Category: Travel and Mobility

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You may also be interested in viewing our Travel and Mobility Sub Committee page, which can be accessed by clicking here.

Come to discussion meetings on traffic / travel / parking

Edinburgh City Council is proposing various new traffic schemes for our area as if they were completely separate events. But if you add together all the various effects of each scheme, there will be a major impact on local residents.

Is the community getting enough chance to share information and air its views? 

The next two (online) meetings of the Leith Links Community Council will be on:

1. Monday 1st March at 6:30 pm, and

2. Monday 8th Match at 6:30 pm

For both meetings, the Agenda will be turned over entirely to discussion of travel & mobility changes proposed that will affect our area.

Please come, and make your views known!

More about the meetings

1.

On March 1st we will discuss the ‘Leith Connections’ / Low Traffic Neighbourhood scheme for Leith scheme (because this consultation has an earlier deadline date).

To register to attend this meeting (free, obviously) please click here. (Now closed)

If you would like to submit a question to be asked on the evening please click here. (Now closed)

‘Leith Connections’ is about a new, safer cycle route through Leith which involves removing parking, moving bus stops and closing some roads to motor traffic.

‘Low Traffic Neighbourhood’ involves closing several roads to traffic / creating one-way routes and cul de sacs, with the intention of making the area safer and nicer to walk or wheel through.

You can view the plans and should respond directly via this consultation which closes on 28th February.

https://consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.uk/sfc/leith-connections/
Or email your comments to miles.wilkinson@edinburgh.gov.uk 

2.

On Monday 8th March, we will discuss the proposed Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) in the area between Easter Road / Lochend Road / Restalrig Road.

To register to attend this meeting, please click here. (Now closed)

If you would like to submit a question to be asked on the evening please click here. (Now closed)

See the plans and comment here: https://consultprojectcentre.co.uk/ph2westleith
(consultation runs until 14th March)

You can also visit the consultant’s virtual drop-in session on 24 Feb. or 2 March (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/west-leith-cpz-drop-in-session-tickets-138733558809)

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What’s going on?

City of Edinburgh Council is proposing a set of big changes to the road  / traffic / parking  systems in our area. For example – in addition to the tramworks of course – a controlled parking zone all through Leith Walk and Leith; possibly making Spaces for People road closures (eg Links Gardens) permanent; a controlled parking zone for ‘West Leith’ (actually the Easter Road / Lochend Road / the colonies / Restalrig Road area); a new cycle route through Leith that includes road closures and removal of parking spaces; a Low Traffic Neighbourhood’ that would effectively close Leith off to through traffic (and make the road alongside the Links one of only two main routes). The aim of all of these is to reduce emissions and make the area safer and more pleasant, which in theory everybody of course would agree with, and support. There would however be big impacts on people who need to use cars for work, or because of age or disability or family reasons, and for businesses.

Have the plans been thought through well enough, by people who really know the area?

Has there been adequate engagement with the local community?

Controlled Parking Zones Phase 2 Consultation Leith

 

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The City of Edinburgh Council launched Phase 2 of its consultation yesterday on proposals for Controlled Parking Zones in the Leith area including Bonnington, Easter Road and what is described as ‘West Leith’ but is actually the area between  Lochend Road and Restalrig Road, East Hermitage Place and the colonies.

If you live in these areas please take time to look at the plans for the introduction of permit holder parking, pay and display and other measures. Then make your comments known via the online survey.

You can see the plans here.

The consultation company have also organised two virtual drop in sessions on

Wednesday, 24th February between 6-8pm

Tuesday, 2nd March between 1-3pm

You can sign up to attend these meetings through the link below

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/west-leith-cpz-drop-in-session-tickets-138733558809

Phase 1 of the consultation on parking took place in late 2019 for other areas of Leith.

This consultation is separate from the other consultation currently running on Leith Connections / Leith Low Traffic Neighbourhood.

 

 

 

 

 

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CPZ Phase 2 Engagement opens Monday,15th Feb

Project Centre Limited, working on behalf of City Of Edinburgh Council, has made it known that they are undertaking an engagement exercise in this area. This exercise concerns the potential introduction of parking controls and will be starting on 15th February 2021.

CPZ – Controlled Parking Zone

This is what they say –

“The Council’s Strategic Review of Parking Review assessed parking across Edinburgh, as a means of identifying areas that might benefit from controlled parking. The outcomes from that review were reported to Committee in September 2019, with an expectation that initial consultations in each of the four proposed phases would follow throughout 2020. While the Phase 1 consultation took place in late 2019, the planned consultation for Phase 2, scheduled to take place in April 2020, was postponed as a result of Covid-19.

Phase 2 of this engagement will now take place over a four-week period starting on Monday 15th February 2021. Leaflets will be delivered to every property within the Phase 2 areas of Bonnington, Easter Road, West Leith (Lochend) and Willowbrae North. Anyone interested in the proposals will be able to view plans online, complete a questionnaire and leave comments on an interactive map on our website. We will also be holding virtual drop-in sessions for each of the areas listed above, where attendees can view the proposals, hear in more detail what is being proposed and ask questions regarding these proposals.

The following link takes you to the main landing page for this engagement, where each area of consideration is listed with links to individual pages available. The survey is located on the main page whilst the interactive maps are on the individual pages. Please note that the survey will be open from midnight Monday 15th February.”

www.consultprojectcentre.co.uk/parkingph2

Please respond to proposals for new cycleway and road changes in Leith

A new consultation has opened up this week about:

(1) a proposed new cycle route (called ‘Leith Connections’) from the bottom of Leith Walk to Ocean Terminal. The main aim is to create a segregated lane, to make cycling safer, but the plans also include some very radical changes to the roads and traffic along the route, including narrowing lanes, removal of parking and loading bays, moving bus stops and restricting access to several streets, including Yardheads, Parliament Street, Sandport Bridge.

(2) a proposed new ‘Low Traffic Neighbourhood’ (LTN) for the whole of Leith which would see many roads closed to through traffic. This is building on the city council’s ‘Active Travel Plan’ and aims to make the streets within the zone safer and more pleasant to walk and cycle and wheel in.

Either or both of these would mean very extensive permanent changes to how we get around Leith.

The Leith Links Community Council area is half in, and half out of the proposed LTN, but whether we happen to live inside or outside it, we will all be affected by the resulting effects on traffic.

Please take the time to read the proposals and respond to the consultation, which you can find here.

You can respond to the questionnaire as laid out, but it is one of those ones that sort of leads you into what the Council wants to hear, so it might suit you better to (also) use the other facility, which is to email your response to miles.wilkinson@edinburgh.gov.uk

The consultation closes on 28th February. Don’t put it off!!!

Feel free to also add comments below, if you wish, and we will try to incorporate these into the Community Council response.

 

Leave a comment

FOOTBRIDGE DEMOLITION AT SEAFIELD

Local residents have received notification in advance of work to demolish the old footbridge which crosses the railway line at the entrance to Seafield Sewage Works. The area can already be a bottleneck for due to two sets of traffic lights between Seafield and Mcdonalds not synchronised which can lead to tail backs even when traffic flows should have reduced during lockdown. Work to remove the bridge will start on Thursday, 21st January until Monday, 1st February and will require a temporary 4 way light system so if you do have to travel then this could be the time to consider taking another route.

Latest Spaces for People representation lodged with City of Edinburgh Council

Earlier this evening Leith Links Community Council submitted a further representation to City of Edinburgh Council regarding its Spaces for People programme.

The submission to City of Edinburgh Councils Transport and Environment Committee, and Leith Ward Councillors Booth, McVey and Munro has been made ahead of its meeting due to be held on Thursday 12 November 2020 from 10am. Click here to watch the meeting live on the internet and read the papers for the meeting.

Commenting on the submission Community Councillor Sally Millar said;

It does not seem right that decisions are being made about our area without consulting local people. And if the council really has monitored traffic and done impact assessments, then where are the data?

» Read more

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Local traffic congestion & Links Gardens closure

At the last meeting of the Leith Links Community Council, the following motion was proposed and carried.

Due to excessive local traffic congestion, with concomitant air pollution and danger to pedestrians and cyclists, Leith Links Community Council proposes that a review is needed of the closure of Links Gardens and of the working of the redesigned junction at the foot of Easter Road. This should be carried out in the context of all the other nearby road closures, roadworks, and diversions affecting traffic across Leith, and should include full consultation with local residents and businesses.

The motion has been passed on to our three local Councillors, and to all members of the Transport and Environment Committee.

At the Community Council meeting (which was held online, but was open to members of the public to attend), the following points were raised in discussion:

LLCC is receiving many emails from local residents about severe traffic congestion problems, particularly relating to the redesigned Easter Road junction and to the Links Gardens closure. Residents are divided: many support the closure of Links Gardens for use by pedestrians and cyclists, while others are deeply upset by the traffic congestion, delays and blocked routes that beset our area currently. Recent online petitions have garnered hundreds of signatures. Currently some streets (eg. East Hermitage Place / Vanburgh Place) are actually worse for pedestrians and cyclists, rather than better, due to nose-to-tail queuing traffic and air pollution. Delays to public transport drives more people back to their cars.

LLCC is not anti-cyclist and is not demanding immediate reopening of the road, but just requesting a review. There was no consultation at the time of the closure.

A recent report from Police Scotland (Community Officer) states that “There are no highlighted concerns from Police Scotland in relation to public safety for this road [Links Gardens] re-opening. From a Police Scotland point of view we have no objections to this road re-opening and resuming normal traffic. This will hopefully alleviate a lot of traffic that is amounting along Vanburgh Place and Hermitage Place due to the new traffic light system on Duke Street.”

It is clear that the traffic problems are not ALL caused by the closure of Links Gardens, but by a ‘perfect storm’ of multiple road closures, roadworks and diversions all over Leith, and also by the new junction at the bottom of Easter road which has never worked well. Re-opening Links Gardens is the one thing that could be relatively easily achieved, and might help somewhat, even just temporarily while the Tramworks are at their most disruptive.

CEC policy is apparently to hope for “traffic evaporation” but it is not clear how this can be achieved.

Cllr McVey noted that the Links Gardens closure, along with early Covid 19 measures on other roads, is due to be reviewed at the next meeting of the Transport and Environment Committee.

           

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Community Councils Together on Trams: Minutes of meeting held on Thursday 30 July 2020

Leith Links Community Council is a member of the coalition ‘Community Councils Together on Trams’  (CCTT) alongside Leith Central Community Council, Leith Harbour & Newhaven Community Council and New Town & Broughton Community Council. CCTT meets monthly with the Tram Team to discuss, scrutinise and influence the step by step development of the Trams to Newhaven project, on behalf of our local communities.

Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 30 July 2020 are copied below for information.

If you have something you want this Community Council to raise at one of these meetings, please email contact@leithlinkscc.org.uk 

 

» Read more

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Changes planned for Great Junction Street – have your say

City pf Edinburgh Council’s ‘SpacesforPeople’ scheme is proposing the following changes to Great Junction Street in order to make it better for pedestrians and cyclists.

Consultation time is very short – all comments must be in by 1200 on Friday 10 July to spacesforpeople@edinburgh.gov.uk

“Covid-19 Cycling and Walking Emergency Response Measures
Proposed waiting/loading restriction changes to facilitate footway widening – Great Junction Street

We would suggest that you view the attached plan to see the detail of what is proposed. In summary it shows:

  • Intervention to widen footpaths where necessary adjacent to commercial properties, unfortunately Great Junction Street has considerable street clutter that reduce the available width. Additional parking/loading/unloading facilities can be provided in adjacent side streets, and reintroduced where possible.
  • All of the existing bus stops will be retained.
  • Unfortunately, due to the limited width on the footway, and the presence of on street queueing significant footpath widening is necessary.
  • Footways widened into the bus lane on both sides of the road from Leith Walk to Junction Place, to enable social distancing in the area of highest density business premises.
  • Remainder of bus lane outside of widened footway to be availible for cyclists.
  • South west footway widened from Junction Place to Bangor Road to provide additional capacity for social distancing and to aid businesses reopening.
  • Note that it is planned that several narrow points at existing bus stops will be widened under Phase 2 when temporary ramp materials are available.

In the first instance these measures will be introduced quickly using temporary traffic management equipment, such as cones. Where deemed suitable, this equipment will then be replaced with more robust semi-permanent materials once available.

Given the urgency to make the required changes any comments relating to these proposals should be received by 1200hrs on Friday 10 July to spacesforpeople@edinburgh.gov.uk.

All feedback will be reviewed and where possible the scheme will be further refined. Feedback will be summarised in an assessment feedback form which will be presented to the Council Incident Management Team for approval. Please note that we will be unable to respond to each and every email.

If the proposal is approved for implementation, publicity will then be undertaken so that local people are aware of the changes. A dedicated inbox will help us to manage any feedback around proposals –spacesforpeople@edinburgh.gov.uk

The introduction of, or changes to, any restrictions will be implemented under emergency delegated decision-making powers using a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order.

Regards

Spaces for People Team”

 

(you will see the map better if you open the view the attached plan document, this is just a screen shot)

 

 

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