community safety

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NTBCC Submits Applications to Local Travel Improvement Programme

The New Town and Broughton Community Council has submitted six applications for projects to be included in the Council’s Local Travel Improvement Programme. This scheme was established by the Council to allow community groups to identify small improvement projects that would address local travel issues. The applications are primarily concerned with improving pedestrian safety but also seek repairs to road surfaces and better road signage.

Improved Crossings in Gayfield Square

 

Copies of all the applications are given below. If there are small projects which would make a difference in your area, do let us know and we will add them to the list for next year.

LTIP Application Form (Carlton Terrace Brae)

LTIP Application Form (Gayfield Square)

LTIP Application Form (Princes Street)

LTIP Application Form (Bellevue Crescent)

LTIP Application Form (New Town Junctions)

LTIP Application Form (Annandale Street)

 

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NTBCC joins Living Streets and Edinburgh Access Panel in objecting to changes to Rose Street

The New Town and Broughton Community Council has joined Living Streets Edinburgh Group and the Edinburgh Access Panel in issuing a statement regarding the introduction of two-way cycling along Rose Street.

Earlier in the year, all three groups submitted objections to the Council’s plans to implement an exemption to allow contraflow cycling along Rose Street which is a one-way street and largely pedestrianised. The objections were focussed on pedestrian safety and the unsuitability of Rose Street as a cycling route in the city centre. We have reiterated these concerns in our joint statement and highlighted inconsistencies in the report that will be presented to the Traffic Regulation Orders Sub-Committee at their meeting next Tuesday. The full text of our statement which has been sent to all City of Edinburgh Councillors can be found below:

Joint Statement on One Way Streets Exemptions for Cyclists (Final)

As we note in our statement, Rose Street is the nearest we have to a pedestrianised area in Edinburgh with very limited vehicular access. It is identified as a Primary Place location and is one of the busiest pedestrian areas of the city centre. Increasing usage by cyclists of this already very congested shared space will increase the risks to pedestrians, especially those with impaired vision or mobility.

The cycling exemptions project states that its goal is that one-way streets will become two-way for cyclists where it is safe to do so (our emphasis). We do not have a problem with this overall goal but we strongly believe that it is not safe to do so on Rose Street.

If you have any comments on the proposed changes to Rose Street, please let us know.

 

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NTBCC makes deputation on pavement widths to Council

At last Thursday’s Transport and Environment Committee meeting, we made a verbal deputation highlighting problems with the loss of pavement space as a result of the issue of tables and chairs permits and siting of other infrastructure on pavements. We included a number of photographs of current examples from across our area to illustrate our concerns.

We noted that the Council is not consistently following its own guidance contained in the Edinburgh Street Design Guidance and raised concerns about response provided in the Business Bulletin to questions raised by Councillors last September. As a result of the deputations from NTBCC and Living Streets Edinburgh, the Councillors approved a motion to seek a full report on this issue early next year. We are hopeful that this report will provide greater clarity on the rules that should apply especially in busy pedestrian areas.

If you are interested in learning more about this topic you may want to watch the webcast of the Transport and Environment committee meeting. If you see other examples of pavements being restricted,  please do forward them to us using X (Twitter) or the contact form.

 

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NTBCC ordinary meeting minutes 12 February 2024

Minutes of New Town & Broughton Community Council’s meeting, at Broughton St Mary’s Church, on Monday 12 February 2024 at 7pm

Actions and decisions are red italic. ND (‘no dissent’) means that no-one spoke or voted against a decision.

URLs have been added by the minutes secretary. Continue reading →

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East London Street Residents – Petition to Edinburgh Council

 

East London Street residents have submitted a petition to Edinburgh Council calling for urgent action to reduce the impact of the heavy traffic including out of service buses using this residential street.

So far more than 160 people have signed this petition which will be considered at the next meeting of the Transport and Environment Committee. If you have not yet signed the petition, please consider doing so. It can be accessed at the following location.

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Edinburgh Police Division : ‘Catalytic Converter Theft Prevention Advice’

Adapted from a recent Edinburgh Police Division Facebook post.

This was highlighted by a local resident as there have been an increasing number of thefts of catalytic converters across Edinburgh recently. 

Catalytic converters can be attractive items to thieves due to the precious metals (rhodium, platinum, palladium) they contain. Hybrid vehicles are frequently targeted, as they have two power sources with the result that the converter is used less frequently and the metals are less corroded.

To reduce the risk of theft :

  • Park in a locked garage where possible. Alternatively, choose a well-lit, populated area, ideally with CCTV.
  • Avoid parking half on the pavement and half on the road, this will make it easier for thieves to access the converter.
  • In car parks, park alongside other vehicles and face the bonnet towards a wall, if possible, to make accessing the cat convertor more difficult.
  • Vehicles with low clearance could be used to block access to those with high clearance.
  • Welding the bolts securing the cat converter may make removal more difficult.
  • Consider using forensic property marking kits (e.g. Selectamark), which help deter theft and identify stolen cat convertors.
  • Fit a ‘catloc’ (Secured By Design accredited) to prevent the removal of a cat converter.
  • Fit a tilt sensor which will activate the car alarm should the vehicle be jacked up.

For more information, please visit the following websites:

Police Scotland
www.scotland.police.uk/advice-and-information/road-safety/protecting-your-car/

Continue reading →

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London Street / Drummond Place Pedestrian Crossing Improvements – Coming Soon(ish) ?

NTBCC are pleased to see the Council  administration’s response to the question tabled at the City of Edinburgh Council meeting on 16th December regarding progress on the agreed proposal for pedestrian improvements at the London Street / Drumond Place crossing.

This followed an enquiry sent  to NTBCC by a local resident.  In 2018, we had responded to the Council consultation seeking views on the preferred option and we were not aware of the reasons behind the continuing delays in implementing the agreed scheme.  We then contacted several local ward councillors to get a clearer understanding of the next steps necessary to implement the preferred scheme. Thank you to the Ward Councillors who responded.

Whilst we understand that the time required (as set out in the relevant legislation to ensure adequate scrutiny of Road Determination Orders) can sometimes seem excessive, we are not aware that the process has yet been set in motion, if so, this would be disappointing.   Continue reading →