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Tram latest

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  1. gibbo
    Member

    @chdot

    TRAM boss Richard Jeffrey walked out of a meeting with senior council officials after he was challenged over his plan to seek termination of the contract for the troubled project.

    What sort of childish nonsense is this?

    As I keep pointing out, there were endless red flags that these people weren't fit to run a project of this scale.

    But the council did nothing.

    It's a public service sickness. Same as all those people at the BBC who saw all the Savile red flags, but still let him host a children's show.

    (And lock himself in a room with individual children.)

    Posted 7 years ago #
  2. chdot
    Admin

    "As I keep pointing out, there were endless red flags that these people weren't fit to run a project of this scale."

    Indeed!

    "

    The inquiry heard that in May 2010 TIE submitted an invoice to Transport Scotland for £730,000 for staff bonuses, but the money was withheld and the remuneration committee later decided no bonuses should be awarded at that time.

    The inquiry resumes today.

    "

    http://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/edinburgh-trams-inquiry-councillors-not-told-of-price-rise-1-4564613

    Posted 7 years ago #
  3. jonty
    Member

    @gibbo: I think it's a human sickness. You just don't hear about it directly in public inquiries, you hear about its effects when companies make massive losses or go bust.

    Posted 7 years ago #
  4. chdot
    Admin

  5. chdot
    Admin

    “It would have gone ahead, and some of the more asinine proposals that I managed subsequent to contract signature to get rid of would have been implemented.”

    He said one proposal he had stopped was to lower the height of the overhead wires in Princes Street to save money. It might have saved £400,000, he said, because the poles would be a couple of metres shorter, but it would have meant open-top tour buses could no longer operate, losing £5 million worth of profitable business.

    “That’s why I was better on the inside than being sent back to Annandale Street to play with my buses.”

    https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/transport/corrupt-payments-claim-at-edinburgh-tram-inquiry-1-4639967

    Posted 6 years ago #
  6. unhurt
    Member

    Not in rubbish drving, even though it was, because it's another "conflict engineered-in" thing.

    North bound down the Mound I try to end up in the right hand side of the bike box, so I can take a close-to-90 degree angle across the tramlines & not then have to do a 90 degree right turn infront of folowing traffic before going on up Hanover Street. ESPECIALLY when it's tipping down wet. Didn't get to the bike box; ended up two cars back but positioned on the right of the lane. But when we moved off the car behind me assumed I would stay at the right hand side of the lane, tried to undertake me, hammered on horn when he realised I was taking a line straight acros (so from his perspective moving in front of him), pulled back to my other side then gesticulated and yelled while driving next to me up Hanover Street. (Think he was trying to make "you are a loony" gesture, but instead he kept making a "gun to the head" gesture...)

    Caught him at the lights, tapped on his door and tried to explain that I was crossing tram tracks, but he wasn't keen to see my side of things.

    Mood: adrenaline shakes (mostly from interaction at his door); making a large white russian with leftover festive supplies; helpless anger at those responsible for road layout. Gah! There is NO route across that junction going north that doesn't risk either slipping on the tram tracks or getting swiped by drivers who won't leave you space to maneuver / don't understand what you're doing. Or almost clip you as you round the corner onto Hanover Street, forcing you into overspilling pedestrians waiting to cross or into the back of a taxi that's not properly in rank / double parked / opening its doors.

    Posted 6 years ago #
  7. chdot
    Admin

    "

    DEPUTY First Minister John Swinney has said he pulled Transport Scotland off the board in charge of Edinburgh’s tram project because he did not want the Scottish Government to get the blame if things went wrong.

    "

    https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/transport/swinney-to-edinburgh-tram-inquiry-i-didn-t-want-government-to-get-blame-1-4669746

    Posted 6 years ago #
  8. chdot
    Admin

  9. dougal
    Member

    So, "tram collides with car" - what actually happened? Bets on whether it's "car driven into tram"?

    Posted 6 years ago #
  10. chdot
    Admin

    “Bets on whether it's "car driven into tram"?”

    Maybe or maybe ‘car sneaks in front of tram, tram unable to take avoiding action...”

    Posted 6 years ago #
  11. crowriver
    Member

    We've just had tram extension consultation notice through the door, signed from Lesley Macinnes. Local meetings coming up through March and April. Presume this is also online somewhere?

    Posted 6 years ago #
  12. chdot
    Admin

  13. chdot
    Admin

  14. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Giving evidence to the tram inquiry, she insisted the £362.5m agreed.... despite the absence of any document breaking down the costs.

    That sounds fine.

    Posted 6 years ago #
  15. chdot
    Admin

    “That sounds fine”

    Yeah ActiveTravel infrastructure costs are okayed in a similar fashion...

    Posted 6 years ago #
  16. gembo
    Member

    Wee posters up all over the office about consultation to go from leith to new haven. I will hate the trams then if it goes on the NEPN

    Posted 6 years ago #
  17. chdot
    Admin

  18. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Draft TRO drawings confirm non-segregated cycle lanes with loading (red) & parking (blue) in cycle lane, so bikes forced out near rails. Astonishing. Shocking.

    Is it the case that all Edinburgh cycle campaigning other than to elect a majority of Scottish Green councillors is a waste of time?

    Posted 6 years ago #
  19. unhurt
    Member

    Time to return to the streets for some physical demonstrations of displeasure, anyway...

    Posted 6 years ago #
  20. neddie
    Member

    I agree. Time for direct action.

    Maybe we should start blocking the bulldozers at Picardy Pl to help focus minds a bit...?

    Posted 6 years ago #
  21. chdot
    Admin

    “Maybe we should start blocking the bulldozers at Picardy Pl”

    Too late, unfortunately.

    The latest shambles is out for consultation.

    I presume there are some people and organisations not burned out by consultation fatigue.

    Need a ‘how to design LW properly’ document.

    Once again a handful of volunteers will do the work that CEC ought to WANT to do.

    This should embarrass ‘the City’ but clearly won’t.

    I think the populus is past caring.

    PoP should be relocated to Leith Links!

    Posted 6 years ago #
  22. chdot
    Admin

  23. chdot
    Admin

  24. chdot
    Admin

    THE company at the centre of the Edinburgh trams inquiry has lost its bid to have documents it provided to the probe kept secret.

    Bilfinger UK had gone to the Court of Session seeking to block paperwork from being made public, saying the information it contained was "commercially sensitive" and gave details which could aid its competitors.

    http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/16214114.Edinburgh_tram_company_loses_bid_to_have_reports_kept_secret/

    Posted 6 years ago #
  25. LaidBack
    Member

    Bus has hit a tram at Ingliston. Services disrupted. Tram derailled. On STV2 news twitter etc.

    Posted 6 years ago #
  26. chdot
    Admin

  27. Snowy
    Member

    Bus driver must have doing a fair speed judging from the state of the vehicles.

    Fortunately there are plenty of spare trams sitting unused at the depot....

    Posted 6 years ago #
  28. chdot
    Admin

  29. rbrtwtmn
    Member

    Recently... saw someone picking herself up off the road at Haymarket Yards (estimate 60yrs old, although I could be out by a decade either way). Clearly hurt, but not seriously.... spoke to a neighbour who fell of on the line and hasn't cycled since... and passed the time of day with someone I passed on the bike who remarked that the line had tipped him off the bike twice.

    I know we know these things, but somehow it seems worth re-stating some bare facts like this occasionally.

    (and no the woman who'd fallen didn't need my help, was with a friend, otherwise I'd have stopped)

    Posted 6 years ago #
  30. chdot
    Admin

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    Posted 6 years ago #

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