Thread by @SW20Ed

🚌Bus lane trials and tribulations:

Edinburgh Council meets this week to decide whether to trial something it already knows will work & is well supported - extending bus lane times🧵

But simultaneously it will allow 2,600 private hires cars to use them🤦‍♂️

The councils own analysis says when bus lane times were reduced in 2015 bus time journey times and reliability suffered.

So why are we trialling it?

We know it works!

Well just trial it for a few weeks right?

No. 18 months.

So we’re probably YEARS AWAY from this going out across the city @EdinburghBUG, right?

Just last week @on_lothianbuses chiefs admitted the bus timetable can’t cope with the volume of passengers and congestion in the city?

So why are we trialling extending bus lane times - it’s needed across the city?

This is the typical mid-afternoon scene affecting locals:

£80k public money on marketing, consulting and monitoring something we know will work?

Why are we trialling it?

Worse: 2,600+ private hires might be allowed to use bus lanes 🤦!

Yes over 2,600 further things to delay buses even more.

This reducing capacity further as buses crawl through the city - so how can you tell the bus lane extension trial is effective?

There are many draw backs:

♿️Private hire vehicles are generally less accessible than taxi equivalents.

🚙They often just look like ordinary cars - simply encouraging others to jumps queues too. Enforcement of bus lanes is already weak.

We don’t need 2,600 more obstacles.

In other news, it’s semi-good news that Polwarth Roundabout will be looked this week too.

But someone has to ask the question why public funds were spent on “renewing” and resurfacing it just months ago, despite the clear proposals from @MerchistonCC?

Also, why do all resurfacing schemes not adopt the same practice as any sensible city with the same sustainable goals as Edinburgh - put it on a road diet!

Prediction: years of consultation despite a willing local community, just like @The_Causey (hopefully proved wrong).

And while we’re on the topic of public money - why is Roseburn to Canal going for ANOTHER consultation!

Proposed in 1980, consulted on multiple times since 2011.

It takes sooooooo long in Edinburgh to do anything you spend extra public money on having to re-consult!

Meanwhile, cars, not people and businesses are prioritised in the City Centre during the world’s biggest arts festival.

Safer pedestrian space? Accessible pavements? Bus reliability? More cafe space?

No. Queues of cars.

And city residents suffer with an unreliable bus service.

Edinburgh aims high with the rhetoric of its transport plans, but the execution…🤦

And it looks like corporate interests will win out against pedestrianised public space - so well-off visitors can drive to the door of a hotel with an existing car park - yards away from tram and train stations.

👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎

The all-powerful active travel lobby, huh?

In some good news the #PavementParking Ban has worked well. Credit to @DrScottArthurMP, predecessor @lmacinnessnp and cross party support.

Basically because it’s a simple message - which is why we need blanket 20mph rather than a patchwork of different rules.

End 🧵