Dude, where's my pavement?
February 3, 2010 by Ally 
It's no wonder this phone box on Leith Walk has been thoroughly vandalised. The people who did it were no doubt driven to it by the frustration of trying to work out why someone, somewhere spent money narrowing the pavement, only to install a phone box, and a bin - ON THE ROAD.
Now we know it can get complicated building a tram system. We know you have to break some eggs to make an omelette. We know two wrongs don't make a right. No doubt there was a contract somewhere that said all the utilities had to be reinstated after they'd been moved for the Trams. But seriously - someone spent a lot of money narrowing the pavement and installed a phone box and a bin - ON THE ROAD.
If anyone can come up with a rational explanation of how this happened, and why it's still there, we'd love to hear it!
Food For Thought, Leith Walk, Planning and Regeneration, Transport
Reader Comments (5)
1. The phone box used to be on the pavement before the initial phase of road-widening was carried out as part of the tramworks. The bay which has been created will be the only parking on that stretch of Leith Walk once the tram is installed. However, when the road was widened, no-one had allowed for the fact that BT require 26 weeks notice for the removal of a phone-box... The road was re-instated around the phone-box which was then to be removed later.
2. The site is now part of the tram works (Infraco) rather than the utilities work (MUDFA) and is therefore the responsibility of Bilfinger Berger rather than Carillion. Because of the ongoing legal dispute between Bilfinger Berger and tie, no on-street works are being progressed (there was a separate agreement for Princes Street). Until the legal issues are resolved, expect to see this nonsensical situation remain.
The Leith Business Association have pressed tie to resolve this issue and free up the parking bay.