CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
Well done to ALL posters
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.
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The city’s transport and environment committee agreed to roll out 20mph limits to all residential streets, main shopping streets, city centre streets, and streets with high levels of pedestrian and/or cyclist
activity.
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http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11016
Inc LW?
Depends whether the Walk is seen as an 'arterial route'. Presumably Lothian Buses still keen on keeping its drivers' flexibility to charge around at 30mph+ to make up lost time...?
"Rows of blue and white flags have been draped from lampposts on Constitution Street in a bizarre bid to relaunch the area."
"The repairs, part of a £5.5 million improvement for Leith Walk, started in April to repair damage done during early work on the tram project. Work included widening pavements, road resurfacing and creating new tree pits. The work was slated to finished on 16 August but is still not completed"
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Dear Stakeholders
Leith Programme – email update number 30. (29 August 2013)
Constitution Street:
Please be aware that Tarmac Lafarge, our contractors, have informed us that the work on pavements in areas between Queen Charlotte Street and Bernard Street has taken longer than expected to complete, and all the main work is due for completion by 16 September. The traffic lights at Queen Charlotte Street will be operational week commencing 2 September.
Efforts are being made to minimise disruption during this run on period, including removing traffic cones to allow for parking where possible. Please be aware that it may be the case that some small incidents of snagging work will be needed in patches along Constitution Street, after the main work has finalised. Where this is the case local traders and residents will be kept informed. We apologise sincerely for the delay.
Bernard Street Junction:
Work will commence on the Bernard Street Baltic Street junction on 16 September. This work involves providing three new pedestrian crossings on three sides of the junction where there is currently no formal pedestrian crossing. It will also involve making the fourth side of the junction easier to cross - that is, where people currently cross at the Robert Burns statue, there will be one larger, wider island rather than the two smaller islands.
Please note that during work to the junction, traffic movements will be restricted and there will be no south bound (towards town) traffic moving through the junction during this period, which is estimated to last between 12 and 14 weeks, from 2 September. The contractor is aiming for an end date of 21 November 2013, and we will keep you up to date with progress.
A programme timeline and the design drawings for work to the junction will be made available on these pages in the next week, beginning 2 September 2013.
I’d be grateful if you would circulate this information to anyone who may need the information contained here.
Yours sincerely,
City Centre and Leith Neighbourhood | Services for Communities
Is Constitution Street worth cycling down again yet?
Yes, if you're in no rush to cross the Queen Charlotte St junction.
Done it on the way home... Which also implied Leith Walk down from McDonald Rd (bone shaker); getting stuck behind the scaffs on Constitution and then the joy of Salamander & Seafield. Should have went London Rd :)
But Constitution St nice and smooth!
I had a curious chat with fellow cyclist at work today. He said he had just been speaking with the woman responsible for the leith walk redesign. He said that she said most cyclists were happy with it and it was just some extremists who were unhappy. Also, he said that she said she was a hate figure amongst the militant cycling group.
Remember this is Chinese whispers but it isn't jut this forum that is objecting is it? Spokes will be putting in their views, they are not extremists are they?
hope the woman is being misquoted, hope we can disagree constructively and have our voices heard instead of being nicewayed into Bolshie extremism because we disagree?
He said that she said most non-cyclists were happy with it and it was just some cyclists who were unhappy. Also, he said that she said she was a hate figure amongst the cycling group.
FTFY
Seriously though, I suspect that council officials have become aware that there is an "organised group" pf cyclists mobilising to attend consultations: encouraged by Spokes or CCE, or PoP. Of course, other consultees never organise themselves into groups to get what they want, do they? Traders and businesses would never do that; neither would motorists. No, they're the "silent majority" who quietly await the council's next enlightened action, trusting that 'extremists' will not hold sway.
I mean, it's like Liverpool in the 1980s, eh? Busloads of militant tendancy extremists (well, bicycle loads anyway) drafted in to make it look as though lots of people are opposed to the well reasoned and sensible proposals. That must be the explanation, it can't possibly be otherwise, can it?
Can't see us convincing this leith walk consultation that they must do it our way. I fear some token nice features thrown in. Need some brave politicians who don't mind not being re-elected to shift the infrastructure as opinion isn't going to change .??
Yep, I've had a conversation with an official that presented the current designs as a done deal, and we'll get nothing better, and may even get less if Sustrans or Holyrood don't chip in.
Robert
That's disappointing. I'm sorry to hear our views perceived that way.
Especially when a whole host of MPs - many of them far from 'militant' - are saying exactly the same thing (ie calling for segregated infrastructure) in Parliament.
Cones and temporary lights are now in place for the installation of pedestrian crossings at the Bernard St/Baltic St/Constitution St junction, resulting in a queue of westbound cars reaching back to Carron Place at 08:40 this morning. It was reasonably easy to queue-jump as there was only a single lane of traffic and no-one seemed too frustrated but I'll try to remember to avoid it.
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Dear Stakeholders,
Leith Programme: stakeholder email update 31; 5 September 2013
WORKS AT BERNARD STREET JUNCTION
Works have commenced on 3 September 2013 on the improvement of the junction of Bernard Street and Baltic Street with Constitution Street. The work is taking place as part of the wider Leith Programme.
The works will involve:
· Providing new, signalled pedestrian crossing facilities on the sides where there is currently no provision for pedestrians, to make it easier and safer to cross the road on any side of the junction
· Improving the quality of the pavements with Caithness stone paving flags, to tie in with the new paving used in Constitution Street
· Replacing the two crossing islands on Bernard Street with a single, larger pedestrian island that will make it safer and easier to cross, and taking away unnecessary guard rail
· Closing Assembly Street to motor vehicles at the junction, to allow for a proper, signalled pedestrian crossing across Baltic Street. Cyclists will still be able to access Assembly Street here.
· Assembly Street will become two way for traffic and new parking restrictions will apply at the area where the road is closed, to assist vehicles to turn. Access to Assembly Street will be maintained from the east end of Baltic Street at Salamander Street.
Work is expected to be complete by late November 2013. Constitution Street will have to be temporarily closed to through traffic during certain stages of the road works to allow construction of the new layout and diversion routes will be clearly signed during these periods.
Because these roads are busy, there may be congestion during the construction period throughout the surrounding area. You should allow extra time for your journey, or consider using an alternative route or making use of public transport.
Normal site working hours will be from 7am to 5pm on Mondays to Fridays and work may occasionally be carried out on Saturdays between 8am to 5pm. Overnight or Sunday working will only take place in exceptional circumstances and should this be necessary nearby residents will be notified in advance.
BUS SERVICE
Please note that during the junction works, the Lothian Buses service 16 heading towards the city centre will operate via the Shore and Henderson Street. The northbound service 16 to Ocean Terminal is unaffected and will remain on Constitution Street.
We apologise for any delays or disruption you may experience during the road works. We will do all we can to minimise these impacts.
"
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Dear Stakeholder,
Leith Programme: stakeholder email update 33; 16 September 2013
Bernard Street junction traffic management
This is a reminder that we will endeavour to minimise, as much as possible, disruption to traffic during the construction of the new junction at Bernard Street.
In order to maximise traffic flow, we revisited the traffic management arrangements in place at the start of the works and made some alterations that involved changing the one way system in operation at the A199 junction along Baltic Street and Bernard Street to a two way system. During the improvement works, scheduled to run until late November, two way traffic will be maintained whenever possible at this location in order to decrease the chances of congestion. Due to the nature of the works being carried out, there will be phases when we will have to revert back to a one way system but we will keep this to a minimum.
We would like to thank everyone for their patience during these works and we look forward to getting them completed as quickly as we can and seeing the area improved for everyone who uses it.
Thanks and regards
Alan
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Thanks Alan.
Thalan.
Just actually read that -
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In order to maximise traffic flow
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So that really IS official policy.
Abandon hope.
"Lothian Buses want to ban bikes on Leith Walk": http://greenerleith.org.uk/blog/lothian-buses-lobby-bike-ban-leith-walk-3324
Er in order to maximise 'traffic flow' it might be a good move to reduce the number of vehicles (or the space they take up) or is this a weasel worded way of saying in order to maximise vehicle flow.
Confusing vehicle flows with actual movement of traffic in the form of people and goods is akin to confusing movement with action or doing something with working.
Clearly elimination of car traffic which makes the least efficient use of the road-space has to be the solution. It will of course self regulate to some extent as drivers will divert or (horror) catch a bus rather than sit in the queues
So again the whole Leith Walk thing is seen as trading off space between peds, buses and bikes. Yet nothing is done to remove space from cars, which as Tulyar rightly points out is the least efficient use of road-space.
"So again the whole Leith Walk thing is seen as trading off space between peds, buses and bikes."
So it seems.
Should be a story in ENews tomorrow.
I may be quoted...
I may be quoted
Quoted or misquoted?
"Quoted or misquoted?"
I'll let you know.
All submitted by email.
I sent some general comments about LB and 20mph, then was asked for more on Leith Walk cycle lanes.
I don't expect to be "misquoted", but will be selectively quoted - unless it's a very long piece.
I'm assuming it's reporting the Greener Leith view more than supporting the LB case.
I might be wrong...
This is a real danger with substandard segregated provision - the expectation that we will use it. If we were being offered Dutch quality the complaints of Lothian Buses would be a non-issue, because hardly anyone would want to ride on the road any more, but that's not what's on offer. Obviously we understand that many cyclists will (quite rightly) shun the new cycle lanes on Leith Walk because they're too narrow/in the door zone/give way to side roads etc, but clearly others do not.
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Jen Lavery (@JenniferLavery)
18/09/2013 09:47
@CyclingEdin @edinburghnews @greenerleith @SpokesLothian The story was actually held, there was a late-breaker. Sorry!
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story was actually held, there was a late-breaker
Tram fares announced.
Or maybe Scotrail drivers threatened strike at the weekend; Or (more likely) the Queensferry Resilience Crossing has set a new record for “largest continuous underwater concrete pour”.
Barring some great stooshie I assume the LB cycling ban story will reappear the morra.
chdot typed ""Lothian Buses want to ban bikes on Leith Walk": http://greenerleith.org.uk/blog/lothian-buses-lobby-bike-ban-leith-walk-3324 ",
Ouch!! need to rethink how I greet LB drivers from now on!!!
@DaveC - I think it is the company rather than the drivers, no?
In general, other than the road surface, I see almost no problem with Leith Walk that can be fixed (I cycle it probably four days a week, and drive one day). There are wide pavements, greenways from the roundabout down and rarely queues of traffic to belch out fumes. If there are limited cyclists on it, maybe that is because it is a hill (cf Dundas Street) rather than a lack of low quality segregated designs. I dont like the pinch point crossings near the bottom with the small build outs as they disrupt the greenway, and the painted lane markings are poor, presumably because it needs resurfaced. Do any of the Dutch examples usually cited incorporate hills?
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