The bit south of the canal is the usual avoidance, but from WHEC and down to the recycling centre fits the description of the route 'from the core area to Wester Hailes', doesn't it? It does do the weird wriggle at the north end of Bankhead Ave but hey ho.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure
WEATN - West Edinburgh Active Travel Network (WEL)
(132 posts)-
Posted 6 years ago #
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It looks like they propose a bridge over the railway between Gogarloch Syke and Gyle park Gdns / Glasgow Rd, which is good:
https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=17/55.93822/-3.30692&layers=C
Posted 6 years ago # -
Changes a foot for the Gyle Centre. Need to get some momentum on WEATN...
"The Gyle has confirmed that it will submit a planning application for the new cinema and changes to the external layout at the centre.A new transport hub will also be developed, relocating buses and taxis nearer to the tram stop and improving traffic management and pedestrian safety"
Posted 6 years ago # -
They ought to build tenement-style flats on the car park, so that people can live close to where they work & shop, and make the whole place walk-able.
#walkableurbanism
Posted 6 years ago # -
So, I went along to the 'consultation' tonight about the new cinema.
Not impressed. What they are doing is moving the buses closer to the Broadway so they can build a new couple of boxes to house a cinema and gym and redesigning the front entrance to be more appealing. This I have no issue with.
But the answers to how they deal with the extra traffic was sadly missing & the transport consultant had already left.
The had forms to fill in with only leading questions...
I was keen to ask about the important active travel routes across the car park. Sadly all I got was a dotted line which looked like shared use and with right angles bends next to the buildings.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Gyle shopping centre - consultation boards (as presented at the exhibition a couple of weeks ago):
Posted 6 years ago # -
Well, that looks...dreadful...
Posted 6 years ago # -
The "new public transport hub" is so British. It's further from the centre, but not next to the tram stop which might redeem it, and pedestrian access to the centre is across the central hub roundabout through which >50% of the centre traffic passes.
Posted 6 years ago # -
They have also rather cynically shown zebra crossings at the roundabout. I know they do have zebras elsewhere in the car park but I find it hard to believe they are planning on adding them where they currently have a traffic light controlled junction.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Cheers for that.
It seems slightly odd not to bother connecting to the Water of Leith path, plus maybe the Canal again via Calder Road, or connecting up to the quiet route out to the FRB.
It also seems like there's a bit of main road aversion at times, why not go the length of the B701 all the way to Barnton? (probably cost)
Posted 5 years ago # -
I don't really know enough about the southern end to comment. The proposals from East Craigs to the Gyle are good and will be complemented by the gas main route through west Craigs when the houses are done. However missing the link to the NEPN is a huge missed opportunity. With no decent bus service a large number of cars go from the vicinity of the NEPN to the Gyle everyday. I can't currently see a pleasant way for beginners to cross the A90.
Sadly the housing doesn't look to be providing this either.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Some of the all powerful and shadowy members of the cycling lobby attended the launch of the newly rebadged West Edinburgh Link consultation.
There is a pretty good website where you can get the outline of what is being proposed, with some detail at key points.
https://westedinburghlink.info/
I'd encourage you to take a look through the website and/or pop along to one of their visits to local community councils or drop in sessions.
I have started a blog about the key points, which I'll continue to work on over the weekend, before I publish it more widely. (comments welcome)
https://hankchiefblog.wordpress.com/2019/03/16/west-edinburgh-link-initial-thoughts-wip/
#Thinkbeforeyoumoan
Please remember that there is likely to be significant push back from those that will lose access to parking on South Gyle Crescent and Bankhead Avenue so I would encourage you to be balanced and constructive with your feedback.The team have put a lot of effort into the proposal and website, to come up with a scheme they believe can be delivered, our role as a 'critical friend' should be help them see where it can be improved and persuade the naysayers of its benefits and not just kick it for not being 'good enough'.
Posted 5 years ago # -
“not just kick it for not being 'good enough'.”
Sound advice BUT are there particular areas that need improving and is the reason because the designers ‘don’t understand something’ or because they are compromising (in advance) to reduce complaints (or ‘other’)?
Posted 5 years ago # -
Read the blog...
I'm trying to cover the areas that need improving within it ;-)
Posted 5 years ago # -
I would add: Overuse of bidirectional cycleways on one side.
Which are a bad idea for many reasons, including:
- drivers not expecting cyclists coming the “other way” at junctions
- loss of cyclist priority at junctions due to the above.
- difficulty to access / exit the cycleway from “the other side”More substandard garbage (e.g. 2.5m width), squeezed-in as an afterthought, with barely an inconvenience to moving motor traffic, I’m afraid.
“We” have to stop them from designing more & more substandard garbage - it will hold us back for generations (like the painted-on red lanes have done).
Start with the best, then make the compromises. Don’t start with a compromise
Posted 5 years ago # -
Feed that in to the consultation, just don't forget to champion the benefits too.
Posted 5 years ago # -
“I believe they need to take a very hard look at the need for 5 traffic lanes. Yes, if you assume traffic levels to be as they are now, you’ll need road space similar to what you have now, but why not be bold and assume a reduced demand”
Which of course is part of the problem.
Are they doing this because they are merely planning for business as usual, or because they are not thinking it through enough to consider the alternatives?
Or are they under instruction not to change the basic tenets of road usage?
Either way, there should be politicians publicly saying that things like this and traffic reduction are important and that officials will design on the basis that there is an assumption of less motor traffic in future.
Is there any consideration of extra bus routes and/or more buses on existing services?
Posted 5 years ago # -
Is there any consideration of extra bus routes and/or more buses on existing services?
I wasn't at the same table as the rep from Lothian buses, so it didn't come up much except that Bus routes would be maintained.
I did express concern at the loss of the bus stop outside the Wester Hailes Cinema as it could be useful for orbital routes, but apparently they all go into the Plaza, which makes some sense although must add a couple of minutes to each journey.
Posted 5 years ago # -
@hankchief, do you mean the road down from the roundabout? The road into the odeon ends in the world's largest carpark that has to be navigated to get to the cinema. No Lothian bus ever made it in there.
Posted 5 years ago # -
No - still on the main Wester Hailes Road but beside the cinema car park is the one that will be going.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Yes, where I thought - near the ramp out of the car park which is one way street. I think not a stop that gets used much....
Posted 5 years ago # -
There a quite a pronounced desire line to it in the Street view...
Regardless, my point was more on whether it would become useful if they ran an orbital bus route (Sherifhall to Ingliston maybe)
Posted 5 years ago # -
Ah, that would not open. Sorry. I think the 32 still orbitalises Edinburgh connecting Pilton to Wester hailes then Craigmillar. Often busy, often scary, once a I think even Hearts Mandy got on tho she mostly shuttles between Pilton and Stockbridge then town.
Sheriffhall to Ingilston loving it, joining up park and rides?
Posted 5 years ago # -
That desire line's also the shortest route to the underpass under the main road, so no guarantee that anyone using it is heading for the bus stop. I assume that officers have access to data about actual numbers using each bus stop?
There's plenty room for a pavement, a cycleway and a bus stop. There's only one lane immediately north of there anyway, so just keep it to one lane for 30m further and put the bus stop in what's now the nearside lane.
Posted 5 years ago # -
I think the 32 is no more. (Edited to add the word "no")
The 400 runs from Fort Kinnaird to the Airport though but goes into Clovenstone rather than staying on Wester Hailes Road.
Posted 5 years ago # -
@hankchief, did you mean to say the 32 is no more?
Yes the 400 quite in the way at times.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Lothian buses were cool with losing the bus stop, so it can't be well used just now.
Posted 5 years ago # -
I've got a lot of thoughts on this. But the first couple:
- 2.5m bi-directional is totally unacceptable and should be a red line on supporting this in its current state. These roads are immensely wide. Should be 3m, minimum, and it's hard to see why it shouldn't be significantly wider.
- Bankhead junction is a disgrace and barely improves the current awfulness.
- I have a number of issues with the lack of directness and the poor connections with Barnton and the failure to connect to NCN1.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Hmmm - So the solution at South Gyle Access is to allow people to cycle on the footway. Also, the caption on the plan stating "6.6m carriageway, 4m shared use footway" is misleading. That is the width of a single carriageway. This is a dual carriageway road with a median strip of at least 1m, i.e. at least 14m of carriageway.
Does anyone know what is meant by "quiet street"? If it is anything like Rankellior Street on the Meadows-Innocent route than I would be concerned. Parked cars on either side of this road make it quite dangerous, with my only two very near misses in the last couple of years happening there.
I appreciate compromises have to be made, but it always seems to be cyclists and pedestrians that have to make them.
Posted 5 years ago #
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