CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure

Rack removal - Rose Street

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  1. chdot
    Admin

    Been hearing stories -

    "
    I live in Edinburgh and cycle to work (Rose Street) daily. I arrived at work on Friday to find that the council were in the process of removing all bike racks from the west end of Rose Street (between Castle Street and Charlotte Square). I contacted the council and a chap came to see me at lunchtime. He explained that there is a long-term plan for a market place on rose street and that they have therefore removed the racks/lights/bollards. It is clear from our chat that the council’s concept is still at the planning phase with no immediate further work intended (other than removing everything). Finally, there is no plan to replace the racks which are well used by a number of people working and visiting this area.
     
    "

    Anyone affect or heard about this??

    Posted 11 years ago #

  2. crowriver
    Member

    Terrible! Yes, remove street clutter but the racks are needed.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  3. Claggy Cog
    Member

    I had not noticed any racks on Rose Street...and have invariably chained my bike to the nearest available post or even the barriers that they used to have on Rose St. Are they outside that Glasgow based outdoors shoppe?

    There are racks on the west side of Castle Street near Princes St as well, although I must say these are usually fairly clogged up.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  4. Claggy Cog
    Member

    Just realised that the outdoors shoppe is not on that section but is between Castle St and Frederick St. What is there down the section between Castle St and Charlotte Square?

    Posted 11 years ago #

  5. Uberuce
    Member

    There's a set of racks by the Sainsbury's and Fopp which tend to be populated by beeeeeeeautiful bikes of either vintage or style or both. Is that the ones we're talking about?

    Posted 11 years ago #

  6. Claggy Cog
    Member

    @Uberuce, not those ones, think this is riiiggghhhtt at the other end!! You are thinking St Andrew's Sq.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  7. Roibeard
    Member

    The council giveth and the council taketh away, blessed be the name of the council...

    We've just had two new Sheffield stands installed at the junction of Buccleuch Place and Buccleuch Street.

    Yes, we've lots of railings on Buccleuch Place, but I suppose they're cast iron and easily broken - whilst I use the railings during the day, I wouldn't leave a bike overnight on them.

    Robert

    Posted 11 years ago #

  8. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    Good grief.... Model. Cycling. City.

    Bike parking in the city centre is scarce enough without them removing racks! There's not much in that section - a bookies? Used to be acardboard box company or something similar. But a handy bike parking spot for people who work in the area, or just for coming to the centre of town.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  9. kaputnik
    Moderator

    I thought the whole point in Castle street being re-developed was so that "markets" could be held there?

    Is this the council or "Essential Edinburgh" removing the racks do you know?

    Posted 11 years ago #

  10. DaveC
    Member

    Hmm imagine this for cars.

    Cooncil remove all car parking from West of the centre. Then let slip that its still in the planning stage and they'll be thinking about where to place parking at some point in the future. = Uproar!!

    I hope you pointed this out to the man from the Cooncil!

    Posted 11 years ago #

  11. Arellcat
    Moderator

    I would be surprised if there was the physical space on Rose Street for any sort of proper market. K's right, it's what Castle Street should be for.

    Fortunately I don't work in Rose Street, but in any case, it's the stretch between Castle St and Frederick St that has my sort of shops.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  12. remberbuck
    Member

    By:

    "Are they outside that Glasgow based outdoors shoppe?"

    do you mean the fairly wonderful Graham Tiso, that long established Leith business, that now has a sizeable Alpine Bikes branch on its second floor?

    Not that being fronm Glasgow is to be ashamed of you know ...

    Posted 11 years ago #

  13. cc
    Member

    The council giveth, the council taketh away.

    At the same time as stealingstrategically redeploying racks from Rose Street they've been adding extra racks to the PQBC - a couple of racks have suddenly sprouted at my local shops in Mayfield Road. Which is nice.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  14. DaveC
    Member

    There could be some rack placed outside the old post office building, now rented by Intel/Microsoft?? opp the Balmoral on North Bridge at the foot of Waterloo Place! I walked past there at lunch time and its plenty wide enough to accomodate around 20 racks very easily, instead of the range of bikes currently locked to the railings etc... In fact the surface stone is different next to the building which makes me think that half the pavement outside the building each side of the steps and ramp probably belongs to the building.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  15. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    Hang on, there USED to be racks there!

    Only a couple. But racks nonetheless.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  16. Instography
    Member

    Unprofessional.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  17. DaveC
    Member

    Hmm will have to double check. Certainly I saw around a dozen bikes locked to the railing next to the road and wheelchair ramp.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  18. chdot
    Admin

    "
    For example, Essential Edinburgh, the Capital's central Business Improvement District, is leading the £300,000 redevelopment of the city's famous Rose Street

    "

    http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=8367#post-83749

    Posted 11 years ago #

  19. fiets
    Member

    An update. The good news is that a temporary replacement rack will arrive (courtesy of Essential Edinburgh) on Monday and be sited in the same spot as the old one. The chap who came along was helpful and apparently a cyclist himself. However, it may well be that the permanent racks are eventually placed on either end of this stretch of Rose St-so as to avoid cluttering the new market place. I can't understand why market places and cycles need to be mutually exclusive... Bizarrely within just a couple of days of the 'de-cluttering' courtesy of Essential Edinburgh, a man from the council turned up to tell us that they would be placing a post outside the building with a 'no parking' sign at the top! Try as I might ,none of it makes any sense... is there anyone who can help?

    Posted 11 years ago #

  20. chdot
    Admin

    Welcome fiets

    "
    Try as I might ,none of it makes any sense... is there anyone who can help?

    "

    Probably not on here...!

    This is CCE, CEC is just a mystery.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  21. chdot
    Admin

    "Rose Street, Edinburgh’s poets’ playground, set for £1m revival"

    Posted 11 years ago #

  22. crowriver
    Member

    I had occasion to be down that end of Rose Street this morning. There is the dancewear shop, and my daughter needed some new ballet shoes.

    On my previous visit, about 6 months ago (my don't children's feet grow fast) there was a nice Sheffield rack to lock my bike to: several to choose from in fact. Today, all these were gone. I searched around for somewhere to lock my bike. A drainpipe? Too fat. A bench? Bike too long (I was solo on the tandem). I was just about to lock it to itself and prop against a mock Georgian police box, when I spotted these very new, shiny wheelbenders (click on images for bigger pics):


    Note the trades van blocking the racks from their intended use, and the fact they're hidden behind the police box/potential retail opportunity. The driver must have thought I was a parking attendant snapping away (yellow windproof jacket effect) and moved his van sharpish.

    Still, hardly satisfactory. This is really the only way to secure your bike to the things (apologies for blurry snap):


    So where there used to be reasonably secure parking for at least four bikes, now there's just about secure parking for one or two (or 'come and steal me or re-dish my wheel' parking for more...

    Job well done, Essential Edinburgh! Not.

    Probably they said to themselves 'Well we have taken away 4 parking places, but now there are 5, using less space, and hidden away to reduce clutter! Result!"

    Posted 11 years ago #

  23. SRD
    Moderator

    crowriver - i recommend ebay for dance shoes. but yes, that is really depressing.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  24. cc
    Member

    I couldn't find a rack near Shandwick Place / Lothian Road today, despite the area being liberally sprinkled with expensive looking benches and a lot of ugly logos painted all over the pavement ("Edinburgh's West End" or something of the sort).
    I draped the bike artistically over a fence while I went into the bus shop.

    Is Edinburgh ever going to be run by people who actually have a clue...?

    Posted 11 years ago #

  25. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    Was thinking of a radius out from there and where the nearest proper racks are. Outside Nando's on Lothian Road; Castle Terrace; Festival Square actually, had forgotten about the ones there; then you're into the Rose Street wheelbenders.

    Simple fact of the matter is there aren't enough, and nowhere near the density of provision as car parking (yes, much of it is pay parking, but wherever you stand in the city centre you're never more than about 50 yards from an official parking space).

    Posted 11 years ago #

  26. DaveC
    Member

    Chris try emailing EE here:

    http://www.essentialedinburgh.co.uk/ee-contactEmail.aspx?pageID=36

    Posted 11 years ago #

  27. Morningsider
    Member

    crowriver - Here's what "Cycling by Design" the Scottish Government's policy on cycle infrastructure says about the wheelbender type of parking:

    "Cycle stands which only grip the cycle by a wheel (including butterfly racks and concrete slots) are not recommended as they offer only limited security, can cause a trip hazard to pedestrians and can damage wheel rims."

    Scotland has the policies - but people just ignore them.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  28. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    Makes it even worse that there were decent stands there that were taken away!

    Posted 11 years ago #

  29. cc
    Member

    @DaveC: I've emailed them. Thanks!

    Posted 11 years ago #

  30. SRD
    Moderator

    Essential Edinburgh (@EssentialEdin)
    18/10/2012 16:54
    @SRDEdinburgh Hi Sara, improved cycle facilities is in our Draft Business Plan: tinyurl.com/9o4qz6u Until then council may be able to help.

    Posted 11 years ago #

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