newest update now says w/c 28 July.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure
Harrison Rd Closure
(57 posts)-
Posted 1 month ago #
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Thanks, i shall stop the spam!
Would help if the contractors had a proper update page rather than relying on councillors and random citizens to issue updates via the book of faces or other social media.
Posted 1 month ago # -
Not spam at all! I thought they were super useful.
But I guess you can take a break until the 28th
Posted 1 month ago # -
@MediumDave - I have really appreciated the updates. Hopefully the Council are quicker at fixing bridges than building cycle lanes - or you will still be at it in 10 years time.
Posted 1 month ago # -
Thankyou. I can now start doing updates for the Telford path as due to the Commie being closed i am swimming at Ainslie Park at the moment.
Posted 1 month ago # -
Seen on FB:
"Just a wee update on the Harrison Road bridge closure. It was originally due to close to foot traffic this week. However that's been postponed for the time being. They've uncovered far more services crossing the bridge than they anticipated."
I guess you're off the hook for a bit longer @mediumdave
Posted 1 month ago # -
Thanks - i've been away for a week and thought I'd go and have a look at the hole where the bridge wasn't on my way to the shops when i got back.
Very surprised to see the bridge still open and the specially-made sign that said it was closed from the 28th now missing! They have be done a bit more digging since i last saw it.
There's about 9 electric or telecommunications cables, a large pipe which might be gas or water and a concrete duct that may contain the supply for the street lights.
All of these have been visible for a while so i'm not sure why any of this is a suprise to the contractors. There may of course be other services i can't see.
Anyway, well keep you all updated!
Posted 1 month ago # -
Just seen (in an image pasted into one of the local groups) that the demolotion was due to start on the 11th August, but due to the design having to include around 15 public utility ducts into the new deck, the demolition is delayed until the new design is complete.
Posted 1 month ago # -
Useful, thanks.
The vacuum excavator lorry was back again this morning but they appeared to just be removing some more stuff from around the services. I guess the plan will likely involve building a temporary support for the services and construct the new bridge around them. Fun.
Posted 1 month ago # -
Living as close to it as we do I am beginning to hope they just close the road permanently as a rat run for the Watsons traffic piling down into town. Usually 4x4s too big to fit into the lane and sitting idling engine across the entry/exit to Harrison Gardens - once had a rage at one woman with mobile to ear in one hand and chequebook on steering wheel with pen in the other hand (yes small child in backseat) the very fact I was nose to the driver window and speaking before she noticed me was amusing to everyone including the driver waiting to turn right (who in turn was holding up everyone behind him so nobody, including knee steering woman, could go forwards....)
We are using Ashley Terrace a lot more when we have to drive but never used Harrison that often as the junction onto Slateford is too heavily set to favour the slateford road traffic and you don't get to the left turn when buses hold up anyone trying to turn right onto Angle Park anyway.
Most cyclists are NOT being considerate I might add.
Also means I can walk my puppy without having to stress about the volume of traffic.
This is the puppy
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
@spytfyre
I suggest you write to your councillors and ask for the area to be made into a low-traffic neighbourhood. It won't happen if people don't ask for it.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
It invariably comes back to too many, and too many too-large, cars being driven on roads that were literally not laid out for cars. The Harrison Park area was substantially built up before the first horseless carriage was even manufactured in the UK.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
@neddie @Arellcat
Yeah a wee email might be worth considering, I am bored at work after all hence my reappearance on this site ;PEdit: Done!
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Thanks @spytfyre !
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Trial pits have been dug on the canal bridge to assess it.
Given they intend to put a weight restriction on the bridge depending on the results of the trial pits, presumably require a TRO which should hopefully mean the bridge remains shut to all motor traffic for a while yet.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
David Key, just posted this to Facebook:
In case you're wondering, the work taking place on Harrison Road canal bridge is the digging of trial pits to investigate the load bearing abilities of the bridge.
Talking to the team this morning, they seem to think the work will take a couple of weeks and are expecting to return a limit of 7.5 tonnes for that bridge.
The council will then have to promulgate this info and affix appropriate signage which will, undoubtedly, take a bit of time.
Then the bridge can be reopened.The other bridge demolition work has been postponed in the meantime and access is still available for walkers/bikes over and under.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
They ought to put a width restriction on the bridge too, by means of bollards. That would help prevent overweight vehicles (ab)using the bridge.
My favourite kind of restriction like the ones in London, that means SUVs have to crawl through, at risk of scratching their precious
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
The 'News would have a conniption fit if one of those were ever installed up here. It'd be "dangerous and potentially deadly" because of course expecting drivers to pay attention, slow down, and be careful is just silly tish-tosh fantasy land student politics or somesuch.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Saw the trial pit - the old curved stone of what may have been the original gutter remains.
David Key replied to my email about the LTN idea that he has already tried this or similar and then some waffle about how the parking restrictions intended to deter out of towners parking free then getting bus to town only backfired with angry locals so there is no pleasing everybody (Sherlock has no :poop emoji:)
And also wanted to close Viewforth but that and other roads do just mean there is no north-south option left but to go to Home Street and up through Bruntsfield causing even more of a bottle neck at the junctions there.
As I said to him pleasing everyone all the time is impossible
Pleasing one person all the time is also impossible
The jam in the middle is pleasing as many as often as possible but even that is minefield territory and anyone in politics has to suffer the backlash of those not happy.Maybe habits will change given the time the road remains closed,
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
“Maybe habits will change given the time the road remains closed,“
By definition they already have.
Key Q is ‘how much would things return to as before without any work/alternative options.
Obviously the answer is essentially unknowable in advance and probably unprovable after (if) bridge(s) reopening without adequate information collection.
‘Keeping everyone happy’, will always be impossible, but it would help if more politicians and officials were less ‘nervous’ (apparently) about not trying to maintain the status quo around cars/drivers being disproportionately ‘accommodated’.
Is there any calculation on the value of fixing these bridges for motor vehicles?
We have a ‘culture’ where ‘people have cars and their abilities to drive easily from a to b, c, d etc. must be regarded as normal/reasonable’.
And anyone suggesting anything different is ‘wanting everyone to cycle all the time’…
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Politicians and councillors need to get over the idea that they "need" to collect traffic information before and after implementation of an LTN
We know that LTNs work - all the evidence from the UK, and around the world, shows that they do
Just show some leadership and crack on and get them implemented, JFC! Otherwise, we are doomed as a species
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
"some waffle about how the parking restrictions intended to deter out of towners parking free then getting bus to town only backfired with angry locals so there is no pleasing everybody"
he's not wrong. I remember the first push for parking controls (you probably do too) driven by local residents. This was not long after the horrific fire in the Shandon colonies.... I was shocked to recently see people local to HP / Shandon complaining about the parking restrictions in the usual online places.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
“Politicians and councillors need to get over the idea that they "need" to collect traffic information before and after implementation of an LTN“
Yes
I was more interested in the idea of whether/how much traffic had reduced because of bridge closure and where (some of) it had gone instead - more to prove reopening to motors was not required rather than ‘justify’/argue for LTNs (etc).
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
“where (some of) it had gone instead”
Well most of it is on Ashley Terrace/Shandon Place, not helped by Craiglockhart Ave and the S end of Viewforth having themselves been closed at times during the same period. Also rat running through the entirely inappropriate Merchiston Grove, as well as E/W along Harrison Gdns/W Bryson Rd. For the idiots who prefer to drive over the speed bumps in the middle of the road to ‘save their suspension’ rather than give 1.5m (or even 50cm) to obviously approaching cyclists, some wing mirrors have had to be boxed :(
Outside of Harrison Rd, it’s all been deeply unpleasant.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
So
‘LTN NOW’…
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Doubtless Ashley terrace gets the bulk of drivers coming from the west, but fairly confident (but obviously no hard data) that google maps / satnav is directing a number of drivers coming from east and north to instead use Yeaman place and then take the right onto Temple Park crescent to head back towards Harrison Rd.
Posted 2 weeks ago # -
Found a video of a most excellent width restriction
https://bsky.app/profile/davidho.bsky.social/post/3l42vqeznmn2y
Posted 4 days ago #
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