Local Project Proposals Wanted (roads, cycleways & footways)

[wangi]

Dear All

Please find a form - attached - for you to fill in if you have any proposals to make for how to spend part of a £90,000 budget earmarked for local decision-making on improvements to local roads, cycleways and footways . This is Portobello/Craigmillar Ward's small slice of the multi-million annual capital budget is put aside every year for this kind of investment. Local people get an opportunity to help decide how it's spent, and where, throughout our local Neighbourhood Partnership (NP) area.

To find out more about the NP hit this link:

http://www.edinburghnp.org.uk/neighbour ... raigmillar

Last year, up until end March, the local projects approved included a contribution to the work on Christians Path cycleway; traffic calming on Joppa Terrace and streets in the Castlebrae area; and the formation of a pedestrian link at Pipe Street. The latter hit the local press recently for all the wrong reasons!

If you have a good idea, please try and fill in the form with details, as soon as you can and certainly by two weeks today - deadline 5pm May 2 - so the environment forum have a chance to start short listing projects and perhaps finding out if we can get others done through the Council's mainstream Capital Programme of works - projects the Council might intend doing soon anyway. The environment forum will have a first look at project proposals at its next meeting on Wednesday May 4.

Send your filled-in form, with ideas, direct to the local roads manager, Andy Matheson at the East Local Office. Andy's contact details by email are: andy.matheson@edinburgh.gov.uk.

Thank you for your help on this.

Maureen

[rapunzell]

OHHH! I wonder if this could include the prom slipways..?

[SoupDragon]

Good idea, Rapunzell

Mr soupy and Clanger 2 are currently thinking about cycle paths.
Mr Soupys personal bugbear at the moment is Brighton Place as the cobbles um... irritate him, but the Christian Path upgrade should help on that
Some sort of cycle, pushchair , wheelchair/mobility scooter- friendly access from Greendykes to RIE might be an idea, there is a path going up by Craigmillar Castle but it has STEPS so is unsuitable for mobility scooter access



I saw the start of the Pipe Street work, all fenced off around the demolished wall, they will leave a gap in the wall when they rebuild won't they?

[Grunk]

I always find the biggest annoyance is that the timing of traffic light systems is designed for cars (if at all, a drive down queen street or queensferry road makes me doubt much thought has gone into it).

The time between successive lights just doesn't fit in with the time taken for a cyclist to cover the distance. Which means a lot of stopping an starting (frustrating if you are travelling under your own steam instead of pushing an accelerator). there's also a lot of waiting for the full traffic light sequence, which when combined can almost double the journey time to or from the city centre.

When there was a roundabout at kings road, this wasn't so much of an issue, but now there are traffic lights it a pain.

So ideally I think it would be nice if there was always a "bypass route for cyclists" at the big junctions (easy enough for left turns, just have a little slip lane wide enough for bikes).

For the kings road junction, a bridge at the pedestrian crossing on harry lauder road would be appropriate (it would be useful for pedestrians as well since a lot of motorists seem to ignore the traffic lights). Or a small tunnel, there is also the possibility of using the pre-existing tunnel under portobello road (since CEC seem determined to not use the perfectly good railway lines for trains or trams).

Not only would this be a benefit to cyclists, but it would be a benefit to motorists too, since they wouldn't have pesky cyclists cluttering up the busy junction.

[Puerto bella]

Improving disabled access to the beach has to be one of the longest standing priorities surely?

Before it gets sidetracked completely by some unworthy pavement relaying, crappy signage or well meaning pseudo-historic tacky touristy sign boards is it remotely possible that we could have a community consensus to perhaps push en-mass for at least one or two points where you can get a proper ramped/ seasonal ramped access to the sand and the water?

[wangi]

I'm planning to respond with something along those lines - ramped access to the sea (not just sand as currently) and noting that it could be implemented as part of the replacement of the east-most groyne to improve the economics.

Subject: Maureen Child: Updates April 2011

I have said to the Council officers that the local resident's next priority will be rebuilding the eastern-most gabion groyne and they say this is the Council's coastal defence investment priority too. It is just possible the work to replace the groyne in the - most effective position (not necessarily where it is now) - might be done this financial year, as the current work came in under budget.

EDIT: For those who may not have read the earlier discussion on improving disabled access to Portobello Beach see: the Portobello Beach: disabled access project thread (8 pages worth).



L/

[Puerto bella]

I've sent mine in to Andy Matheson - asking for ramped access to the water to improve access for wheelchair users, those with walking aids and buggys.

[seanie]

I know the issue's come up many times, but has the Council ever looked into it? Have there ever been actual proposals?

[rapunzell]

As far as I can remember, the proposal to test beach pathways between King's Road and Joppa was backed by the council dept assigned to us, and put forward formally to management three times with the backing (and funding) of Scottish National Heritage (shifting sand solutions), The Forestry Commission (forest and lochside non-slip permanent paths) and Sustran (temporary pathways). The first time the decision was maybe, we'll get round to it, so we pushed forward. The second time was yes, but only as part of a multi-million coastal concept design, which we tried to get round. The third time there was no decision given, the SNH guy told me nobody at the council was returning their calls and then the guy heading the council dept backing us was promoted elsewhere. I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that after three (or was it four?) years of this, I had to stop and take a break from it.

[seanie]

Maybe it's something the PCC could take up.

[wangi]

we could have a community consensus to perhaps push en-mass for at least one or two points where you can get a proper ramped/ seasonal ramped access to the sand and the water?

Maybe it's something the PCC could take up.

This was brought up at the Portobello Community Council meeting tonight. They are going to make a representation to the council, putting forward this proposal.

More the merrier - make sure everyone else writes in too.

There are probably two approaches to meet this need - big engineering or smaller/cheaper practical approaches. With big engineering something could be incorporated into the replacement groyne at the east end of the beach. Smaller scale - and more practical in the short term - would be for a matting (plastic - eg beach rings, wood etc) solution at Bath St.


Beachrings at Foster Beach in Chicago, IL

L/

[wangi]

Just got feedback that "This project proposal didn't comply with the restrictions on the funding since it wasn't a road or a footway".

Not sure I follow the logic - because had it been done then wouldn't it have been a footway that could then enable proper disabled access to the beach?!

[rapunzell]

BASTARDS

[wangi]

Understand the frustration Mo.

The projects being taken forward are:

Newcraighall - Park View extension of the parking bays, build outs and a new footway

A raised table, traffic calming at Brunstane Station entrance on Brunstane Road South and 'rumble strips' on the dip at the entrance and exit to Gilberstoun - subject to a road safety audit.

Coillesdene Sheltered Housing Complex, to remove a uneven cobbled surface on the car parking and resurface.