CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
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RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
"We' are used to cycle lane, ASLs surfaces and bicycle logos wearing away to nothing.
'Not enough money' they say.
Now the council is even trying to make money on faded parking bay markings!
"
A council spokesman said: "Given the fact that this is a cobbled street, we believe these markings to be adequate. That said, the gentleman is entitled to appeal, as is any driver who receives a parking ticket."
"
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/topstories/Driver39s-car-is-towed-from.6772876.jp
To be fair, I can tell that it's not an ordinary parking bay..?
"To be fair, I can tell that it's not an ordinary parking bay"
Probably - if you bother to notice/think about it.
Looks like there is an over-provision of motorcycle parking in that part of town - otherwise he would have had more difficulty parking.
But my general point (for 'us') remains the same - poorly maintained infrastructure leads to doubts about whether 'it's still in use' - and if the council really cares about encouraging cycling.
NOTE I noticed that the ASL boxes around North Bridge/Waterloo Place have been repainted.
I suppose if we (cyclists) rightly expect that ASLs / cycle lanes / signage is maintained then car drivers have a right to expect that signange and markings for them are also maintained to reasonable standards...
In this case, from the photograph it does look quite obvious that it's marked as a motorcycle bay. (Or something other than just a regular car bay at the very least). However if the SPD were on the other foot and - say - a cyclist was hauled over by L&B for some road infraction when they thought they were on a path, or didn't realise they weren't, I'm sure the picture of them taken by the EEN holding up a spot-fine would be equally "poor me".
Someone seems to have spent an awful lot of time and effort chipping away the painted 'No Cycling' signage at the other end of Jawbone Walk from the Jawbone; 'no cycling' signs still displayed, so I guess it wasnt the council. Another winter like the last and there will be a nice set of potholes across the path, achieving far more than the original paint ever did...
@chdot noticed that the ASL boxes around North Bridge/Waterloo Place have been repainted.
Yes, and about time too! It would be nice to think that e-mails to the council and responses to consultations on roads have made a difference. One can but live in hope!
The cycle lanes/ASLs/greenways markings are part of a wider problem. So much of Edinburgh's traffic management efforts are painted on the road (instructions, arrows showing which lane you should be in at junctions, etc.); however, if the markings aren't maintained or, as is often the case, it rains at night so the markings get obscured by reflected streetlights it then becomes very difficult to work out what the hell you're supposed to do. It must be a nightmare for visitors.
Dunno - when I clicked through to the story I was expecting to see a really rediculous smear of paint (some of the double yellows in Leith have crumbled to the point where you genuinely can't tell how many lines there are supposed to be, except by looking further up the street).
Yet in fact, it looks just like I'd expect a motorbike bay to look.
Interesting that you can avoid the wardens just by parking on the pavement (or apparently, double parking).
Yip, pavement or double parking is a police matter.
A number of years ago I was moving out of a flat and had popped by late (11pm-ish) to pick up a couple of things. Not a space to be had, and cars double-parked all over the place. I tucked the car away, but on double yellows. 5 minutes in and out, came back to the car and a ticket was on the window.
I wrote to the Council (with a cheque, I wasn't actually contesting the ticket, I knew where I'd parked...) pointing out all the double parking and so on (I did mention I thought there was a five minutes loading grace period) and got a reply telling me that double parking is outside their remit and that the warden had observed I was there longer than five minutes (I wasn't).
I guess the solution would be to headcam such parking, then you'd have irrefutable evidence ;-)
"Someone seems to have spent an awful lot of time and effort chipping away the painted 'No Cycling' signage at the other end of Jawbone Walk from the Jawbone; 'no cycling' signs still displayed, so I guess it wasnt the council."
Apparently it was!
Rest due to follow...
These existed last year -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chdot/sets/72157623532527171/detail
what's the story? are they preparing to but barriers in? (joke!)
Presumably a precursor to removing the path altogether?
Maybe they're preparing for summer by preparing it to paint in
SAID,
NO
BARBECUES"
instead.
@wingpig - I hope so.
They've also got round to finally burning off the thoroughly confusing duplicated set of bike lane / footway demarcation lines just before Meadow Place that were left over from when they re-aligned the path there, painted new lines and left the old ones in situ.
The red asphalt used to paint ASLs etc is really expensive. It would probably be much cheaper and easier to maintain just white markings. Would we be content with this?
"Would we be content with this?"
Good question. to answer it, it would be helpful to know if the red does make a difference. Did that research that was being done last year ever get published? My gut reaction is that red does get more noticed and observed, at least in big multi-lane intersections.
In practice what JP8 suggests is exactly what already happens. Certainly better than letting the white wear out AND not replacing the red/green.
But (to go back to a very old discussion), it is annoying that they trumpet the number/miles of cycle lanes created, give them an expensive red surface, but then paint parking bays on top of them. A waste of resources in every sense.
"The red asphalt used to paint ASLs etc is really expensive".
JohnPalmer8 - This isn't a criticism of what many would consider a reasonable comment, but red asphalt isn't expensive in the big scheme of things. The M74 extension cost approximately £865 per centimetre of its 8km length - that's expensive.
The Scottish Government aims to have 10% of all journeys made by bike by 2020 - is it unreasonable to ask that they provide a bit of funding to at least try and make this happen? The Government and Council should be thinking big for cycling and I think cyclists* should do likewise - otherwise we will have to endure many more years of substandard infrastructure provision.
Can you imagine a motorist arguing "Motorways, yeah nice idea but soooo expensive. I'm quite happy with these A roads"
* I know lots do and many people put a great deal of effort into lobbying, practial work and so on.
@chdot, if it was the Council, why did they not burn off the markings, as opposed to using a chisel, and why leave up the sign? I know nothing that the council does in relation to cycling makes sense, but even so.
Personally I don't think red asphalt gets motorists to respect an ASL box any more or less than using road paint. When road paint breaks up, it does not form as poor a surface than when the red surface does. Also, it's much easier to maintain with a spot of paint than when a utility company comes along and digs a hole in it and makes a half-baked attempt to return the surface.
Within current budgetary climates (and with current political will), I'd rather see what money there is spent on better maintained and more clearly painted ASLs rather than on fewer tarmaced ones.
In an ideal world of course it would be a different situation.
Yes I don't think the red paint makes any difference either, what we really need is a crackdown on ASL abuse. Perhaps in conjuction with one on RLJing, just to keep the ranters quiet. Er.
"They've also got round to finally burning off the thoroughly confusing duplicated set of bike lane / footway demarcation lines just before Meadow Place"
Here?
Previously (saga!)
There!
I took this last year
Hadn't realised the 'paint over' had worn away.
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