Tag: Edinburgh Trams

Trams to Newhaven: Notice of works in Baltic Street & Constitution Street

The City of Edinburgh Councils Trams to Newhaven team have given our community notice of works due to begin on their work sites in the Baltic Street & Constitution Street areas.

In an email to Councillors Booth, McVey & Munro, a spokeswoman said;

I wanted to let you know that Morrison Utility Services will be carrying out essential gas maintenance works at the following locations within the Trams to Newhaven construction sites:

 

  • Baltic Street junction with Constitution Street
  • Constitution Street (Baltic Street Junction – Tower Street

Works will also take place to install ducting to support the BT Openreach project and maintain their digital network. Thereafter, BT Openreach will have a presence on site for the following six weeks.

 

 

The essential gas maintenance works will start on 13 May 2020 and last approximately seven days. There will be no interruption to resident and business gas supplies as a result of these works.

 

 

The project is committed to keeping our workforce and the public safe and to reduce the risk of spreading the COVID 19 virus. We will be working in line with the current Scottish Government guidelines of two metre social/physical distancing with extra safety measures in place to make sure that our teams and the public are protected.  These additional measures will include face masks, visors, glasses and gloves for use in any instance where two metres social/physical distancing cannot be maintained. Detailed briefings will be given to workers and we will be continuously monitoring working practices.

 

 

The works will be carried out during the normal working hours for the project which are 7am – 7pm Monday to Friday and 8am – 1pm on Saturdays.

 

Questions & feedback can be submitted to any of the Leith Ward Councillors, or directly to the Trams to Newhaven team.  

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Trams to Newhaven still scheduled for completion by Spring 2023 despite Covid-19 pandemic

The Trams to Newhaven team have published their latest newsletter which can be read by clicking here.Image result for trams to newhaven logo

Since City of Edinburgh Council made clear its intention to build the tram line from York Place to Newhaven our Leith community has been heavily divided as to whether it is in the public interest to do so, or not.

Despite the ongoing Covid-19 public health emergency the Trams to Newhaven team have assured our community that the project is still scheduled to be completed and
carrying passengers by Spring 2023. Many people would have thought that the ongoing UK & Scottish Government restrictions in place to address the Covid-19 outbreak would have led to delays but the newsletter has quashed that possibility.

 

 

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Trams to Newhaven construction work paused

The Trams to Newhaven team have announced that they are pausing construction work until further notice. The announcement made this evening explains that this is due to the current Coronavirus pandemic.Image result for trams to newhaven logo

Various members of our community have this week been discussing whether the construction works should be continuing in light of the restrictions of liberty put into effect by the UK and Scottish Governments.

The Trams to Newhaven team point out that it may take some time to close down the construction sites in a safe way and that traffic management arrangements (traffic signs, traffic signals, fencing etc) will remain in place.

Community Councils were asked to keep this information private until 6pm, although it is noted that atleast one journalist has broken the story early.

Their statement is as follows;

Formal instruction has been issued to Sacyr, Farrans Neopul (SFN) and Morrison Utility Services (MUS) to shut down the Trams to Newhaven construction site. This is in accordance with advice given by the Scottish Government over the last 48 hours.

 

The complexity of this project means that it will take a few days to action and there may be works that need to be completed in order to make the site safe and secure. Any further work that is undertaken will be done in accordance with Scottish Government guidelines around proximity working. Current traffic management arrangements will remain in place.

 

Work will continue off-site, again operating to strict social distancing guidelines, including design, planning and scheduling, as well as drawing up a remobilisation strategy for returning to the site once restrictions are lifted. We will also be closely liaising with MUS and SFN to look at ways of mitigating the impact of work stopping on the wider project.

 

The project contact centre will continue to be operational for any queries.

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Tram Diversion Route Improvement Programme – REVISED

See below revised and final Tram Diversion Route Improvement Programme (carriageway resurfacing and minor improvements) taking place in and around Leith this summer as published by City of Edinburgh Council on Thursday 30 May 2019.

Location Planned Start Date Estimated Duration Work Detail
Broughton Street 28-May + 22 Aug 4 weeks + 2 weeks Pedestrian crossing upgrade + carriageway resurfacing
Albany street 03-Jun 1 week Resurfacing
Hopetoun Street 07-Jun 2 days Resurfacing
Academy Street 11-Jun 1 week Overlay setts
Dalmeny Street 17-Jun 10 days Carriageway resurfacing and minor footway works
East Hermitage Place 26-Jun 3 days Carriageway resurfacing
Portland Place 28-Jun 1 week Carriageway resurfacing
McDonald Road 01-Jul 10 days Footway widening and carriageway patching
Easter Road / Duke Street 01-Jul 8 weeks Junction redesign
East London Street 02-Jul 7 weeks Pedestrian crossing upgrade and carriageway resurfacing
Duncan Place 10-Jul 2 weeks Carriageway resurfacing and minor footway works
Great Junction Street 10-Jul 1 week Carriageway resurfacing
Gordon Street 02-Aug 1 week Carriageway resurfacing
Bonnington Road 08-Aug 3 weeks Carriageway resurfacing
Ocean Drive 08-Aug 3 days Carriageway resurfacing
North Leith Sands 13-Aug 1 week Carriageway resurfacing and minor footway works
Newhaven Road 26-Aug 2 weeks Carriageway resurfacing
Annandale Street 29-Aug 7 weeks New pedestrian crossings and carriageway resurfacing
Broughton Road 05-Sep 2 weeks Carriageway resurfacing
Easter Road 11-Sep 3 weeks Carriageway resurfacing and minor footway works
Links Place 23-Sep 4 weeks Carriageway resurfacing, new traffic island and footway works
Pilrig Street 29-Sep 4 weeks Carriageway resurfacing, new traffic island and footway works

Click on the picture for more information.

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Community Councils Together on Trams: Joint statement

Joint statement by Community Councils Together on Trams (CCTT) – a coalition of the four community councils that cover the areas most impacted by the route of the tram extension [which includes Leith Links Community Council].

In advance of Edinburgh Council’s imminent final decision to go ahead with the tram extension to Newhaven, which represents a major intervention in the areas covered by the four Community Councils along the route, CCTT has reviewed the information gathered from documents in the public domain and provided in monthly meetings with the Tram Project Team.

While we continue to support the broad principle and ambitious aims of the tram extension, a number of our concerns have yet to be fully addressed.

We recognise that a strong feeling exists among many people in our communities that this project is being pushed through with undue and unnecessary haste.

We remain sceptical about the absence of sufficiently robust progress or commitment over the following measures which are essential if the tram is to achieve its steep environmental mode-shifting targets and if the collateral damage of the inevitably disruptive construction period is to be reduced.

CCTT seeks firm commitment from Edinburgh Council, Transport Scotland and Transport for Edinburgh for the following project-critical measures:

  1. Fully Integrated Ticketing System (FITS): this is key to achieving a material modal shift from car to public transport (as opposed to the 87% modal shift from bus to tram, as projected in the tram business case)
  2. Staged construction sites, ie avoiding simultaneous closure of (a) Leith Walk, (b) Constitution Street to Bernard Street and (c) Melrose/Ocean Drive to Ocean Way; in parallel, CCTT seek bus priority route deviations with quality temporary bus stops: these two measures are key to minimising disruption to the daily lives of 75,000 residents and 1500 businesses
  3. Controlled Parking Zones along the tram corridor: this is key to preventing the tram corridor from turning into Edinburgh’s largest park and ride area.
  4. Constitution Street: construction of strengthened pavements and the introduction of a streamlined dual permit system for scaffolding, as well as further serious engagement with residents and businesses about the detail of the design for the street.
  5. Early and maximum clarity on the logistics intended to serve local businesses during construction to allow traders (along the tram corridor and – if necessary – along the diversion routes) to plan ahead and make appropriate arrangements that will allow them to survive the inevitable disruption during the construction period.

CCTT has been a valued partner of the Tram Project Team during the months leading up to this point in the process, contributing local knowledge and providing a critical sounding board.

If real progress can be achieved in relation to our key concerns and the above measures, we will stay involved and work constructively with the Tram Project Team during the Early Contractor Involvement and construction periods.

 

 

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Trams to Newhaven: Final Business Case published

Earlier today City of Edinburgh Council published their Final Business Case, in advance of a meeting of their Transport & Environment Committee due to be held on Thursday 28 February 2019.

The release of the Final Business Case to Committee is another step towards a full Council meeting on 14 March 2019 when a decision will be made as to whether to finish constructing the tram line to Newhaven from York Place.

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