📄 edi.bike — An Open Letter to the City of Edinburgh Council
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This morning we've delivered an Open Letter, co-authored with Spokes, to the City Chambers.
The letter [PDF] addresses the delays and deferrals of decisions on the East Area ‘Travelling Safely’ schemes, in London Rd, Willowbrae, Duddingston and beyond. Co-signed by sixteen other Active Travel organisations in the East of the city and beyond, it calls for greater scrutiny on the role and processes of the Traffic Regulation Orders Sub-Committee.
The letter has been addressed to the Conveners of the TRO Sub-Committee and Transport Committee; additionally copies have been sent to the Council’s Chief Executive, Interim Executive Director of Place, and Head of Transport, Strategy and Partnerships. By email, Councillors on the relevant committees, and ward councillors for the area have been copied in too.
The process of making a Traffic Regulation Order doesn’t specify the materials that should be used; and the Transport Committee has already approved a rolling programme of £2.5m over the next five years to upgrade the materials used in such schemes on a prioritised basis. This should be more than enough for the Sub-Committee to overturn objections about the current materials in use, and preserve the essential segregated and safe routes in place and used by thousands across the city every day - in line with the council’s own City Mobility Plan.
Please feel free to write to your own councillors regarding the open letter and the remit of the Sub-Committee; we’re facing down a significant challenge in the coming months to Edinburgh’s nascent on-road cycle network, if the handling of the East Area schemes is anything to go by. You can find your councillor here.
🚲 In lighter news, the Council at last named the providers of the new cycle hire scheme trial in the city centre, and it’s neither Lime nor Dott — it’s Voi, a Swedish organisation with a presence across Europe, with 17 locations in England already up and running. Cycles are expected to be on the streets in the next ten days or so, with the contract starting this Friday 22nd - more at STV »