Keep Edinburgh Moving

ETRO Proposals in South West Edinburgh

Urgent action is needed by Sunday 3 July - but it’s quick and easy

The council is taking the next step in the process for making the Lanark Road and Longstone Spaces for People cycle lanes permanent and is running a public engagement process.

They are simultaneously running this process for dozens of other Spaces for People schemes in Edinburgh.

We are disappointed the council has not written to, or used notices outside the homes of people directly affected to inform them of this process.

Anyone who is directly or indirectly impacted either positively or negatively, should email the council by Sunday 3 July with specific comments on specific schemes. Read on to find out more about how this works and what to do.

Haven’t we been here before?

You might have a sense of déjà vu if you’ve provided feedback already. However, overwhelming objection was ignored and the previous council voted to begin this process.

It is important to actively participate in this stage, or the council will assume everyone is now happy with the Spaces for People cycle lanes!

The new council administration has at least committed to a fair, open and transparent process.

How is it working?

The council used Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTROs) to install the cycle lanes in the pandemic. They can only be in place for a maximum 18 months - otherwise they wouldn’t really be “temporary”. It’s possible that the Lanark Road and Longstone cycle lanes will be in place unlawfully after July.

To keep the cycle lanes, the council proposes to transfer them to Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders (ETROs) across the city, however these are only used when there is an intention to make a scheme permanent after another 18 months. The “Experiment” is likely to refer to small details within the scheme eg the exact time of parking restrictions, the length of double yellow lines, the precise number of parking spaces etc.

The council has changed the name. “Spaces for People” is now called “Travelling Safely”, but it is the same thing.

More information on all the proposed ETROs in Edinburgh is here.

https://pclengagement-hub.co.uk/en-GB/folders/travelling-safely

Timescales

Friday 10 June—Public engagement opens
Sunday 3 July—Public engagement ends
August—Transport and Environment Committee makes go / no-go decision on each proposed ETRO
Later—ETRO implemented for 18 months, with objections possible in the first 6 months

More information on timescales:

https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/public-transport/travelling-safely/4?documentId=13184&categoryId=20088

Where are the plans?

Complete plans for the proposed ETROs across Edinburgh can be found here:

https://pclengagement-hub.co.uk/en-GB/folders/travelling-safely

For South West Edinburgh, the plans are available here:

https://pclengagement-hub.co.uk/en-GB/projects/ts-west

Once landing on the page, you need to click "Read more" to open it, then scroll to the bottom to see W9 Lanark Road and W10 Longstone Road.

Also read the accompanying Statement of Reasons (https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/file/31453/statement-of-reasons) and the ETRO itself (https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/file/31450/experimental-order).

Our interpretation of the plans is that they are proposing Lanark Road and Longstone stay as they are now, but with added time limits on parking outside Cranley Nursery near Gillespie crossroads and outside Simon Says Dance, Imperial Palace and Gino's in Longstone.

What if I don’t understand or can’t read the plans?

The plans are technical drawings and very hard to read and understand on screen. If this affects you, then email and tell the council this is the case and ask for them to be provided in an appropriate format.

How can I submit comments?

You can email comments until Sunday 3 July to: Edinburgh.Consultation@projectcentre.co.uk

Postal comments can be sent to: Traffic Orders, Place, 3.3 Waverley Court, 4 East Market St, Edinburgh, EH8 8B.

Comments relating to plans in South West Edinburgh should quote reference TRO/21/30 and the street name relating to each comment. If commenting on more than one street it may be easier to send a separate email for each on. Eg comments on W9 Lanark Road for one email and comments on W10 Longstone in another - clearly shown in the subject line.

What sort of comments are relevant?

Firstly, even though emotions have run high as a result of these schemes, please ensure all comments are polite.

Blanket statements e.g. “I love/hate the schemes” or “Take them out/keep them in” are not appropriate in this type of engagement.

You need to focus on specific things that impact you and your family or business. We provide some example questions below to illustrate the sort of things to consider commenting on.

Will anyone listen to them?

To help ensure your comments are heard, please cc all your local councillors in your email. Message SWEM if you need help working out who your local councillors are as many changed in the recent election.

What is SWEM submitting?

As SWEM’s submission may only count as one comment, it is vital that residents submit their own individual comments.

SWEM is concerned about the following areas and welcomes feedback on these concerns so our comments represent the community as much as we can.

In December 2021, in response the initial 'stakeholder consultation, we made a detailed 15 page submission you can read here. Since there have been no changes to the road layout since then, the points raised are still relevant now.

Once you have submitted your own comments, please keep giving us your feedback and sharing our petition

Last year we drafted a vision that aimed to be a more constructive starting point for a scheme for Lanark Road and Longstone that is likely to have widespread community support. We translated this into a petition. We welcome further feedback. Please email us at southwestedinburghinmotion@gmail.com.

Sign, comments on and share the petition: https://www.change.org/BollardFreeVisionLanarkRoadandLongstone

Specific issues that may affect you...

Time limited parking at Cranley nursery

Are you a parent, staff-member or local residents impacted by this?
Was there any problem with drop off before the introduction of the cycle lane?
Are you a resident of a side street such as Spylaw Park affected by parking displaced from the main road?
Do you find drop-off in the floating parking easy or difficult with small children?
The local engagement showed clear opposition to keeping the cycle lanes and wanted them removed entirely. This was ignored. The local Community Council was misrepresented in the report for council. Do you think this is acceptable?
Are you a parent who used the on street parking to park and ride after drop-off?

Speeding and collisions

Do you think speeds are now better on the road?
Have you witnessed a collision caused by the new road layout?
Do you think changing the speed limit to 30mph while also "bagging" the speed cameras has been effective in stopping vehicles speeding?
Should the speed cameras be reactivated?
As a pedestrian or cyclist, how do vehicles speeding affect you?
Do you think the failure to enforce speed limits led to new safety risks to pedestrians and other road users?

Limited parking at Dovecot impacting children attending sport

Do you visit the area to use Dovecot Park for sport and recreation?
How easy do you find parking and drop-off in the new layout?
Have you ever had problems when unloading children or equipment?
Are you a resident of a side street affected by parking being displaced into your street?

Impacts on cyclists

Have you experienced any safety issues with the new layout?
Are you affected by the bollards containing you in the lane, e.g by preventing right turns?
Do you feel safe in the downhill sections when contained in the bollard lane?
Do you avoid using the bollard lane for any reason?
Do you think the road surface in the bollard lane is of sufficiently high quality to ensure your safety?
On Longstone Road there is only space for a cycle lane on one side, which then reduces the road width for cars to overtake cyclists travelling in the opposite direction - is this an issue for you?

Pedestrian safety

Does the lack of safe crossing points near the Hailes cul-de-sacs affect you?
Would more crossing points make it easier for you or your children to use public transport?
Do you think pedestrians (who are top of the "transport hierarchy") have been sufficiently considered in the new scheme?
Has winter maintenance of foot paths and pavements been a top priority in the scheme?
How do you find the overall provision for walking and wheeling in the area e.g. quality of pavements and off-road paths?

The road layout

How has the introduction of floating parking positioned nearer the centre of the road affected sightlines and visibility at crossing and junctions?
As a driver, do you find the slalom layout of the road makes it safer?
In your experience, has the slalom layout been effective in reducing the speed of traffic?
How have you found driving the new road layout in winter conditions, e.g. snow, low sun / poor visibility?
Are there any other issues raised by the new layout?

Access and disability

Are you affected by lack of kerbside parking access outside properties for residents, visitors and trades-people?
Do you or a family member have a disability that means you are negatively impacted by the scheme?
Do you feel it is reasonable to stop blue-badge holders from parking on the double-yellow lines beside the cycle lanes?
Have you or a family member with a disability been impacted in other ways by the scheme?
As a wheelchair user, has the scheme made it easier or more difficult to cross the road?
Has the new scheme made it easier or harder to access your driveway?

Local engagement

Did you respond to previous consultations and / or local engagements?
Do you feel that your views were listened to?
All previous consultations and engagements showed majority opposition to the scheme — in light of this, do you think it is justified for it to remain?
The council was keen to emphasise the temporary nature of the scheme when it was first introduced in the pandemic. Should a temporary scheme become permanent by default?
The ETRO will run for 18 months, and is based on the idea that more information is needed to judge the success of the scheme. Do you agree?

Time limited parking on Longstone Road

Are you affected by the proposals for time-limited parking in three places on Longstone Road near the Simon Says Dance studio, Imperial Palace and Gino's?
These affect:
- a 10-metre length of the bay on the south side of Longstone Road, immediately west of Kingknowe Road North
- The full length of the bay on the north side of Longstone Road, immediately west of Graysknowe
- The full length of the bay on the north side of Inglis Green Road, opposite Redhall Avenue