Tag: Trams

Councillor Katrina Faccenda speaks up for Leith

Leith Ward Councillor Katrina Faccenda spoke up last week in the Council Transport and Environment Committee about the awfulness of life in Leith in recent years / months / weeks, due to the Tramworks. Her words were polite, but her message was frank and very clear. As a result, she has been invited to attend the Tram All Party Oversight Group (APOG) (a role usually not open to Ward Councillors).

Her words are below. If you want to be sure that she is aware of issues that affect you, when she attends the Tram APOG meetings, you should contact her at cllr.katrina.faccenda@edinburgh.gov.uk

My statement to the Transport and Environment Committee on the Trams to Newhaven Update

Councillor Katrina Faccenda

I want to congratulate the team – lessons have been learned from Phase 1 and to see that the project remains on schedule and within budget is a remarkable achievement

However, I am concerned that we underestimate the impact that the ongoing works have on the residents of my Ward.

As a city we recognise the importance well-maintained public spaces, this committee spent the whole morning discussing one street in the new town where very few people live permanently.

and the importance of the lived environment for people’s well-being – yet residents in Leith have for years had to live in building site

Building sites which are not always kept as clean and tidy as they should be – which become litter traps and are used as yards for long-term storage

Many businesses have asked me why the street in front of their business a storage yard for materials is which will not be need for many months – surely there are alternatives to this.

I have also had many letters regarding the steepness of the dropped pavements at junctions like Constitution St/Bernard St and the mismatching/confusing nature of the tactile paving which are meant to help the visually impaired – I do hope that these as well as some of the poorly laid and cut paving will be made safer, but it would be better for this not to happen in the first place.

The now infamous new crossings like the one at Brunswick Street are out of my ward but due to bus issues more Leithers than ever are walking up Leith walk to get into town.

I appreciate that the Trams team are responsible for delivering a project and it falls on other parts of the council such as Lothian buses to deal with many of the other inconveniences.

I am not sure that anyone who does not regularly travel to and from Leith can appreciate the level of stress that people are enduring daily – and negotiating public transport has become almost impossible if you do not have access to a smartphone and the bus App but even that is of limited use as it doesn’t keep pace with diversions.

Buses are changing route on an hourly basis, changes in bus stops being serviced and we are now going into the winter without bus shelters at many bus stops and ironically lovely shelters at tram stops on Leith Walk

Leith lost the 22 service – a lifeline service for many and one of the reasons is reported to be reduced use – we know that many of those who are able to walk, or wheel have stopped using buses due to unreliability caused by traffic and diversion – and those who still need buses struggle to find one.

Lastly, the Support for Business package has been welcomed by many businesses but hasn’t been enough for others – well established businesses are closing and only last week another business, a bar on Bernard St announced its closure – cash flow is vital to small businesses and an evening of customers paying by voucher is not ideal.

I appreciate that the pandemic and lockdown make measuring business impact difficult, but I do hope this will be looked at in planning future large scale infrastructure interventions across the city.

Summing up – everyone appreciates that life in a city will involve road works and occasional disruption but for one part of the city to have to put up with so much for so long has become intolerable for many – and please do not forget that many of the future beneficiaries of the trams are not those putting up with this – they are still to move to Leith into new housing accessible by tram.

I think the council must acknowledge the level of disruption and stress the people of Leith have endured and to publicly thank them for persevering and recognising that our strategic plans for the city should be balanced with the wellbeing of our citizens

 

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Leith Links Community Council next meeting Monday 28th February 6:30 online

The next meeting of the Leith Links Community Council will be held on Monday 28th, February at 6:30pm, online (Microsoft Teams)

The Agenda for the next meeting and minutes of January’s meeting will be issued shortly

As always, our meetings are open to interested members of the public. If you wish to attend, please email contact@leithlinkscc.org.uk and you will be sent an invitation / link for the meeting.

Thank you for your support

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Trams to Newhaven newsletter | 7 May 2020

Click on the image to view the newsletter

City of Edinburgh Councils Trams to Newhaven team have published their latest community newsletter which provides a community update on the status of the Trams to Newhaven project in relation to the current Covid-19 national health emergency.

Interestingly, the Trams to Newhaven team are still advising the community that the project is ‘scheduled to be completed and carrying passengers by Spring 2023’ as of 7/5/20, despite the works shutdown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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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Trams to Newhaven: Leith Walk planters relocated to Duke Street / Easter Road / Vanburgh Place / Lochend Road signalised junction

The Trams to Newhaven Team have said that in order to facilitate construction of Trams to Newhaven project, the 14 planters that are currently situated on Leith Walk will be moved to the Leith Links / Duke Street / Lochend Road / Easter Road junction. This will be a permanent move in order to accommodate dedicated cycling lanes post construction. The planters will be moved as part of the enabling works commencing on Monday 18 November 2019.

They went on to say – ‘We are aware that some businesses / residents have been looking after the planters and where this is known we have made contact to explain. An example of this is the Kadampa Meditation Centre who we visited to explain what is happening and to thank them for the work they have done. We will be attaching posters to the planters this week to highlight the planters being moved.’

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Trams to Newhaven: Notification of start of construction work

Trams to Newhaven have given notification of the start of construction works starting from Monday 18 November 2019.

Please also remember that the Trams to Newhaven team are hosting a drop in event at South Leith Parish Halls on Thursday 7 November 2019 from 12noon until 7:30pm to which all community members are invited.

Enquiries can also be directed to the team at newhaven.tram@edinburgh.gov.uk, or by telephoning 0131 322 11 22.

If you are a local resident or business in the local area the team are inviting you to sign up to their electronic mailing lists so that they can issue updates to you directly:

 

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Proposed Carriageway Resurfacing Works – Duncan Place and Great Junction Street

The carriageways on Duncan Place & Great Junction Street (between Cables Wynd and Pirrie Street) will be resurfaced during August in advance of the work to extend the tram line.  The resurfacing work will commence on both streets on Monday 12th August with Duncan Place resurfacing to last for 2-3 days while Great Junction Street will take slightly longer at 5-6 days.

Duncan Place will be fully closed to vehicles for the resurfacing work (access available for residents parking) while a one-way system will be set up for the work on Great Junction Street using Cables Wynd and Henderson Street.

There will also be some minor footway works next week (in advance of the resurfacing work) on Duncan Place to reinstate a footway buildout for the school crossing patrol officer, unblock and clean out the drainage, renew some old pedestrian guardrail and remove any redundant street furniture.

Click on the picture for more information.

 

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Duke Street roundabout works site meeting update

Following a recent site meeting the City of Edinburgh Council Officer responsible for the works issued the following update:

 

 

 

 

 

Dear all,

Thank you for those who attended the site meeting on Friday 29th July 2019 at the former Leith Academy to discuss the main concerns regarding the proposed changes to the junction of Easter Road / Duke Street.

As promised see below a list of the issues raised at both the site meeting and during the June 2019 Leith Links Community Council meeting. I have provided the current response to the concerns with any actions. Some of these were discussed at the site meeting, and some responses have been provided to me today while others we never got round to discussing on site due to time constraints.

Serious concern about both entering and exiting from former Leith Academy building (No. 89b Duke Street) carpark. (this also covers all sub points);

 

Residents will access/egress from the car park across a section of the new footway which will be constructed from a different material and work in the same way as someone exiting from their private driveway across a footway. Drivers should give way to pedestrians (which should already happen at present when exiting from the car park) and proceed to the edge of the carriageway. At this point they will give-way to vehicles on the main carriageway (again similar to how they would at present) and proceed when safe to do so. Upon entering the main carriageway they will be faced with traffic signals to both the left and right directions and these should be treated as normal. Each stop line will have multiple traffic signal heads and most of these will be visible when first exiting the car park and so drivers will have an idea of which traffic is moving before they enter the carriageway. To confirm, it will be possible to access and egress in all directions.

Residents that live in the former Lochend School House building (No. 4 Lochend Road) have similar concerns to above about access;

A yellow box junction is proposed to deter vehicles from queueing over the access into 4 Lochend Road and multiple traffic signal heads will help ensure the traffic signals will be visible from the exit. Again, vehicles exiting the car park will give-way to vehicles on the main carriageway and manoeuvre when safe to do so. Finally, it should be noted that the existing traffic island on Lochend Road will be removed and we will also consider changing the parking restrictions to No Waiting / No Loading (Double Yellow Lines) in front of the car park access (as requested) to ensure waiting vehicles do not hinder access which residents have said is currently a problem.

Residents of Burns Road, Industrial Road and ‘the Colonies’ are concerned about additional traffic due to the proposed banned right turn from Lochend Road into Vanburgh Place;

The right turn from Lochend Road into Vanburgh Place is currently proposed to be restricted for safety reasons given the required traffic signal staging. During the site meeting a resident proposed to permit the right turn by introducing a right turn filter whereby traffic from Duke Street would stop and allow traffic to exit from Lochend Road and turn right. I passed this suggestion onto the Network Planning manager who in turn introduced the suggested filter into the traffic model however it resulted in the junction capacity being reduced considerably and therefore extra queueing on Duke Street in particular. While it is on average only 1 car every 5 minutes, there is a minimum time the filter light would come on for and Duke Street traffic would need to be stopped both before and after this to allow all traffic to clear for the filter traffic. Ultimately with the results it produced it wouldn’t be viable to include the right turn filter.

As such it is still proposed to ban the right turn from Lochend Road into Vanburgh Place for the proposed traffic signal staging to operate as efficiently as possible. Following completion of the works, we will assess the number of vehicles using the above mentioned streets to travel from Lochend Road to Vanburgh Place / East Hermitage Place (and vice versa) and consider what measures would be appropriate although we do note that some residents of The Colonies prefer to use Burns Street for access. For clarity, traffic calming measures could refer to no entry, one way streets,  dead ends, priority systems or speed bumps along with a number of other things however I couldn’t say at this moment what is appropriate.

It was confirmed on site that the 161 vehicles over a 14 hour period filmed travelling from Lochend Road to Vanburgh Place includes people using the roundabout to double back. This equated to 1 vehicle every 5 minutes. Restalrig Road and Easter Road are the nearest obvious alternative routes for local residents and other drivers to use (where feasible) and could both handle 1 extra car per 5 minutes.

We don’t want to make things any more difficult for local residents and so any changes would be best left until the junction works are complete and we can make an assessment based on actual traffic changes; residents already note (as per LLCC meeting notes) that its awkward for drivers to exit from Fingzies Place or Somerset Street onto East Hermitage Place and therefore it’s unclear why people would choose to use that route.

Comments on Measures Under Consideration

 

  1. As above traffic calming measures could mean anything as appropriate, not just speed bumps.

  1. It is currently proposed to retain the eastbound bus stop on Vanburgh Place by creating a lay-by for the bus to pull into. The car club bay at the same location would also remain.
  2. The widening of the access road into the car park is designed to allow vehicles to keep left when exiting so that they can make the right turn manoeuvre easier. It will also allow 2 vehicles to pass when entering the car park area.

  1. It was noted at the LLCC meeting that the toucan crossing on Vanburgh Place would probably be helpful but there were a couple of concerns. To be clear it would form part of the signal controlled junction – the pedestrian crossing would be changed to a toucan crossing to allow cyclists to cross and head up Lochend Road or onto Vanburgh Place towards Easter Road.

  1. Appropriate road markings to protect side access typically means KEEP CLEAR or a yellow box junction.

General Comments

Residents have requested that the bus stops on Duke Street by Tesco and Academy Street are looked at as they seem to cause congestion whenever both bus stops are serviced at the same time. At a glance moving the westbound stop further west towards Tesco entrance will create a greater gap between the stops to allow traffic to pass waiting bus services. The traffic island may need to be relocated but this is something we could do but it will be important to find the correct position to ensure the island doesn’t stop traffic from passing bus services. Vehicles accessing and exiting Academy street further complicate the issue but its certainly worth investigating further.

In addition Lothian Buses have pointed out that the westbound stop on Duke Street at the shops is only 130m away from the next stop at Tesco and doesn’t have an opposite partner. As such they plan to investigate its current use, especially if we are to consider the positioning of the bus stops on Duke Street by Tesco. That space might be better used for loading and parking but its not clear if the school children currently use that stop or the stop previous on Vanburgh Place. Again some investigation work to be undertaken.

A review of the whole area would possibly be best carried out once tram works are complete to allow for any further changes following completion of the tram extension. There are some issues listed which might already be alleviated by the tram works such as the proposed new traffic signals at the end of Manderston Street which might make it less of an attractive route. And so I will pass all of these comments on to the North East Locality for consideration and ask them to provide comment which I can then pass back to LLCC.

The suggestions put forward are on the whole very sensible but unfortunately I’m not able to simply include all of these suggestions as part of my work. I have noted them however and where feasible I will.

Further issues

Residents asked – why widen the pavement so massively outside the Former Leith Academy building.

As before the footway widening outside the former Leith Academy is a result of reshaping the junction so that the propose traffic signal staging will work and  the layout is coherent for drivers. Specifically we needed to separate Duke Street and Lochend Road to create a stagger as currently they are slightly offset which leave a vast junction area with no instruction for drivers. The footway outside the shops on Duke Street will also be widened to almost 4m wide

From Residents concerned about the loss of plants on the roundabout

Please can there be assurances that these will not just be dug up and thrown away, but will be preserved and replanted nearby somewhere locally, as appropriate?  

Having discussed the request with our arborists, they have responded as follows;

The Palms (Cordylines) would not transplant well this time of year and would be out of place on the Links given there aren’t any others there. Furthermore it is unlikely they will survive on the Links at Vanburgh Place due to a number of ongoing issues at that location. There are some Cordylines at the entrance to Lochend Park and they could try and replant them alongside those although I note that’s not exactly close by and they still might not survive without regular irrigation, which they are unlikely to get. They offered them to local residents for private gardens if desired but again they state the root system is not strong and ideally the new home should be prepared first but in this case there wouldn’t be enough time.

Phormium tenax (Flax) would also be difficult to transplant and wouldn’t be in keeping with the Leith Links landscape. Again it could be donated to a resident if desired.

Planters from Leith Walk can be relocated to the junction but they aren’t maintained or irrigated by CEC and as such they advised against this unless residents would like to maintain them. Also, they don’t expect the Maple trees in the planters to grow to maturity, purely due to species choice (they weren’t involved in the procurement of these), and suggest they need regular maintenance which they don’t get a present.

Alternatively they have suggested creating 4 new tree pits as part of the footway widening outside the former Leith Academy to introduce more greenery. And a planter on the footway could be provided although again CEC do not have the resources to continually maintain these so it would need to be filled with something low maintenance. Residents could of course be involved in maintenance and ownership if desired as happens in other parts of the city.

Other Comments Raised at Meeting

How will bin collections in the car park of the former Leith Academy (89 Duke Street) be managed following the changes to the junction.

I have asked Waste & Cleansing for comment however they are still considering this at present. It was noted on site that Waste & Cleansing Department can gain access to the car park area if loading from the main road is no longer suitable.

Works were put on hold to allow time for final details to be confirmed following any further comments from residents and as such the work will not now start until 29th July 2019

I will issue a copy of the final drawing once outstanding matters have been concluded. I hope this has covered everything but if anything has been missed or requires further detail, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Questions and comments can be sent to transportdesign@edinburgh.gov.uk or
TDD, Waverley Court, G.4, 4 East Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BG

Click on the picture for more information.

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Community Councils Together on Trams: Minutes of meeting held on Wednesday 6 June 2019

Leith Links Community Council is a member of ‘Community Councils Together on Trams’ alongside Leith Central Community Council, Leith Harbour & Newhaven Community Council and New Town & Broughton Community Council. CCTT is the coalition of Community Councils who meet regularly to discuss, scrutinise and influence the intended continuation of the Edinburgh Tram system to Newhaven.

Actions and decisions are red italic.

1 Abbreviations

BAFO = best and final offer LLCC = Leith Links Community Council
CCTT = Community Councils Together on Trams LW = Leith Walk
CEC = City of Edinburgh Council NTBCC = New Town & Broughton Community Council
CPZ = controlled parking zone OBC = outline business case
CS = Constitution St POLHA = Port of Leith Housing Association
ECI = early contractor involvement SPC = swept-path contract
EIA = environmental impact assessment TAPOG = CEC’s tram all-party oversight group
FBC = full business case TfE = Transport for Edinburgh
ISC = infrastructure and systems contract TN = Trams to Newhaven project
LCCC = Leith Central Community Council TRO = traffic regulation order
LHNCC = Leith Harbour & Newhaven Community Council TT = trams team

TAPOG is CEC’s leader and vice-leader, CEC’s transport convenor and vice-convenor, and transport spokespersons from each party

2 Welcome, introductions

2.a Attendance

Angus Hardie CCTT/LL CC Harald Tobermann CCTT/LCCC
Rob Leech TT/TN project Bruce Ryan CCTT minutes secretary
Jennifer Marlborough CCTT/LHNCC Darren Wraight TT/CEC
Andrew Mackenzie CCTT/LLCC

2.b Apologies

Rob Levick

3 Update from CCTT: new question/queries

NB D Wraight provided responses in advance of the meeting.

It is sensible to CC emails to RL and/or DW to the TN email address, to allow for RL and DW being on holiday.

3.a Concerns about mooted tree removal between Manderston and Smith to facilitate Leith Walk lane closures during construction

3.a.i DW’s pre-meeting response

The project team has always stated that to accommodate the traffic management installation on Leith Walk, enabling works would be required to achieve the 3 lane closure, running lane and bus infrastructure. These works will predominantly be on the east side of Leith Walk however localised areas may be required on the west. As part of the development of traffic management through ECI this will be developed and briefed through our ECI meeting.

I have been in direct communication with a resident adjacent to Inchkeith House about the trees outside their property since last summer and gave them a commitment that we would try and protect these trees however I could not confirm this until the ECI period. We are now working with the contractor to develop this further and we can discuss further tomorrow.

3.a.ii Discussion

The matter was discussed and RL reiterated that the projects default position is to avoid having to remove trees, however, there may be instances where this is unavoidable and in these cases the project will seek to replace the trees removed.

3.b Concerns about mooted rollout of tactile pavement/bike lane divider trialled at Shrub Place

3.b.i DW’s pre-meeting response

The original proposal as per the consultation drawings last year was that the cycleway was to tie into and match the existing Leith programme design. However, through the consultation various members of the public, the active travel community including Sustrans, Living Streets Edinburgh Access Panel, Spokes and Transform Scotland have stated they wish the new infrastructure to be grade separated similar to the Leith Street design. It will be good to understand the view of CCTT tomorrow evening.

3.b.ii Discussion

CCTT is keen to ensure all key stakeholders have bought in to the surface finishes on the project and that the Edinburgh Access Panel is consulted fully. Concerns were raised by CCTT that the Leith Street works had taken a very long time and looked expensive. DW explained that the geometry on Leith Street is challenging and that the project will not face the same issues.

3.c Concerns about Easter Road damage to property and pollution during construction diversions

3.c.i DW’s pre-meeting response

Although traffic volumes are anticipated to increase on Easter Road due to diversions the effects of ground borne vibration from the carriageway is very unlikely to cause damage to properties. A number of studies have been undertaken by the Transport Research Laboratory, and none of those which I have read indicate any damage being experience in buildings as a result of ground borne vibration from the road.

BS7385 details that the threshold of significant effect is 10mm/s (peak particle velocity at building foundation) in relation to intermittent vibration but hen considering continuous vibration it is generally accepted that the guide values should be reduced by up to 59% (i.e. 5 mm/s for continuous vibration).

Research into this area has noted that the levels in buildings close to heavily trafficked roads rarely exceeds 2 mm/s and are typically below 1 mm/s.

In terms of pollution CEC’s scientific staff will continue to monitor air quality on Easter Road which will be supported by the project collecting proxy data.

3.c.ii Discussion

HT noted that people can feel and see the vibrations, including on Pilrig St. They are concerned that individual buildings may be affected. AM noted that Constitution St residents are also feeling the vibrations.

RL responded that there are two topics: (i) additional traffic on Easter Rd, but this is much less than would cause damage to buildings; (ii) potential damage to buildings along the route from construction works such as piling.

Hence TT plans to externally survey all of the buildings on the route (not the side-streets) as they are now. In more sensitive areas, or in locations where work (e.g. piling, breaking up concrete slaps) is more likely to cause stronger vibrations, there may also be internal surveys. The survey will be done before construction starts. The method will be in place by the end of August. There will also be monitoring of vibrations: if they exceed certain thresholds, work will cease until suitable mitigation measures are found.

Piling for the central reservation masts will go as deep as is necessary. Where possible, the bases of masts will rest on bedrock. Where bedrock is too deep, they will be supported only by deep concrete foundations. (This is known as ‘gravity base’.) Hence ground investigations are currently under way to ascertain where bedrock-based and gravity-based work is needed, and hence the extent of utility diversions needed.

There was discussion of types of piling. The ‘screw’ type (‘continuous auger’) is used on softer ground. Rock augers are used to drill into rock.

If damage is caused, the owners will receive recompense from insurance placed directly by the council on behalf of the project. There are incentives within the insurance arrangements for the contractor to minimise damage.

DW noted that pollution monitoring on Easter Rd will include the continued use of existing monitors. In addition, TT will use proxy data, i.e. traffic speeds and volumes are accepted predictors of vehicle-caused pollution.

There was discussion of whether a bridge over the Powderhall rail line at Easter Road needs strengthening. If it does, this will be carried out by CEC as part of its normal roads obligation. It was noted that one arch of the bridge has already been strengthened with permanent scaffolding, and that pavements have been widened to move the main load away from the bridge edges. Concerning bridges on Leith Walk, although Atkins has already looked into whether they need strengthening, the contractor will need to undertake further investigations as part of the detailed design work.

3.d Removal of roundabout at the foot of Easter Road

AH and AM stated that LLCC and its residents are very concerned about this. AH acknowledged CEC’s response to such concerns, but stated that not all concerns had been alleviated. AH recognised that there needs to be a solution to the extra traffic during construction but suggested that the current plan for traffic-lights is not a long-term solution. DW responded that there is a desire to promote active travel, and that active-travel exponents (e.g. Sustrans, Spokes) had recently commended the current plans.

HT suggested that traffic will not flow around the roundabout as easily during tram construction as it does now. DW responded that TT initially modelled traffic during construction, and predicted problems at the existing roundabout due to increased northbound traffic not being able to get onto the roundabout due to heavy traffic also entering the roundabout from Lochend Rd travelling along Duke Street. Hence during construction, it would be necessary to replace the roundabout with a temporary signalised junction. DW then consulted with CEC traffic staff (e.g. road safety, active travel, safer routes to school), who have long wanted to improve this junction. Hence the ‘temporary’ signalised junction will become permanent due to CEC wishes, and according to CEC standards.

AH noted that there had been poor consultation/information about this project.

3.e Roadworks information

There was concern that roadworks signage does not inform when work will start or how long it will last. DW responded that TT is trying to give advance notice of ground investigation (GI) work, and that full information on such work is on TT’s website, that there has been ‘vast’ amounts of communication, and that there are limits on what can be done of 3-day pieces of work.

4 Update from TT team

4.a Progress on CEC work on multi-year environmental cost/benefits post tram

4.a.i DW’s pre-meeting response

I have previously discussed this will Hannah and I will ask her to respond separately to HT.

4.a.ii Discussion

HT stated that he had previously been promised data. RL stated that HT/CCTT were due to provide specific questions. DW stated that at the previous meeting, this topic should ‘come off the table’ (see item 2.a of that meeting’s minutes). HT reiterated that he/CCTT wish to know what the predicted environmental gain from the tram project is. RL responded that TT is trying to minimise spend, and that this is not part of its planned spend. There was discussion of the aims and objectives of the tram project: RL acknowledged that environmental benefits are one part of the overall aim but that there are also other benefits arising from the project.

4.b Meeting with senior staff (both contractors) during EC]

TT wishes ‘to bring the contractor to this table’ but DW wishes to ‘bottom out’ other issues first. After that, TT will choose appropriate contractor representatives to attend these meetings. Action: TT to bring contractor rep to the next meeting.

4.c Update on ground investigation works

These are progressing according to the programme on TT’s website: work has started on Elm Row, and Constitution St. (This was the most difficult piece of traffic management.). There were no complaints here, and work finished today.

Unfortunately, the letter from TT implied that Constitution St work might take a month. RL agreed that this letter could have been clearer, and steps will be taken to avoid repetition of this issue.

HT asked about work on Leith Walk, near Brunswick St. DW explained that two trial holes are to be dug at Shrub Hill in the next week or so, that such holes will only be dug in the central reservation, and that lane-closures on wide streets are unlikely.

4.d Update on Edinburgh Street Design Guidance and latest bus stop/lane design additions

Atkins are carrying out a compliance check that the current design fits published Edinburgh guidelines. (Other guidelines are still in development.) This will be made public once DW has had time to read the report he received today.

4.e Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders

DW explained that these can last up to 18 months. TT will institute a ‘blanket’ TTRO to allow TT/the contractor to immediately change traffic management as reality requires. TT/the contractor will communicate exactly what it is going to do. Traffic management will still need approval, via the traffic management review panel.

4.f Utilities work embargo

An embargo on utilities work will be instituted in the same streets covered by the TTRO, to prevent other organisations disrupting TT work. This area will be added to the Scottish Roadworks Register, so utilities companies can easily know that the streets are under embargo, so they must contact the relevant roads authority (Edinburgh Council). They will then be informed that they must contact DW. TT is engaging with this holistically, covering the wide area that is likely to be affected by the tram work.

This follows the normal approval process in which council locality engineers can only approve works if they fit with what else is occurring. (If there are concerns, they can escalate these.)

To try to pre-empt emergencies, TT has had many conversations with utility companies to find what assets they have in the main arterial routes, and to pre-arrange appropriate actions. There will be constant monitoring by DW, locality engineers and the contractor.

HT requested that accurate (including accurate dates) signage is maintained daily, e.g. if signs are blown over at night, they are re-erected early the next day. DW stated that this will be undertaken by the contractor, with TT monitoring this. The contractor will have a traffic management manager, responsible for TM wherever the contractor works. Contractors are contractually obliged to take heed of weather warnings, and allocated needed resources, e.g. to re-erect signage. TT will have quality control inspectors who have traffic management experience: they will check site safety, including traffic management, daily.

There will be a phone-number and an email address for general and emergency communications, both staffed 24/7. Also, CCTT is welcome to contact DW at any time.

4.g Business logistics survey

This has been issued electronically, and so far has received 35 responses. The survey will be kept open for two more weeks. After this, TT will visit businesses to try to obtain 100% response rate, and hence gather all the information it needs to finalise the business support strategy. Visits will be undertaken by TT stakeholder liaison officers or skilled third-party professionals, to maintain good relationships between TT and businesses. Leith Walk and Constitution St businesses have already been contacted. There was discussion of the range of engagement by businesses, and their needs.

Logistics hubs locations are defined in the contract: they will be in side streets on the east of Leith Walk. Their locations mostly are available on the TT website, in the traffic management drawings. The look and feel of the hubs is to be decided.

Transport hubs are car parks, holding up to ~60 cars. There will be three at any time. However, these will move as work progresses. Indicative positions are available on the TT website.

4.h Bus diversions

DW has conversed with Lothian Buses to ascertain where LB believes buses will go, based on previous experience. The relevant roads have been assessed by TT and LB, to find potential issues. The capital roads team has also assessed these. This has led to some of the current road-resurfacing work.

LB will try to minimise route-changes. There will be stops along the diversions, despite previous poor experiences suffered by CCTT members. Changes will be subject to overview by the traffic management review panel. There is a series of meetings between CEC, LB, and the traffic management review panel.

HT reported he is now the chair of the Edinburgh Bus-Users Group. He asked when timetables will be available. DW responded that these cannot be made until traffic management has been approved. If normal stops are out of use, there will be signs stating where the nearest functional stop is. LB will also use its social media to publish these. DW acknowledged that passengers need information on changes asap, even though it cannot be published right now. TT has supplied the contractor with traffic management constraints, e.g. Pilrig St and McDonald Rd cannot be closed simultaneously. The contractor now has to develop traffic management details that follow these constraints. [Then LB can make divert its services according to these details.] There will be a minimum notice period for such changes. This is currently being discussed with LB and will be in line with their standard operating practice in other parts of the city.

HT reported that he has been told that LB has provisional tramwork diversion timetable information but will not yet publish it for reasons of ‘commercial confidentiality’. He also argued that any diversions should be constant throughout the construction period. RL confirmed TT has not received anything from LB and that one of the reasons for adopting the traffic management strategy was to provide certainty to the general public for longer periods of time than would otherwise be the case if traffic management were deployed in small areas.

J Marlborough reported that a map on TT’s website continually crashed. Action: TT to get this sorted.

4.i Bus trackers

DW has found that the current bus-trackers are obsolete, and that CEC has issued a tender for a new system. Once it is know what the new system will be, TT will liaise to ensure that whatever it does is compatible with the new system.

4.j Bins

DW has met with CEC waste services to develop what will happen during the ECI period. A plan will be developed to maintain waste collection during construction. It would be best for Gareth Barwell (CEC waste services manager) to come to the August CCTT/TT meeting, by which time the temporary (i.e. during construction) plan has been developed.

5 CCTT/TT workstreams during ECI: update on progress/status

Covered in various items above

6 Meeting dates during ECI period

These dates were agreed: 27 June, 29 August, 26 September (last Thursdays of each month)

 

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