SW20 Profile picture
Aug 13 14 tweets 7 min read Read on X
🚌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! Image
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? Image
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:
Image
Image
£80k public money on marketing, consulting and monitoring something we know will work?

Why are we trialling it? Image
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?
Image
Image
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.

Image
Image
Image
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?
Image
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).
Image
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!
Image
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 🧵 Image

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with SW20

SW20 Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @SW20Ed

Jul 4
It’s time for an #Edinburgh congestion charge.

Here’s why🧵 Image
The planned 2006 £2/day charge to pass one of the boundaries would have raised £50mn a year had it been introduced.

By now, the city might have raised an extra £850mn to spend on public transport.

Possibly above a billion if adjusted for inflation.
Almost two decades later, Edinburgh has ambitious car km reduction targets backed (in principle, although sadly not in practice) by 4/5 council parties.

But without measures like a congestion charge to both cut traffic AND raise funds for public transport, those will be missed.
Read 23 tweets
Nov 26, 2023
First New Town Design:

A missed opportunity to create spaces with greenery and much wider pavements where cars are guests - like every other major European capital?

Where are the trees, bollards, seats and sustainable drainage?

Lessons not being learned fast enough. 🧵

Image
Image
We know that without bollards we’ll have blocked pavements and years of costs from cracked expensive paving slabs (repair & injuries).

So why are bollards not in the design?

Otherwise we end up with another Elm Row, Leith Walk or Parliament Square

Image
Why is parking deemed more important than outside space for Cafe Rouge, The Queens Arms or Cote?

Perhaps 40 lost tables?

In the centre of most other Northern European cities this would be timed loading access. Instead we have permanent car storage in a World Heritage site.


Image
Image
Image
Image
Read 7 tweets
Sep 13, 2023
Worth re-tweeting this thread on the #Edinburgh Workplace Parking Levy.

It’s a key tool for the council in hitting its own car km reduction target.

@SanneDD @kevin_lang @CouncillorCowdy @CllrScottArthur @DAstonSNP @julebandel @KatrinaFaccenda @FinlayMcF @KayleighFONeill


Image
Image
Image
One this is for sure: there is no perfect policy.

But there’s much scope for mitigating it’s impacts.

However exemptions will need to be managed carefully should it not become too watered down or difficult to administer.

Image
Image
The impact assessment is interesting - worth a read - but missed a fundamental point: that if the scheme is watered down with significant exemptions then that mean less funding raised for public transport and more traffic - harming those it identifies as most impacted!
Read 5 tweets
Jun 11, 2022
🚨 SW20 on Tour 🚨

🧵 Wee trip to Waltham Forrest, London

Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, accessible public transport, walkable communities and safe cycling - showing what’s possible in a UK context.

Many lessons for Edinburgh..!

#StreetsNotRoads
The local authority here delivered traffic calming/reduction projects know as Mini Holland schemes
Through traffic was filtered from residential streets using one way streets (with two way cycling), trees as filters and small gardens.

The effect:

✅less thru traffic
✅residents, deliveries and emergency services unaffected
✅less noise (it’s remarkably quiet) 🐦
✅greenery
Read 18 tweets
Jun 10, 2022
🚨New Bike Bus🚨

Details here of the Bike Bus SW: Juniper Green Primary School👇

Local parents (and kids!) will launch the route to #JuniperGreen Primary on 24 June.
It’s being organised by local parents in connection with the school. It’s so popular, a second meeting point in Baberton has already been arranged!

@Junicycle_LR

See more on our blog

hellosw20.wixsite.com/sw20ed/post/bi…
It’ll be guaranteed to make you smile!!

Just like the @blackfordsafer1 @safer_to & @BikeBusShaw!

Read 4 tweets
Feb 16, 2022
Myth buster: workplace parking levy

Lots of commentary about this POTENTIAL policy, so we took a look.

In short: build for the city you want, not the cars that commute into it.

🧵
FACTS: Employers pay the levy via a licence to the Council.

Nottingham exempts all employers with fewer than 10 spaces. 10+ pay £415/year per space.

c80% of employers pass it on.

In 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿, blue badge spaces parking at GPs Hospitals & hospices are exempt.

Credit @SueFlack1 👇 Image
POTENTIAL PAYEES:

The Scottish Parliament estimates 31k employees COULD be subject to a charge if implemented in Edinburgh.

A lot right? Well about c9%.

c90% (330k) wouldn’t face a charge, but could benefit from reduced congestion.

spice-spotlight.scot/2019/05/10/the…
Read 10 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(