CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 16years old!
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It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
Prompted into memory by this from Uberuce:
"It does have to be said that these are people who will spend five minutes driving around to save themselves a one minute walk from the car"
Saw some kids getting dropped off for school on the main street beside our's this morning. Recognised the car (it's a big pimped Range Rover with carbon effect bonnet thingy). It lives about 300 yards up the road.
"it's a big pimped Range Rover with carbon effect bonnet thingy). It lives about 300 yards up the road."
There goes the 'hood.
Before we condemn the individual user (tempting though it is..) maybe they get sorted for work, pop kids in car, drop kids then carry on journey to somewhere a fair distance away with cr*p public transport.
Or they may drop kids and drive 300 yards home, but without knowing which it's hard to criticise... (even though driving kids to school does annoy me, I can see how it may be easier at times).
In fairness the parking observation isn't restricted to car use; it's a human foible that when we own a device that saves time we'll spend integer multiples of that saving in order to use it. Remote controls(when they go missing) being a classic example.
I can understand the driver using the car (she turned off and headed in a different direction after dropping them off). For any variety of the reasons you mention it may be easier for them to take the car.
What I can't understand is why the kids need to be driven 300 yards? Seriously? Even if you're going the same way it seems a little... lazy...
Mind you, one of my neighbours drives to the same cornershop I walk to on a Sunday morning. It's 5 minutes walk each way.
" it's a human foible that when we own a device that saves time we'll spend integer multiples of that saving in order to use it."
Cyclists are very good examples of this.
This sort of thing really annoys me. How hard would it be to walk the kids 300 yeards down the road and then walk back home to pick up the car (if necessary).
I walk a similar distance with my son to/from his nursery - and he is only two and a half. I then nip back up the road to get my bike and then head into work.
I should say that being a parent is difficult and that time in the morning is like gold dust and I'm not claiming to be better than anyone else.
The kids are old enough (secondary) to be left to walk the remaining 150 yards on their own, crossing two main roads, so it's not as if it's done because they need chaperoned. It baffles me.
But then as I came to the end of my schooldays I remember my dad offering me lifts, and me refusing because the other kids took the mick out of you remorselessly for not being able to walk...
Not only does it send the kids all the wrong messages, but it is often dangerous for other road users.
Although I also despaired for the Dad I saw walking up the hill with kids, his back and arms festooned with kiddie backpacks....
"For any variety of the reasons you mention it may be easier for them to take the car"
"This sort of thing really annoys me. How hard would it be to walk the kids 300 yeards down the road and then walk back home to pick up the car"
These are all parts of the 'problem'.
'We' think that people should a) realise that cycling is better/cheaper/healthier/more fun and b) people should want to/be made to/be helped to drive less.
'Society/Governments don't quite understand/share this view (yet??).
Also on the laziness theme I get exasperated by people who can't be bothered walking on travelators (and escalators).
A great example is the big Tesco at Drumbrae which has a gently sloping travelator, perhaps 30m long to take you up and down, to and from the 1st floor.
You routinely see people standing, gormlessly letting their overweight bulks be transported for them. I mean the average Tesco visitor probably walks quite far, overall, during their visit.
I find it deeply depressing.
" Although I also despaired for the Dad I saw walking up the hill with kids, his back and arms festooned with kiddie backpacks...."
I know that feeling!!! I'm often pushing a bike down the road carrying 3 bags and a cello when one of the girls "want's to go on my shoulders because she's tired......
I have to say I hate driving up to the school. I've HAD to do it for the last 3 days because I've got a job on in leith which requires an early start but I do normally walk home and get the van after the drop off.
You're talking double parking girdlock / traffic wardens / people who can't drive trying to manouvre in small spaces while chlidren run around in between it all why would yo want to be part of that every day.??? On the flipside people don't want to cycle to school because of the gridlocked chaos on the roads. I've had one of the car dependent smoker mums moan on at me about how she gets held up n the morning by cyclists with deathtrap tagalongs weaving all over the road........ she lives closer to the school than me and I live close to the school and used to use a tagalong!! rrargh!!! I suppose each person has a different reason for their morning commute transport choice.
"cyclists with deathtrap tagalongs weaving all over the road." translation 'moving right in lane so as to turn right' ?
"I suppose each person has a different reason for their morning commute transport choice"
And they'll never agree on a definition of selfish. Or is that self(ish).
Short of total bans on 'out of catchment choice', private schools etc. progress will be slow.
Though of course people would have to agree about the word progress.
@SRD, in my experience of non-tagalong riding they can deal with that (just), but moving out to avoid being injured/killed by a carelessly opened car door is clearly just me weaving aimlessly around the road to annoy them... :-(
(it's a big pimped Range Rover with carbon effect bonnet thingy)
Is that the one that regularly parks on the pavement so I cant get past with our buggy? Despite there being plenty of space on the road. GRRRR! Personalised numberplate?
In balerno the main primary school was built in the first estate constructed when the land was sold to the white settlers. The sprawl then developed away from this original development so to some extent the main school is in the wrong place (the original village school - now the nursery/play group is more central). This means that everyone drives all the waY to school heading west, dropping the kids off then heading back into Edinburgh. If no one did that and just sent the kids on foot there would be minimal traffic and it would be safe to walk. Also they would all get to work earlier because they hadn't driven in the wrong direction up to the school along narrow roads congested with traffic.
range rovers on pavements ! well it does have four wheel drive, and besides, ive seen that essex boys film, its great bad boys with range rovers !So if they wanna drive their kids to school or park on the pavement then they should b****y well be allowed to ! damned bikey tree huggers dont pay road tax..................................etc etc
I dont like range rover drivers(as a rule !)cept the ones with dugs in the front, lambs in the back and their own land up the sides!
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