Traffic Controlled Junction and Bus Lanes on Milton Road

by **Dave Connelly** » 01 Apr 2004, 13:48

City Wide Travel Improvements/Waste of taxpayers money and a danger to all

With reference to the above, I would like to voice my concerns regarding the proposed bus lanes in and around the Duddingston Park area and the change from a roundabout to a traffic controlled junction.

Firstly traffic lights at the junction of Milton Road and Duddingston Park/Duddingston Park South, (formerly Niddrie Road), were dispensed with a few years ago after several serious accidents. It was felt at the time that a roundabout would be safer.

One of the problems being that the sun shines, at the busiest time of the day directly into the eyes of motorists driving on Milton Road, towards town, thus blinding them to traffic lights.

This is of course still the case today at the pedestrian crossing, situated on Milton Road, between Park Avenue and Duddingston Park.

The roundabout in situ at present however is effective in slowing the traffic, and is more visible than the lights on the pedestrian crossing.

I have to cross at the pedestrian crossing regularly with my two children, aged 7 and 5. Both of who are now very wary, due to the number of close calls we have had on that very crossing with cars failing to stop at the red light.

It is a regular occurrence that vehicles jump the red light at speed, whilst the green crossing light is illuminated for pedestrians. This may be either through not seeing the red light or by trying to jump the light to gain the extra few yards, prior to being slowed down by the roundabout. In my opinion making the main junction traffic light controlled could prove fatal.

I have already expressed my concerns to Mr Andrew Easson from the Council and our local MP Gavin Strang as well as Naiomi Coleman, Senior consultant for the Steer Davies Group, 68 Ã¢â‚¬â€œ 70 George Street Edinburgh, who are spearheading this initiative.

I also feel strongly that it will be a loss of amenity to myself, family and friends who park in the street outside our home at present, as we would be forced to park on the other side of the road, and cross by foot, often with young children. I would understand this necessity if there was any perceivable benefit to having a bus lane approaching the junction, but I cannot see that the current volume of traffic or indeed buses justifies a bus lane.

Having made some enquiry into the matter, I am also concerned about the impact of parking restrictions on the value of our property. It is not a congested area, but to employ bus lanes would give the impression that it is and again the imposition of parking restrictions would devalue the property.

What do you think.

by **administrator** » 02 Apr 2004, 17:30

Maureen Child recently gave me a consultation document in PDF form on this subject. I will try to get this on the site ASAP, so that people can see exactly what is being proposed.

My personal view, for what it's worth, (and I'm posting as 'Bob' now but can't be bothered logging out/in) is that traffic light controlled junctions are generally safer than roundabouts, and I think the stats support this. They also provide better traffic management and for these reasons seem to be preferred to roundabouts nowadays. As a supporter of public transport I welcome any measure that improves travel times, at the expense of car users if necessary.

Having said that, there may be very good reasons why these measures are inappropriate for your particular circumstances and I wouldn't like to prejudge the issue without knowing all the facts. Hopefully, the consultation process will address your concerns, and those of everyone else with an interest.

by **Maria** » 23 Nov 2006, 17:45

From tonight's EN:

by **Scorpion** » 23 Nov 2006, 20:20

That'll be great fun :angryfire:

I'm not sure that traffic lights are such a good idea at Duddingston park though. It might help at the Brunstane roundabout during the rush hour. In any event until the work is completed I'm sure it will be chaotic.

by **Novastar** » 24 Nov 2006, 00:52

A lot of the bus lanes seem totally unnecessery. OK on Queen Street/York Place and maybe towards West End/Haymarket there might be a point but the one that seems silly to me (and appologies this is moving it further afield) is Ferry Road. There are about 3 routes along here (21, 7 and 14) 1 bus every 5 minutes or so. Why do we ned to totally shut off a lane of traffic on an already busy road?

IMHO it smacks of trying to control people bringing their cars into the city by giving them so much congestion they can't use them once they're here (similar to my opinion on the new parking restrictions). I'm not a driver but I realise cars are needed (particularly with the awful bus service in some parts of Edinburgh), something the council don't seem to realise.

by **Bob Jefferson** » 27 Dec 2006, 10:56

by **Bob Jefferson** » 27 Dec 2006, 11:47

I never got round to publishing those drawings I was given back in April 2004, so here they are now. I will find out if any changes have been made to the proposals in the meantime and publish new drawings if necessary.

by **Bob Jefferson** » 27 Dec 2006, 12:52

Mike Trotter is the person within City Development responsible for this particular scheme. I have left a message asking him to send me up to date drawings when he returns to work.

by **Porty** » 27 Dec 2006, 15:38

by **Bob Jefferson** » 27 Dec 2006, 15:52

by **Porty** » 27 Dec 2006, 19:37

by **tom nimmo** » 28 Dec 2006, 13:58

by **Porty** » 28 Dec 2006, 15:34

by **tom nimmo** » 29 Dec 2006, 15:12

by **Porty** » 29 Dec 2006, 15:17

by **Porty** » 29 Dec 2006, 15:22

by **Bob Jefferson** » 29 Dec 2006, 17:18

by **tom nimmo** » 30 Dec 2006, 17:42

Why are Spkes going to wait 10 years or so until the new school is built to encourage cycling and sustainable travel? I do my best to avoid cycling past the high school at closing time now because of the number of cars parked on the road and it is even worse at St John's. Having witnessed the way a fair number of high school kids cross Duddingston Road I dread to think how the much higher traffic levels on Milton Road will cope with such attitudes. Hopefully there will be plenty of safe crossing places put into the plans at the time and a programme of road safety training as part of the school's preparation for the move. Even at Tower Bank, which is ideally placed for cycling or walking to school, it is baffling to watch the streets round the school jammed with cars whose owners probably all live within 15 minutes walk away.

by **Bob Jefferson** » 30 Dec 2006, 18:07

To be fair to Spokes Tom, they have been encouraging cycling and sustainable travel for the last 30 years and many of the advantages that cyclists now enjoy are as a direct result of Spokes involvement.

Check them out at www.spokes.org.uk

I think the point is that with a new build you can design in cycle-friendly measures and safe routes from the outset. It's an exciting opportunity to put a lot of eco-friendly ideas in place and I'm sure that's something we can all agree on, regardless of what we think of the site selection.

The situation at Towerbank is much better than it used to be, but I agree that there is no need for any parent (unless their child has mobility problems) to park outside the school. For those parents on their way to work, Bridge St car park has spaces for 65 vehicles and is just a few minutes walk away.

by **Porty** » 30 Dec 2006, 20:45

by **Messalina** » 30 Dec 2006, 21:09

by **Porty** » 31 Dec 2006, 01:06

by **Bob Jefferson** » 25 Jan 2007, 18:01

From today's EN:

by **SoupDragon** » 25 Jan 2007, 19:20

by **Bob Jefferson** » 27 Jan 2007, 15:07

From today's EN:

by **Porty** » 27 Jan 2007, 22:07

by **SoupDragon** » 28 Jan 2007, 00:48

by **Bob Jefferson** » 30 Jan 2007, 20:43

by **Bob Jefferson** » 31 Jan 2007, 19:02

by **Bob Jefferson** » 27 Feb 2007, 18:18

by **SoupDragon** » 01 Mar 2007, 15:17

Watch out if you try to avoid the works by going through Newcraighall, to Musselburgh, there's road works near the school, looks like water main burst.
Notice they're digging holes in the road around Colliesdene.
And the roadworks were still in place in Duddingston Road, though I did see a workman there yesterday, in a van , eating his piece.
And the Park is closed due to rockfall.
Happy Motoring!

by **Dadaist** » 02 Mar 2007, 13:30

by **tom nimmo** » 04 Mar 2007, 14:59

by **Bob Jefferson** » 04 Mar 2007, 15:18

Closed to motor vehicles on Sundays of course. Otherwise I think it is too dangerous for cycling. You do have the alternative of the Innocent Cycle Path, which I used when I worked in Chambers Street.

From a local motorist's POV, the park via Duddingston is a very useful route and one I use myself to work in the morning. I was less than happy with Historic Scotland on the first morning it was closed. There was no indication whatsoever of a road closure at the junction with Duddingston Road. I did wonder why there were so many vehicles coming out of the park right enough but I only discovered the reason when I finally got as far as Duddingston Kirk. So all day, and no doubt the following day as well, a steady procession of vehicles drove as far as the Kirk, turned in the car park and queued to drive back out again. My alternative route via Cameron Toll added an extra 20 minutes to my journey time and made me late for work.

So what's the problem with advising motorists before they turn into Kirk Road? Historic Scotland advise me that there are two issues. Firstly, they only have responsibility for the park and are not entitled to erect signs outwith it. They would have to liaise with the Council about that. Secondly, the owners of the Sheep Heid aren't happy with 'road closed' signs at the junction as it discourages trade. I suggested that perhaps some compromise could be sought. A sign that read 'access only'?

I used the bypass for the rest of the week.

by **tom nimmo** » 04 Mar 2007, 16:00

Traffic Controlled Junction and Bus Lanes on Milton Road

Traffic Controlled Junction and Bus Lanes on Milton Road

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