Tag: transport

Categories
News

Parallel footpath proposal returns for more consultation

Villagers are to get another opportunity to express their views about Pencaitland’s narrow main-road footpath. In September, plans agreed by a range of community groups and ELC transport officials were expected to be passed by ELC Planning Committee. But Planning delayed its decision, saying it wants to ensure villagers have another chance to review the the same plans.

July 2010: Local mums highlight the dangers of the narrow main road pavement which led to the parallel footpath plan.
July 2010: Local mums highlight the dangers of the narrow main road pavement which led to the parallel footpath plan.

A letter to villagers explains that a public consultation is being offered to all interested locals in Pencaitland’s Trevelyan Hall between 2pm and 8pm on Tuesday the 30th of October. Transport officials and local councillors will be on hand to answer any questions or concerns anyone may have about the proposed parallel footpath before a final decision is taken by ELC councillors on whether to complete the partially done footpath or drop the plan with no alternative solution on offer. Can’t make it? You can still make your views known.

The plan boils down to building a wider footpath running parallel to the main road from the bridge, through church grounds and directly into the school, thus avoiding the main road pavement which is 75cm in places and too narrow for two people to pass without stepping onto the road, or to allow someone using a wheelchair or pushing many makes of baby buggy to safely get across the village on foot.

BACKGROUND

It was the footpath campaign, made up of concerned parents, dog-owners and other locals, that originally took issue with the ELC over the dangerously narrow footpath in 2008. This came to a head in February 2011 when ELC councillors and officals vetoed an earlier plan to extend the lights and widen the main road pavement.

Subsequent community talks were held at the direct request of ELC councillors. This led to the parallel footpath plan which was the end result of 18 months of discussion between members of the church, ELC transport and planning officials, ELC councillors, the Community Council and the Fatal Footpath Campaign.

Click above to view a PDF of the proposed changes
PROs & CONs

The community now has a second opportunity to review the same parallel footpath plan later this month and express a view on whether they wish to see the parallel path proceed to completion or, effectively, drop it entirely. Currently this is the only footpath plan acceptable to ELC’s transport officials.

So what’s good and bad about the parallel footpath plan which is being re-presented to members of the community on the 30th?

PROs

  • The parallel footpath provides an alternative and more direct route to and from Pencaitland Primary School.
  • It is a wider footpath which, unlike the existing pavement, can take wheelchairs and buggies.
  • It separates pedestrians from cars, buses and lorries.
  • Parking in the Carriage House car park will be improved for all users of this community facility.
  • An overflow carpark, part of the school’s existing parking, will be accessible via a footpath to church-goers, thus potentially reducing the need to park on the main road which can cause problems of its own each Sunday.
  • With a more direct and safer walking route there will be less reason to drive kids to school from Wester Pencaitland

CONs

  • This plan is more elaborate and costly than simply moving the lights and widening the footpath (though this is no longer an option open to the community after this was rejected by ELC councillors in July 2011 on the advice of transport officials).
  • Some residents of the Glebe are concerned that this plan may make parking worse in the cul de sac. (there were six objections when this plan went to planning consent).

HAVE YOUR SAY

We would encourage everyone with a view on these plans to make the time to go and see for themselves what’s being proposed and to consider what it will mean for the community as a whole. ELC officials are going to be on hand from 2pm through to 8pm to try to give everyone a chance to see, and have explained, what is being proposed.

However, if you are unable to come along on the day but want to express a view we would encourage you to leave a comment below, email us, and/or take part in our mini survey.

If you don’t see the survey question above you can click here


Categories
News

New Flood Alert for Edinburgh and Lothians – October 17th/18th

It’s just a few days since the last alert was issued and we already have a new one covering Edinburgh and the Lothians. Avoid travel wherever possible.

A new flood alert for the lothians was issued on the 17th October 2012
A new floodline alert for the Lothians was issued on the 17th October 2012
The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency issues three levels of threat on flooding. A ‘Flood Alert’ is the most basic, followed by a ‘Flood Warning’ and finally a ‘Severe Flood Warning’.

Here’s the latest from SEPA on the new alert for the Lothians:

“Heavy and persistent rain during the first half of Wednesday has caused some rivers to rise in the region. Heavy showers during the afternoon and evening may cause some smaller watercourses to respond quickly and levels in larger rivers to rise further. Isolated instances of flooding are possible and flood warnings may be issued. Particularly at risk are rivers in the Edinburgh area. High river flows, in combination with high tide levels around 4.30 on Thursday morning, could cause disruption in Musselburgh and other areas where the tide can influence river levels. Intense showers could cause some surface water flooding impacts particularly if the heaviest rain falls in urban areas and on impermeable surfaces, such as the road and rail network. Ponding and standing water may occur in low lying areas. The risk of flooding is expected to extend into Thursday. Members of the public are advised to check the Traffic Scotland website before traveling. SEPA will monitor the situation closely and provide further information when available.

Remain vigilant and remember, it is your responsibility to take actions which help protect yourself and your property. Advice and information is available through Floodline on 0845 9881188. This FLOOD ALERT is now in force until further notice and was sent by phone and sms free of charge to registered customers of our Floodline direct warning service. If you haven’t already signed up to receive free flood messages, please call Floodline or register online at sepa.org.uk/floodingsignup.”

Keep your community informed

If you have to travel and spot a dangerous section of road please tweet details to @pencaitlandcc or to the Pencaitland Facebook page. This way the information will automatically be passed on to others.

Example Twitter message:

@pencaitlandcc Bend of A6093 coming into Wester #Pencaitland water over both lanes on final bend. #flood #eastlothian

You can use the same text whether sending to Twitter or posting to Facebook or Google+… whichever you prefer.

the # symbol is often placed in front of keywords on Twitter in order to help people discover relevant updates. If you have room, by adding #eastlothian and #flood to your message it is more likely to be found by those looking for information on areas under water around in the county. Try to be specific, using, for example, #ormiston or #pencaitland hash tags to help geographically pinpoint where the problem is.


Categories
News

ELC proposes traffic calming measures for Pencaitland

Traffic plays a big part in the concerns of many locals. In an effort to have a number of issues addressed the Community Council sought the recommendations of East Lothian Council’s Transport department. Here’s the suggestions it came up with in response to this request.

Beech Terrace - moving speed sign and adding rumblestrips - click to view full PDF plan1. Easter Pencaitland Roundabout: Entering Pencaitland from the Haddington road ELC is proposing a roundabout with a proper central island. The current recommendation would necessitate relocating the war memorial and seating to a different corner. Additionally speed restrictions would be extended so that the 30mph limit would not cease until after leaving the village and would come into force before entering.

2. Pencaitland village road (Easter): After entering the village ELC is proposing traffic calming measures which are a combination of road narrowing and forming parking bays to the south side of the road in two locations.

3. Wester Pencaitland: Entering Wester Pencaitland ELC is proposing to move the speed restriction signs further west so that they come into force before vehicles arrive at houses. Additionally, in the run-up to the 30mph speed sign there would be 3 sets of rumble strips.

Community Comments to date

Continue reading “ELC proposes traffic calming measures for Pencaitland”

Categories
News

One Pencaitland bus timetable to rule them all (for now)

Local man Barry Hutton has been putting in some time to pull together a unified Bus Timetable for all services coming through Pencaitland. Here it is…

Pencaitland Unified Timetables - produced by Barry Hutton, June 2012 - click for PDF version

One of the challenges for anyone using more than one bus is knowing what time a service is due to arrive or depart from a given location and how much of a window this provides to change from one bus to the next. In putting together the following timetable, local man Barry Hutton has tried to pull together all the disparate details from various bus companies that pass through Pencaitland, in order to make it just that little bit easier to work out what’s due where and when.

We have created two versions. You can view and download the timetables in either DOC format or PDF.

Our thanks to Barry for putting in the hours to make this happen.

BUS SURVEY:

Pencaitland has joined forces with Humbie, East & West Saltoun and Bolton, Gifford and Ormiston Community Councils to find out what you want from the bus service. Register your views online now.

Related

Pencaitland Community Council
Follow Pencaitland Community Council on Twitter

Categories
News

113 bus to get ‘every opportunity to prove its sustainability’

The good people behind RELBUS recently wrote to Lothian Bus with a number of concerns over the new 113 route to Ormiston & Pencaitland.

RELBUS contacted Lothian Bus with questions over the new 113 service to Ormiston and Pencaitland. Image Rob McDougall

Rural East Lothian Bus Users wrote to the bus company welcoming the new service but sought reassurance on a number of issues. RELBUS was curious exactly why it was deemed necessary to create the East Lothian Buses brand, discovering that:

“The operating name of ELB is a trading name to reflect the operating area of this service and hopefully it will develop brand loyalty.”

RELBUS and a number of residents of the villages now on the 113 route had wondered if the brand was simply a means of differentiating the new fare structure which sees bus users living in Ormiston and Pencaitland paying £1.50 more per day ticket than people traveling between Tranent and Edinburgh. Could it also make it easier for Lothian Bus to walk away from the route in the future?

“It is not our intention to instigate the 113 on such a short term basis that it will not be given every opportunity to prove its sustainability as you fear based on previous experience with other operators.”

On the positive side, as a trading name, and not a separately run subsidiary, this would suggest running costs will be shared across the whole of Lothian Bus’s business.

Fare structure was another key concern. Distances between Edinburgh city centre and Pencaitland/Ormiston are roughly the same to distances between routes from the city to towns and villages in Mid Lothian operated by Lothian Bus. The company said:

“Regarding the fare structure this is a wholly commercial decision and is intended to make the service viable allowing for the low passenger volumes beyond Tranent. While the fares are higher than on our main network they are still some 33 percent lower than those of the previous operator and, in addition, allow travelers to access our full network without additional cost which would, in fact, have been an additional cost beyond the present discount.”

However, this does miss the argument that creating a price differential over this relatively short further stretch from Tranent may discourage people from Pencaitland and Ormiston from using the bus. Instead, people may opt to drive their cars to Tranent, park in suburban side streets and catch the bus into town from there.

As RELBUS points out:

“The benefits of single fare structures are very clear where these operate. It should be remembered that the benefits are extended not just to the residents of the rural communities served, but to those who wish to travel there to see friends or enjoy the countryside. Or indeed so that carers can reach their destination.”

If you have used/are using the new 113 bus service please let us know what you think of it so far and leave a comment below.

BUS SURVEY:

Pencaitland has joined forces with Humbie, East & West Saltoun and Bolton, Gifford and Ormiston Community Councils to find out what you want from the bus service. Register your views online now.

Related

Pencaitland Community Council
Follow Pencaitland Community Council on Twitter

Categories
News

Campaigning for better rural transport: RELBUS regroups

RELBUS, the campaign group for better rural public transport in East Lothian, has appointed former Liberal Democrat councillor Barry Turner as Chair.

Former councillor Barry Turner is the new Chairman of RELBUS

RELBUS has been updated in the light of First Bus’s cuts in services, which forced a review of contracts for many commercial services supported by the council and a general increase in awareness of issues surrounding public transport provision. Former Dunbar councillor Jacquie Bell has also joined the RELBUS committee.

Speaking about his appointment, Barry Turner, who was Environment and Transport Convener prior to the May elections when he lost his seat said: “I am a life-long bus enthusiast and I have spent my professional and political life campaigning for better public transport. I am delighted to be asked to chair RELBUS which has an important role to play in improving accessibility for those living in East Lothian’s more remote communities and promoting alternatives to private car use. I intend to use my experience to enable RELBUS to forge better links with the council, local communities, operators and the Scottish Government and its agencies. Recent events have shown that the way public transport is currently organised is simply not sustainable. We must find new and better ways to meet diverse local travel needs.”

Early priorities for RELBUS will be to follow up ideas coming out of the recent local conference on community and supported transport, to scrutinise and constructively comment on the council’s new Local Transport Strategy and urge setting up a Bus Passenger Forum.

It will also work closely with Community Councils to achieve a better understanding of local travel needs. If anyone wants more information about RELBUS and its purpose, or wants to put forward ideas, they should contact the organisation via the website www.relbus.org.uk.

RELBUS, short for Rural East Lothian Bus Users, is a volunteer-led group set up to campaign for better rural transport in East Lothian. RELBUS is a membership organisation and joining is free. It holds public meetings, meetings with operators and has and ongoing dialogue with local politicians of all parties and the local authority.

Pencaitland Community Council
Follow Pencaitland Community Council on Twitter

Categories
News

Floodwaters fill bend into Wester Pencaitland (Video)

Some locals will already be familiar with a bend on the way into Wester Pencaitland that tends to flood badly with heavy rain. This morning was no different, at one point covering three quarters of the road’s width.

The problem stems from the large field to the immediate north. It forms a large catchment for any downpour which then inevitably works it way down to this poorly drained bend at one point on the road.

If you’ve experienced problems with this stretch of road we’d like to know about it. Comment below or email website@pencaitland.org.

Pencaitland Community Council
Follow Pencaitland Community Council on Twitter

Categories
News

RELBUS proposes bus users charter for East Lothian

RELBUS, short for Rural East Lothian Bus Users, is seeking the views of bus users in developing an East Lothian Bus Passenger Charter. Got ideas on what you’d like to see in it?

RELBUS proposes bus passenger charter - click to give your views

The Bus Passenger Charter would be a list of commitments that each bus operator would attempt to meet. RELBUS are suggesting the commitments would cover at minimum fare structure, timetables and route information, plus related publicity material including information at bus stops and on buses.

But RELBUS suggest it could go beyond the basics to include commitments to accessibility and possibly a set of standards of service such as, for example, punctuality over and above any statutory obligations. Changes to timetables might also involve prior passenger consultation.

As RELBUS’s Philip Immirzi explains, “We aren’t starting from a completely blank sheet, as I found this over at the Bus Users UK website, but what do others think should be in the East Lothian Bus Passenger Charter?”

If you would like to offer your own thoughts, please visit the RELBUS website and leave your comments.

Pencaitland Community Council
Follow Pencaitland Community Council on Twitter

Categories
News

113 bus timetable published but some commuters unhappy

The new East Lothian Bus timetable for the 113 route can now be viewed here [PDF]. However, initial reaction has not all been positive.

Is the new East Lothian Bus 113 Timetable going to work for you? Click to view [PDF]

According to commuters who regularly use the current service, buses used to leave from Pencaitland roughly 20 minutes past the hour and this broadly worked for those that hadn’t already given up on using First Bus or were driving to Tranent to catch a bus in to town.

However, according to the newly published timetable the 113 will leave at erratic times beginning at 6.35am, 7am, 7.25am, then nothing for an hour and twenty minutes when there is an 8.45am bus. It then runs hourly thereafter.

According to some commuters this is not optimal and they would prefer buses that operate at 6.20am, 7.20am and 8.20am from Pencaitland.

If you use the current First bus service, or would like to use the new East Lothian Bus from June and have concerns over the timetable contact customer services.

According to the East Lothian Bus website, “Your first point of contact is our dedicated Customer Services team – give us a call on 0131 554 4494 and select option 2. Most comments and queries can be dealt with immediately over the phone, however occasionally we’ll need to investigate your comment which can take a little longer. Our Customer Services department is open to calls from Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays); 08:30 to 17:00 and all calls may be recorded for training and monitoring purposes.”

BUS SURVEY: Pencaitland has joined forces with Humbie, East & West Saltoun and Bolton, Gifford and Ormiston Community Councils to find out what you want from the bus service. Register your views online now.

Related
East Lothian Bus Update: the 113 & 44 routes

Pencaitland Community Council
Follow Pencaitland Community Council on Twitter

Categories
News

The clash of profit-driven bus routes v local public service

Local man Barry Hutton, recently wrote a comment for ‘Local Transport Today‘ with the title “Bus services can be profitable, or policy tools, but not both”. Given the recent brouhaha on our buses in East Lothian we’re reproducing his piece below.

Detailed analysis of Your report that East Lothian Council is considering setting up an arms-length company to operate bus services to replace those being withdrawn by FirstBus hides fundamental discontinuities between government policy and transport planning practice that are far from being confined to East Lothian. The Scottish Government, in common with the English, has adopted policies on climate change, on reducing CO2, on reducing car traffic and on tackling congestion, policies which rest in large part upon greater use of public transport. Those policies are echoed in the statutory Lothians Structure Plan, in the East Lothian Local Plan and by the South-east Scotland Transport Partnership.

A major issue at the Public Inquiry into the East Lothian Local Plan was a proposal to build upwards of 750 houses on the western flank of Haddington, the administrative centre of East Lothian, about 25km to the east of Edinburgh. This would swell the town’s population of 8,800 by about 25% and generate around an extra 2,000 journey-to-work/school trips per day.

Continue reading “The clash of profit-driven bus routes v local public service”