New TEC Convenor
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Councillor Jenkinson is always happy to meet constituents to discuss any individual issues or concerns.
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CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » General Edinburgh
Thread for Cllr Jenkinson
(27 posts)-
Posted 8 months ago #
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Some background from 2022:
Name – Stephen Jenkinson
Party – Labour
Ward – Pentland HillsI am married with two teenage children and have lived and worked in Edinburgh all my life. I am an IT specialist and I have worked in financial services for 28 years. I am a committed trade unionist and I have played a key role in organising in my workplace over many years.
My key issues: There are five key issues I am campaigning on in Pentland Hills:
- Improving public transport ensuring it is a suitable alternative to car usage.
- Ensuring all children in the ward have safe walking and cycling routes to and from school.
- Getting the basics right. Focussing on fly-tipping, littering, dog-fouling weeds and graffiti.
- Supporting local businesses, charities and community organisations to recover from COVID.
- Improving roads and footpaths with a ‘fix it right, first time’ approach to pot holes.my bold
"the potholes"... hmmm
Posted 8 months ago # -
He's our ward councillor but I haven't had much contact with him. I asked him to abstain from voting the Tories into the administration after the election, but he said that as the party whip there was not much hope of that! Since then I've not bothered with the local councillors one way or another
Posted 8 months ago # -
Fluff piece in EEN https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/hitting-the-ground-running-with-visit-to-north-bridge-stephen-jenkinson-4767534
Posted 8 months ago # -
SA’s take on SJ’s article -
“
He is hitting the ground running - "Key to these [climate] aspirations is the expansion of our award-winning tram network, and I look forward to working with the Scottish Government and other partners on this."
“
https://x.com/drscottarthurmp/status/1831237317261963391
Under current financial/political circumstances, seems bizarre to have the tram as a continuing priority.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Key to these [climate] aspirations...
yeeeeaaaah...
The only way they are going to meet any climate "aspirations" is through demand-management of cars ("sticks")
Posted 8 months ago # -
“
Cllr Jenkinson intends to continue chairing the Transport & Environment Committee [TEC] in the consensual way developed by his predecessor, but with greater emphasis on delivery – intentions which we very much welcome.
“
Posted 8 months ago # -
Cllr Jenkinson to Spokes:
I see us moving into more of a delivery phase now which is quite exciting
okaaaaaay...
I won't be holding my breath
Posted 8 months ago # -
“I won't be holding my breath“
Quite
No idea how much he is passing on a script.
Or how much he understands staffing and money situations…
Posted 8 months ago # -
staffing and money situations
They could start by reallocating all the "roads engineers" and "signals team" as active travel.
The tinkering they do with the traffic lights achieves nothing anyway.
And why have they removed any advantage from the advance-cycle-signal coming off Morrison St into Haymarket? It just results in conflict with taxi* drivers turning left into the layby
*And other drivers pretending to be taxis
Posted 8 months ago # -
The prime minister has told the BBC that his new government is "going to have to be unpopular" and make tough decisions in order to bring reforms.
Speaking on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg in his first major interview in Downing Street, Keir Starmer said the only way to change the country was to do "difficult things now" even though "I know they are unpopular".
Scott Arthur let the city down hugely with his backtracking and weakness on road safety, but imagine if he'd taken his messaging from Starmer instead. Will Jenkinson take inspiration from the new PM or from his predecessor?
Posted 8 months ago # -
Is a white, suburban, middle-aged man who has worked for the same bank for 30 years, in IT*, likely to be an ”in the box” or “out of the box” thinker?
*I imagine he started with the telephone system.
I predict we’ll see very slow incremental progress on delivery, maybe construction being started on one new scheme every 3 years, nothing to upset the drivers, and more rolling back on the temporary stuff (because they’ll be too mired in bureaucracy to make it permanent)
Posted 8 months ago # -
Apparently he has several cars and turned up late to a Living Streets event because he couldn't find a parking space for his BMW.
Posted 6 months ago # -
Anyone know if Cllr Jenkinson is particularly active, or responsive, on Twitter?
Is he on Bluesky? Mastodon?
Posted 6 months ago # -
He is on Twitter but not in the way Scott Arthur is. Some French nut called Pere Gembeaux has asked Jenky to show more guts next time over traffic dispersal bus gates BECAUSE they work.
Posted 6 months ago # -
He responded on Twitter to questions of himself and @edinhelp regarding a patch job on CCWEL I’ve dubbed the ‘liquorice layby’ until fixed - Edward Tissiman measured the surface as 15x rougher than the original CCWEL surface here. https://x.com/cllr_jenkinson/status/1850263676797759566?s=46
Posted 6 months ago # -
Edward T been super busy measuring roughness of all paths and has a great graphic. His method was to use a barrow filled with jelly and to see how much it wobbled. Oh wait, that was That’s Life Science
Posted 6 months ago # -
New and being published in EENL: "Exciting times ahead for transport in Edinburgh" https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/news/article/14209/exciting-times-ahead-for-transport-in-edinburgh
Posted 1 week ago # -
"Exciting“
Overworking word?
Ironic?
Misleading?
He seems to be saying the right things.
‘No guarantees about funding’ is a big and longstanding/perennial problem that (probably) makes any 10 year plan ‘impossible’ to deliver.
Posted 1 week ago # -
@chdot - about that 10 year timescale:
The projects slated to proceed have a total estimated cost of between £221 million and £711 million. The Council estimates that it will have an annual budget of £36.39 million to deliver these. This is likely an over-estimate, as it includes £10 million under the Bus Infrastructure Fund (BIF) heading. Total BIF funding for Scotland in 2025-26 is £10 million.
Even going with the Council's budget it would take between six and 20 years to deliver all these projects. Assuming a lower BIF total, and the fact most projects wouldn't be eligible for BIF funds - say an annual total £30 million and the timespan extends to between 8 and 24 years.
Now, even that is probably an underestimate of likely timescales. Project delivery is not constant and major projects, say George Street which is estimated at between £30m and £100m, would likely eat the entire budget and available council/contractor resource for several years. So realistically, you are looking at a 20 to 30 year horizon.
Happy to be convinced I'm wrong.
Posted 1 week ago # -
“Happy to be convinced I'm wrong.“
Can you wait 30 years??
Let’s assume money (at the right time) ISN’T a problem? AND inflation in contractor and materials costs is fully covered (AND there are no ‘external factors’, ‘unknown unknowns’, ‘events’ etc), does/would CEC have the capacity/competence to deliver?
Posted 1 week ago # -
What ever happened to those favourite phrases-
“Shovel ready projects’
“Hit the ground running”
?
Posted 1 week ago # -
@chdot - if I remember rightly, there were 66 projects being taken forward. These include hardy perennials like Canal-Meadows, Meadows-George Street, and George Street itself, which are already many years old. Even with the fairest of fair winds, I can't see all 66 being open by 2035.
It's not that it's impossible in any normal sense of the word. This Is Edinburgh. Projects go through some sort of treacleisation process, slowing progress to something that would embarrass an arthritic snail.
Posted 1 week ago # -
So realistically, you are looking at a 20 to 30 year horizon.
I don't believe any local authority, or even any public body, would entertain even the merest hint of an idea of budget certainty for a 20 or 30 year portfolio of projects.
To put it into perspective, proposals were invited in 1985 for the construction and operation of a channel tunnel. In 1986 the winning proposal was announced. In 1988 construction started. In 1994 it opened for business. Nine years (and £14b in today's money).
Network Rail works to 5-year control periods. These let NR prioritise its projects that would be delivered within that timeframe.
Posted 1 week ago # -
“
Section 2: Policy action areas to increase walking and cycling
Policy action area 1: Integrate walking and cycling into all relevant policies
Policy action area 2: Provide sate and connected walking and cycling networks
Policy action area 3: Design inclusive and safe streets for all Policy action area 4: Improve safe road user behaviour
Policy action area 5: Protect and prioritize walking and cycling
Policy action area 6: Facilitate integrated transport options
Policy action area 7: Promote and incentivize walking and cyclingSection 3: Key enablers for successful implementation
Governance and coordination
Community and civil society engagement
Knowledge, skills and capacity“
Etc
https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/381335/9789240109902-eng.pdf?sequence=1
Hard to disagree!
Posted 1 week ago # -
@Arellcat - absolutely. Even the Council's 10 year timescale seems way too long, that will cover a period involving three Council terms and sessions of the Scottish Parliament.
I suppose what I was really trying to do was point out how ridiculous this exercise is. True prioritisation would involve a handful of projects to be delivered over the next two to three years, with guaranteed budgets and resources allocated to see them through.
All the Council has now is a slightly shorter wish list.
Posted 1 week ago # -
Edinburgh:
"...we need commitment and stability from the Scottish Government if we’re to deliver the changes which our city needs and deserves."
Glasgow:
Hold my tarmac laying machine.
Posted 1 week ago #
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