I've not read the article, but let me be the first to offer my congratulations to Dame @Uberuce.
Oh.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » General Edinburgh
Tram latest
(2182 posts)-
Posted 9 years ago #
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Pantomime Dame to the Canal?
Posted 9 years ago # -
It's behiiiind you!
Posted 9 years ago # -
@stickman The reckless cyclist bit osw a load of tosh. @arellcat & I spent a period observing the traffic flow at this point. It is the point at which the bus drivers and taxi drivers have to move to the right and run over the tram track in the Bus Lane that goes along Atholl Place to Shandwick Place. EVERY bus makes this manoeuvre in practically the same place as the crash site - proof if any were needed is that at the same time of day on a weekday another bus on the same service (X38 from Stirling) collided with a tram in exactly the same place.
You might think that there would be some sort of time-based separation so that trams and buses don't head into the crash zone at the same time, but I checked this the other night along with the sequence of traffic signals at W Maitland Street, which seems to be totally random in nature. a green signal for buses to go through is lit with the vertical bar for the trams to proceed so still plenty of potential to repeat the same type of crash.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Anecdote:
A fellow-member of the Mountaineering Club and fellow Brompton rider reports that he regularly puts his folded Brompton onto the tram between the Gyle and Haymarket (if the weather is such that he doesn't fancy the cycle). He's only once had a tram staff person grumble that he's supposed to have it in a bag, otherwise he's had the usual comments about how neat it is when folded!Posted 9 years ago # -
"
Council anger at no new tram line funding
A new row over tram funding has broken out between the city and the Scottish Government after the transport minister said Holyrood would support new tram projects across Scotland – except in Edinburgh.
"
Posted 9 years ago # -
A stuck tram was keeping Queen Street west of Dublin St lovely and traffic-free this morning:
Posted 9 years ago # -
"
@EdinburghTrams: Trams are currently running AIR - Princes Street West End only due to a failed tram at York Place #edintravel
"
"
@edintravel: Long queues citybound London Road and around Picardy rbt. Westbound York Place remains blocked by broken down tram #edintravel
"
Posted 9 years ago # -
"
Edinburgh Trams (@EdinburghTrams)
02/03/2015 09:19
Trams are currently unable to serve Princes St, St Andrew Squ & York Pl. Passengers can change at Shandwick Pl to and from @on_lothianbuses"
Posted 9 years ago # -
The tram at North St. Andrew Street had got stuck with it's tail end still on York Place. There was another tram nose-on to it, I assume in an effort to tow it away. When I passed, there was actually enough room around the back for the traffic to slowly move around the back of it, but it was nose-to-tail along London Road, the roundabout, Picardy Place Roundabout and into York Place as the 2 lanes merge down to one.
There's no real safe or easy place for a cyclist to go here, so myself and quite a few other cyclists were having some amusing times attempting to filter around the Tetris-packed vehicles that were going nowhere fast. It must have added at least a minute on to my journey which was recouped given how quiet everything was on the other side of the tram.
Posted 9 years ago # -
There was a tabarded Tram-wrangler standing behind the westbound stuck tram vaguely waving his arms at the pedestrians and cyclists going behind it and muttering something about "you can't just cross here" or something. There was also a helpful Megabus turning west out from the bus station which was forming a mini-blockage a bit further upstream from the tram.
Posted 9 years ago # -
So Europe's most expensive tram system has to knock out most of its on street system by an event that happens at the far end of the line?
Plenty of other trams in the depot to patch in to Princes St or St Andrew Sq....
Posted 9 years ago # -
The disadvantages of using tweet scheduling...
"
Edinburgh Trams (@EdinburghTrams)
02/03/2015 08:35
Travel in style - Take the tram to Edinburgh Airport bit.ly/1LOLDDH http://pic.twitter.com/MoKQGrkdeU"
(Or not cancelling them!)
Posted 9 years ago # -
Lots of complaints about the traffic snarl ups at Haymarket, with blame being squarely placed on the trams. I was on the top deck of the bus this morning so got a good view of the junction.
Most of the problem today seemed to be caused by cars getting caught halfway across the junction, then cars from other directions also joining in as they attempt to get past. The arising logjam means no routes can clear.
My simple view is that the problem could be eased if the whole junction was yellow-boxed and drivers actually observed it. This may also be the case at other parts of the tram route.
Thoughts?
Posted 9 years ago # -
Turns out a tow-tram doesn't work going up hills, and a tow-truck is what is required. You think they'd have checked to see if a tram is capable of hauling another up a hill during the testing phase. You'd think, but then again, this is Edinburgh.
Also, why not just shunt the tram back down the hill onto York Place under the power of gravity and remove it from there after rush hour, rather than leaving 2 trams stuck on the hill with one of them projecting over the road? Genius abounds.
Posted 9 years ago # -
"under the power of gravity"
Suspect THAT is against 'the rules'.
Not least because of 'unknowable' braking on a failed tram.
Posted 9 years ago # -
@chdot - they had another tram coupled on the other end that could have supplied braking power. There was also a tram waiting (stuck) at York Place that could have coupled to the other end and towed it back on to York Place, again providing braking power.
Gravity is only required to let the tram move back down the hill from where it was stuck (as clearly a tow-tram cannot overcome it going the other way).
Posted 9 years ago # -
Suspect THAT is against 'the rules'.
In the days of the cable-hauled trams in Edinburgh, every junction was fitted with an auxilliary cable and each tram coming from a separate cable had to stop to connect to the auxilliary, and then disconnect from it and transfer the gripper back to the main cable. It was many years before the Corporation allowed gravity-assisted traversing of junctions because of the need for split-second timing of the gripper.
Posted 9 years ago # -
They could install a hitching post like the one at the top of Leith Street with an extra horse tied to it to help tow the tram uphill.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Just seen the FOI request for a list of Tram related cycle injuries, the Police and
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a_statement_of_cycle_accidents_a#incoming-621811
Looks like the council have supplied some information, which we might find interesting.
Posted 9 years ago # -
The list of incidents is 23 pages long!
Posted 9 years ago # -
Most of the problem today seemed to be caused by cars getting caught halfway across the junction, then cars from other directions also joining in as they attempt to get past. The arising logjam means no routes can clear.
That's certainly what happened this evening in my observation. A Lothian Bus coming out of Dalry Road couldn't because of the backup of cars that had gone through red from Haymarket in the preceding phase. The bus hung back so as not to cross the tracks and block both lines, only for the cars behind it to overtake and fill in the gap! Quite staggering selfishness.
Needless to say, nobody got anywhere and when the lights changed again in Haymarket Terrace's favour, nobody except me on 2 wheels could go anywhere. Which gave me a nice clear, traffic-free run all the way to Princes Street.
Posted 9 years ago # -
"Looks like the council have supplied some information, which we might find interesting"
Astonishing - what surprised me the most was the sheer number of reported accidents on Princes St itself - and the number which were serious and requiring of Ambulance to hospital etc.
Must be costing a fortune in compensation claims?
Posted 9 years ago # -
"Examples of [cycling safety] measures already in place [from a civil engineering PM perspective] are the guidance markings at the Mound, guidance markings at Haymarket Train Station and additional signs warning of the presence of rails. The Council has also tried to raise awareness of cycle safety and the correct way to cross rails through local media, leaflets and direct contact with cycling groups.
"Stikes me as pre-emptive victim blaming. Nothing very much at all aimed at the motorist, such as giving people on bikes enough space to ride as they need?
RLJ seems to be on the increase in my experience. I too saw the complete locking up of Haymarket junction last Friday, in exactly the manner Kaputnik described. And I was on my bike, so I ain't bovvahed.
When did 'railway' stations become 'train' stations? Ugh.
Posted 9 years ago # -
When did 'railway' stations become 'train' stations? Ugh.
It was in the same memo that re-designated passengers as customers and guards as train managers.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Stikes me as pre-emptive victim blaming.
The council's approach to the tramline safety is little more than this; some vague paint marks and some signs to say "we told you so", totally ignorant of the realities of how cyclists move on the road, how they interact with other vehicles and how the general flow of motorised traffic largely dictates where and how they move across junctions.
It's like the sketch in the Simpsons where Bart leave's Milhouse in charge of his decrepit factory, and it falls down.
B - "Hey, Milhouse, I told you to watch my factory"
M - "I was watching. I watched it start to fall, and then I watched it fall down"Cooncil - "Hey, cyclists, we told you to watch the tramlines..."
(you can guess where this is going)Posted 9 years ago # -
Cooncil - "Hey, cyclists, we told you to watch the tramlines..."
(you can guess where this is going)...
Spokes - "Hey council, we told you to fix your road layout before someone got seriously injured or worse!"At least they pre-emptive victim blaming has been pre-emptively called up so that can't claim to have ignorantly thought they had done enough.
Posted 9 years ago # -
"When did 'railway' stations become 'train' stations? Ugh."
guuuuiilty!
Although as I typed it in yesterday, I did wonder if I ought to say railway station.
I've lost my ability to discern between NA/UK usages; I no longer instinctively 'know' what is 'correct' in what context.
Posted 9 years ago #
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