modal filter on Taff Embankment. The idea that you could apply this to such a busy road in East Craigs (that's only going to get much busier due to the new housing estates) seems extremely fanciful.
Posted 2 years ago # -
a lot of people now drive gigantic SUVs that will happily go over *speed bumps* without bothering the passengers
I remember when Exhibition Road in That London was rebuilt from an ordinary capacious stretch of tarmac to rather more of a shared environment. But even now, people are so hardwired with footways vs carriageways that it isn't a shared space: it's a narrow two-way road with kerbs that are only faintly defined, and turnips who still park on the footway so as not to obstruct drivers.
If you want drivers to slow down, asking them nicely doesn't work: you have to make them slow down. Nudge theory only goes so far, and then you need physical measures. Lots of people is one measure, like the top of the Lawnmarket as Laid Back has frequently observed; massive build-outs is the other. These two examples really do make drivers slow down, but they are also perfect illustrations of the harm that drivers pose and the level of infrastructure that is needed to mitigate (some of) that harm:
Bilston: https://goo.gl/maps/diq9jFeHFya3RyWq5
Newbridge: https://goo.gl/maps/VsbL9NK5P5R1LUcu9
Posted 2 years ago # -
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He added: "We have the added fiasco of closures around Comiston for Spaces for People, so closures on Braid Avenue South and Whitehouse Loan to name but a few, which in turn throws all the traffic onto the poor residents of Woodburn Terrace where there is a primary school getting hit with pollution fumes from dusk till dawn.”“
Posted 2 years ago # -
I hope this is the start of a new series of articles in the Chipwrapper "Pointsh uv view", where they interview people leaving the pub at closing time about issues of the day.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Did they just use "fuming drivers" unironically?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Just a couple of angry old men having a rant. Nothing to see here, and certainly nothing to influence transport policy on. Next!
Posted 2 years ago #
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