"Mound reopens as trams works shift to next phase"

CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure

"Mound reopens as trams works shift to next phase"

(29 posts)

Started 12 years ago by chdot
Latest reply from wingpig

No tags yet.

chdot
Admin

"

Traffic will return to The Mound

THE Mound will reopen to buses, taxis and bicycles from this weekend as the latest phase of tram works gets under way in the city centre.

Contractors have re-sequenced their work in order to open up the route down The Mound and across Princes Street into Hanover Street from 5am on Saturday. Meanwhile, the work site at the east end of Princes Street is being expanded and buses will no longer be able to use the stretch between North Bridge and South St Andrew Street.

"

http://m.scotsman.com/edinburgh-evening-news/transport/mound_reopens_as_trams_works_shift_to_next_phase_1_2147684

Posted 12 years ago #
Dave
Member

Ouch, that's going to add 5-10 minutes to the bus timetable!

Posted 12 years ago #
mgj
Member

Nice picture of a car in the advisory cycle lane there.

Posted 12 years ago #
Wilmington's Cow
Member

Ah. I thought I'd looked for a thread on this before starting my own!

The comments are entertaining as ever.

Posted 12 years ago #
Wilmington's Cow
Member

"I would use public transport (buses) to get around Edinburgh, but unfortunately there isn't a bus that passes or stops right at my front door, at exactly the time I want it, and which will transport me, my golf clubs and my trolley directly to the first tee of my golf club. And, of course, I have to make the return journey which may or may not include a stop off at the supermarket. Someone should set up such a service though, and make lots of money out it through public subsidy as is the case with ALL public transport. Of course this service would be running with no passengers virtually all the time and using far more fuel than any other form of transport. Anyone see any similarities with the system we have in place today?"

Posted 12 years ago #
chdot
Admin

"
Spokes CycleCampaign ‏ @SpokesLothian

The Mound reopens to bikes (& buses, taxis) March 3rd. Beware tramlines! This is NOT final layout: bike lanes promised.

http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/news/article/815/latest_tram_works_due_to_start_as_mound_reopens

"

Posted 12 years ago #
crowriver
Member

@anth, I am sure that commenter keeps a stock of these anecdotal whinges in a text document on their computer. I've definitely read the one about bus not getting you to the golf club exactly when you want before: a few years ago too!

Posted 12 years ago #
Wilmington's Cow
Member

"I tried to drive along Queen Street last night at 7:30pm. Jesus Wept. The only street left going west to east, across the city centre, and they have dug that up now too. The best bit were all the signs signalling a lane was closed, and it is only after 30 minutes of traffic jam that you discover the sign indicates the WRONG LANE - cue much more congestion hilarity as everyone tries to change again. The EEN should just run a front page saying 'City Centre CLOSED until further notice' and then let us know when it's vaguely accessible, again, maybe in 2020 or so. Not that there will be any reason left to go there by then anyway."

A 30 minute traffic jam? At 7.30 at night? Methinks someone is exaggerating a little...

Posted 12 years ago #
cb
Member

Didn't you listen?????!?? THE WRONG LANE WAS CLOSED!!

Posted 12 years ago #
Wilmington's Cow
Member

Hehehehehehe!

I think I'll ride that way home, always fun along Queen Street (especially with the usual slight tailwind).

Posted 12 years ago #
Min
Member

Great. Means my Dublin Street route is no longer operable. Looks like the only option is the Death Zone of Picardy Place/Leith Street to North Bridge.

Anyone tried this yet at commuter type times? (8-8.30)? Maybe the traffic jams are so huge that no-one will be moving and I can just ride past them.

Posted 12 years ago #
wingpig
Member

I've gone in through London Road/Leith Walk to Picardy/York/Queen a few times over the past few weeks and it was indeed a case of slowly and carefully filtering sitting as high-up as possible in maximum visibility mode, ready to tuck in and keep pace in case things started to shift.

Posted 12 years ago #
chdot
Admin

"Means my Dublin Street route is no longer operable"

Yes I was down there yesterday.

Worse than previous (which was bad!).

Followed a women who became the first person I've seen cycling on Multrees Walk!

St A Sq north and west sides and then Waverley Bridge are viable.

Of course this was at a 'low pedestrian' time of week.

Posted 12 years ago #
chdot
Admin

Nice buildout (not new).

And when this is all over there will be more tramlines!

Posted 12 years ago #
Min
Member

Erk.

Not sure about going Waverley Bridge way. St Mary's Street is as rough as a badgers backside, then there is the Pleasance to grind up. St Andrew's St definitely a walking only option, always tons of peds when I go through. It would be less stressful than Wingpigs description mind you!

I'll just have to give both a go I think and decide which is the least horrible.

Posted 12 years ago #
wingpig
Member

Move the upwards-grind from the Pleasance to Market/Bank Streets, then trundle gently downwards thereafter until you rejoin your usual path?

Posted 12 years ago #
chdot
Admin

There's always The Mound!

Posted 12 years ago #
Min
Member

Yes, Dundee St then mound, it is reeaally tough work though! Plus Dundee St can be really unpleasent when busy.

Wingopig-Yes, that looks like a nicer option.

Also, I can't remember who mentioned this but there might be a way to squeeze round the back of the St James Centre and then straight across to North bridge.

Okay, that has given me a number of options. I'll give them a try and report back. Thanks!

Posted 12 years ago #
chdot
Admin

Don't know where you start, but I think I'd do Broughton Street and Leith Street (yes I know that includes Picardy Place Roundabout).

Or (more easterly) Five Ways, St. Mark's Park, McDonald Road Leith Walk/Street (less roundabout hassle).

Posted 12 years ago #
wingpig
Member

Going between Register House and St. James would incur two pedestrian-mode crossing-operations, unless you rejoin right-turning traffic. If there's allowed to be any at the moment.

Posted 12 years ago #
Min
Member

"Or (more easterly) Five Ways, St. Mark's Park, McDonald Road Leith Walk/Street (less roundabout hassle)."

The roundabout is only the second worst bit of that route. The worst is getting across the turning down Calton Road without having my front wheel shaved off by drivers cutting me up to get to it 0.1 seconds faster and then continuing up the bus lane while drivers swerve into me at up to 35mph from the right hand lane. Bloody horrible.

And still horrible as I tried it today and didn't notice any difference in traffic to "normal", ie it wasn't traffic jammed at all so still just several lanes of drivers all racing to get to the next red light.

I think I'll file this in the No Thanks category and try the next one!

I had a really nice ride apart from that bit..

Posted 12 years ago #
crowriver
Member

@Min, you could try McDonald Road - Brunswick Street - Hillside Crescent (heading east) - London Road (eastbound) - Easter Road (top, short steep bit) - Regent Road - Waterloo Place - North Bridge

Much quieter than Leith Walk/Leith Street though less direct. Two right turns at junctions (London Road, Easter Road), but possible to walk bike across on pedestrian phase...

Otherwise carry on across and down Abbeymount, mix it with the traffic a bit more to get to Canongate, then on to Bridges...

Posted 12 years ago #
Arellcat
Moderator

Since I'm working in Leith today, this morning's relatively enjoyable commute looks like it will become a complete joke on the return leg. Of course, I could just ride up Leith Walk and Street and be done with it, but I usually prefer the quieter Shore/Warriston/Scotland St option. I'm fascinated by the ease and facility with which the number one National Cycle Network route in ~~Great~~ Pretty Good Britain is closed and dug up with no good alternatives put in place.

And one day I will remember to bring my camera when I have occasion to experience Edinburgh's perpetual roadworks. Thanks, chdot, for all those views!

I spent some time recently mapping out Edinburgh Corporation's 1950s/60s plans for the inner city ring road, which proposed great tunnels carved through Calton Hill and under Donaldson's, and motorway bridges spanning the mighty Waverley valley. Given that the centre of the city is tending towards a 'here be dragons' area, and all the circumvential routes snake up and down around the hills, maybe those 1950s planners were onto something after all. Of course, they'd have been one lane each way probably with no pavements or cycle paths.

Posted 12 years ago #
chdot
Admin

"I spent some time recently mapping out Edinburgh Corporation's 1950s/60s plans for the inner city ring road, which proposed great tunnels carved through Calton Hill"

But did you check the route profile rather than just lines on a map?

I could never see how it could get down the Pleasance, under the Royal Mail and over the lines at Waverley.

I asked the (then) Director of Highways if the route had been surveyed - "no".

I love lines on maps....

Posted 12 years ago #
Dave
Member

Funny, the Leith St / Picardy / Broughton route is my commute, and I never have any problems - but I'm going the other way! Wonder if that makes all the difference?

Posted 12 years ago #
Min
Member

I think it is definitely to do with the time of day since there are other streets that I never (touch wood) have a problem with which are notorious to other people.

This morning I was on the bus but I saw a white van overtaking a woman in primary in the middle lane then turn sharp left in front of her down Greenside Row. No reason for it at all.

Posted 12 years ago #
Wilmington's Cow
Member

Of course there was a reason for it! She was in the middle of the road!

Posted 12 years ago #
Min
Member

Well yes, apart from that one. ;-)

Posted 12 years ago #
wingpig
Member

Sometimes the Marionville/Meadowbank roundabout is jammed, sometimes I can scootle gently through it up into the right-turn ASZ without seeing another car. There must be some fascinating beating/harmonics occurring in vehicle-volumes-at-junctions, beyond the control of tied-in green-waved traffic-light-clumps, resulting in these intermittent compressions and rarefactions in traffic-interaction points (where there's enough variation in volume for it to make the difference between flow and blockage, rather than those which are generally jammed constantly).

Queen Street was looking a bit more packed heading east than it's been for a while yesterday evening. It's usually an opportunity to practise quick acceleration to and braking from free-flowing-traffic-speed but it was reached the point where filtering would be indicated to avoid sitting in a queue for three sequences of the lights. Hard to tell if Broughton Street was the sole problem but it was easy enough to get onto the Leith Street roundabout.

Posted 12 years ago #