CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » General Edinburgh

A depressing place

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  1. Dave
    Member

    We spent a long weekend in London for various reasons. I don't know it all that well, but there does seem to be a real explosion in filtered roads, segregated lanes, and people using hire bikes are everywhere.

    Got off the train at Haymarket and jumped on the bus home. As the journey progressed I got more and more depressed at how bad a job our politicians have done. Literally every street has some deep failure or other. We aren't likely to see any significant drop in car dominance, congestion, air quality.

    We aren't even moving in the right direction. Our kids are nearly halfway to adulthood now - if this was any workplace, there would be a management bloodbath. Instead it seems like councillors can fail without consequence. MSPs are no better.

    Very frustrating. I got nothing done last night, it felt like I was physically weighed down by the experience. There's no real point to this rant... sorry!

    Posted 1 year ago #

  2. neddie
    Member

    It could be worse. Aquaintances from Birmingham were saying how wonderful Edinburgh was, and how much progress we'd made reducing cars in the city centre.

    I did roll about on the floor simultaneously laughing and wincing with pain.

    But yeah, I also often comtemplate giving up and moving somewhere nice and mostly car-free

    Posted 1 year ago #

  3. chdot
    Admin

    Yes to all that.

    I did leave to reduce my direct exposure to daily reminders of CEC sloth and political timidity.

    I left when the politician in charge was perpetuating the ‘we have to balance the needs of all road users’ myth.

    Then somehow she ‘got the message’ and there was a brief window of hope.

    Following a relatively conclusive election the minority party in the (until then) ruling coalition staged a coup, largely because HQ said ‘no cooperation with the SNP’.

    Whatever anyone’s views on ‘Indy’, it’s not hard to argue that this has had a negative effect on Edinburgh. SG wasn’t particularly sympathetic to CEC even with the same party partly in charge, so now?…

    All compounded by Transport now having an egotistical Janus ‘in charge’.

    In parallel, the climate of ‘what about the poor hard done by/persecuted motorist’ distraction has been ramped up - making things worse for everyone.

    What’s to be done?

    Hard to say!

    Minor Edinburgh detail is that a small number of people are progressing the schools’ Bike Bus idea. Such things are valuable in themselves and do have beneficial ripples.

    I hope the Roseburn to Dalry link does make a noticeable difference.

    As ever, expensive projects without adequate connections are unlikely to realise their true potential.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  4. Yodhrin
    Member

    I feel that pain. A friend invited me to come and stay with them in the Netherlands over the summer and frankly I was relieved when family troubles gave me an excuse to say no - not because I didn't want to, but because I genuinely think if I had spent two lovely weeks in Groningen and beyond and then had to come home to Edinburgh I might well have just walked into the waves at Granton Harbour.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  5. edinburgh87
    Member

    if this was any workplace, there would be a management bloodbath. Instead it seems like councillors can fail without consequence. MSPs are no better.

    A million likes, Dave!

    Posted 1 year ago #

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