This is an email from Spokes mainly intended for members who live in the Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ). Apologies if the email is not relevant to you - the list is based on our database delivery areas, plus new email addresses not yet in the database. Even if so, you may well cycle in some of the affected areas. --------------------------------------------------------- The Council has published a draft Traffic Regulation Order which implements a whole range of changes to the parking rules in the CPZ, including the emissions-based charging which is being introduced as a result of an initiative by Cllr Steve Burgess last year. We support a lot of this Order. But - unfortunately it includes some proposals which will be very bad for cycling conditions, and it has also missed opportunities to improve conditions in some places. Many lengths of single-yellow and even some double-yellow lines are to be replaced by official parking bays. Many of these are not much of a problem, for example where parking becomes regularised between pavement buildouts. However some are quite serious, and will make conditions worse for cycling and/or will prevent the possibility of introducing a cycle lane in the future - even if only a peak-period cycle lane sometimes. In terms of missed opportunities, the Order could have looked at the parking spaces which block the entry to some advanced stop areas - maybe double yellow lines at some junctions could have been extended by converting a parking space. Indeed, the Order will mean the council providing several hundred new peak-hour parking spaces in the city (through removing single yellow lines). That in itself is questionable, but if hundreds of spaces are being added, surely a few could be sacrificed to improve the access to Advance Stop Areas. In terms of the problems introduce by the Order, after some scrutiny we have identified the points under the dotted line below, some of which are quite serious (e.g. Market Street, Lauriston Place and others). If any of these concern you, please consider making an objection. If you don't have time to look at the actual Order, specify the Zone and the street you are referring to, as shown in our notes below the dotted line. Spokes and CTC have objected to all these points, but for an individual objection you should ideally just pick out those points which YOU know and which concern YOU, and say in your own words why you feel this matters - don't just copy what we have written. ***There may well also be OTHER problems which we have not managed to identify - so if you have time for detailed scrutiny you may find other points you wish to object to. Similarly you might like to suggest other changes such as removing a parking space which blocks entry to an advanced stop area that you use, and extending the double-yellow lines there. ***Objections must be in by 31 MARCH. We are sorry for the short notice, but we have only just identified these problems - it is a very long and complex Order. ***A summary of the purposes of the Order is here... http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/Transport/Traffic%20orders/Traffic%20regulation%20orders/CEC_proposed_changes_to_the_controlled_parking_zone_by_tro_09_76 And the full details are here... http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/Transport/Traffic%20orders/Traffic%20regulation%20orders/CEC_details___documentation_for_tro_09_76 ***The email address for objections/comment is trafficorders@edinburgh.gov.uk. Incidentally, in case you are curious about Schedule 20 (Pedal Cycle Parking Places) our understanding is that this is to create a framework to allow installation of on-road bike parking places - for example a car space outside a tenement could be converted into a bike storage area. No such spaces are yet proposed. Finally, the issues above give the appearance that the Order has been drawn up without the involvement of the council's cycling staff - or that they have been over-ruled. We will raise this with the council, as we are meant to be in an era of all departments talking to each other and implementing council policies on cycling, and that seems not to have happened in this case, with potentially very bad results. --------------------------------------------------------------- Zone 1 Manor Place - conversion of current double yellow to parking bays between Melville St and William St reduces road width and leaves no possibility for cycle lanes. Zone 3 Market St - westbound currently double yellow, to become pay & display parking: this is a steep uphill for cyclists; the carriageway will be inappropriately narrowed, causing severe hazard to cyclists, and preventing possible addition of a future cycle lane. Whilst the map shows existing single yellow lines, there are in fact double-yellows on the ground. Having thus improved the street for cyclist safety they now propose to make it even worse than before! New St - a similar situation, again uphill for cyclists, and an undue narrowing of the carriageway. Zone 4 Rutland Sq - here, a parking bay is proposed at the very point where emerges the pedestrian/cycle route from the EICC/Standard Life area, which crosses the West Approach Rd by a dedicated footbridge. This access point should in fact be protected for pedestrians and cyclists by a double yellow line. Lauriston Place - conversion of single yellow to parking bays reduces road width on this very busy road which is also a bus route and well used by cyclists and normally quite congested. Parking on this street should be reduced, not augmented. Lady Lawson St, south side - conversion of single yellow to parking bays narrows the road width (this is also a bus route, and well used by cyclists) and hinders the possibility of a future cycle contraflow, much needed for access to the Art College as well as generally. Zone 5a Circus Place - conversion of single yellow to parking bays reduces road width and creates more hazards for cyclists on a street which is uphill and cobbled. All Zones If you have time to check the plans carefully for other dangers and missed opportunities, please do so. REMINDER... The email address for objections/comment is trafficorders@edinburgh.gov.uk, and the closing date is 31 March. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- ** Spokes news, downloads etc - www.spokes.org.uk; *NEW* twitter SpokesLothian ** Linlithgrow newsletters - www.linlithgrow.org.uk or ask to be on my list ** Twitter DaveduFeu - awaiting inspiration! ** Great sites - rideplanetearth.org, 38degrees.org.uk, badscience.net, copenhagenize.com, thebikestation.org.uk, grist.org, ghgonline.org, sei.se