Traffic Owls bound for Leith Walk

What's a traffic owl? Not a new kind of obscure Leith bird. These are Traffic Owls:

Just when you thought the road works were over on Leith Walk, it transpires that lots of traffic owls will be added to Leith Walk between the 10th and the 12th of January. Further road works are likely, although the dates have not been confirmed, as Scottish Water 'abandon' the old water mains in favour of the new ones that were installed in preparation for the Tram.You do remember those plans to lay a tram down Leith Walk?

You can download more details on precisely where the Traffic Owls will go by clicking here.

So when will trams make it down Leith Walk?

This week saw the release of a report to the City of Edinburgh Council on the latest "tram situation." According to the short briefing from TIE, the report contained:

"...good news about a refresh of the 2007 Final Business Case and concludes that the option to deliver tram line 1A in phases is viable and enables Transport Edinburgh Ltd (TEL) to be profitable from day one. It also draws upon revised modelling of tram patronage figures which take account of the economic downturn and the likely need to phase the operational delivery of line 1A."

To say that very few other people saw the report as good news would be something of an understatement. The Leith Business Assocation read this bit of the report:

...and came to the conclusion that the tram would stop at St Andrews Square and wouldn't reach Newhaven until 2031 as a consequence. In the Evening News, Alan Rutland, owner of Arkay Imaging and a vocal tram critic said:

"We have had three years of disruption and now ultimately, we will have no benefit for that and have just suffered the cost...That hurts."

Indeed the prospect that the tram will not make it to Newhaven for many years to come will no doubt be a huge disappointment to most Leithers. We know from our own poll that a majority of Leith residents feel that the City of Edinburgh Council or the Scottish Government should beg, borrow or steal more cash to get the line finished to Newhaven.

It looks as though Leith, and indeed the City of Edinburgh Council, is caught in the midst of a huge multi-million pound chicken and egg conundrum. Without the tram to Newhaven regeneration activites along the Waterfront and along Leith Walk will take place much more slowly. Yet, slower regeneration on the docks undermines the business case for extending the tram to Newhaven.

Everthing still seems to hang on the stalled negotiations between TIE and Belfinger Berger. According to the Sunday Herald, the Managing Director of TIE, Richard Jeffery said:

“There hasn’t been as much progress on the project as we had anticipated. Given the current uncertainties, we are not in the business of revising projections at this time. The situation is less certain that it was in June.I won’t ask for more money until I am certain it’s required. We are in a position where we are saying that it’s unlikely there will be a commercial settlement in the near future and we are alerting the council to the fact that we may come back at some point with a recommendation to terminate the contract.”

However, does this mean that we may not see the trams make it to Newhaven for decades, as the LBA predict? The council has just been given the go-ahead to borrow a further £84 million pounds to kick start regeneration on the docks. Even if the tram makes a loss for a few years, we wonder whether there is a reasonable long term economic development case to complete the line to Newhaven quickly using borrowed money, if this brings forward more investment along the waterfront and Leith Walk. 

Until the deadlock is broken, Leith will remain in limbo. Do you think the trams will ever make it Newhaven? Should they? And what's your take on the current situation?

Ghost Town Leith

This week Leith received an accolade no neighbourhood would want. The Local Data Company released a report that identified Leith as the town centre with the highest number of empty shops in Scotland. With a vacancy rate of 23.4%, Leith has a lot more empty shops than the next town in the league table for Scotland, which is Ayr on 16% - and Edinburgh itself which has a vacancy rate of just 9.6%.

Scottish Ghost Town League Table

Across the UK, the report shows that most town centres are experiencing higher vacancy rates, and that nearly all the town centres that have improved over the last six months are in the South East. So, why is Leith such a comparative ghost town?

In a related article in The Sun, a number of local business men were quoted:

George Bowman, who runs one of two independent butchers on Great Junction Street, said "I've been here since 1961 and there has been a decline over the years. This was one of the busiest streets in the city, but sadly no more. We can't beat the superstores."

Fishmonger Brian Gilchrist said: "It's a combination of the credit crunch and the trams messing up parking. Our trade is 50 per cent down." 

Keith Withitt, 45 - boss of secondhand store Cash In Hand, - says the area no longer appeals to shoppers.

He added: "Parking restrictions are ridiculous and the streets are filthy. It's not a nice area to go shopping. No wonder no one comes here."

Artist Alastair Cook, who lives in Leith, has posted a slide show of photographs of empty shops to Flickr.com - most of them are in the Leith area. He puts the blame firmly on the bankers, "We may have a UNESCO World Heritage site here, but it's also being ravaged by the bankers spree with our borrowed future. We live here, and they will not be forgiven."

Can you imagine negotiating this crossing with poor mobility or eyesight?So, it would seem that small Leith traders are being hit from all sides. They've got to contend with:

• Chain stores like Asda, Tesco and Lidl, hoovering up more and more local trade.
• Waterfront regeneration plans that seem to favour an expansion of Ocean Terminal and even more chain store led retailers.
• A credit crunch that makes it hard for businesses to invest and grow.
• The collapse of Woolworths, Threshers, and the closure or merger of some of the local branches of banks.
• The uncertainty and upheaval of the tram works - which leads to a poor quality public realm. This in turn deters people from walking to their local shops.
• And lastly, they've got the internet to contend with. 70% of Leith Walk retailers don't have their own website - and yet the internet is now one of their biggest sources of competion, and a fantastic marketing opportunity.

But it's not all bad news

Behind this non descript facade lies a temporary art gallerySo what can be done to remedy the Ghost Town effect? Local blogger Fay Young reckons part of the solution could be more creative uses of emtpy shops and derelict spaces - even if they're temporary "pop-up" affairs. This requires both a flexible attitude from landlords, and lots of people with great ideas. And just off Leith Walk there's an example of just the sort of thing she's talking about. Across the road from Boda Bar at 4, Lorne St, the Sun Bear Gallery has been open from Thursdays - Saturdays for the last 8 weeks.

A group of enterprising artists simply approached the owner who was using the shop as a store room for junk and secondhand furniture. The window was broken and the shop was generally a bit run down - and so they did a deal. In return for clearing the shop, and fixing it up they got 10 weeks free rent over the festival to exhibit their art. 

Tim Le Breuliiy, one of the artists involved, told us that the gallery has been a great success, with local folk coming in, and even making the occasional purchase. In fact they want to stay in the shop, so they're hoping to persuade the landlord to give them another 10 weeks free rent in return for clearing out the huge basement downstairs. To help raise funds for the gallery they're planning to run a fundraiser on the 19th of September, were Leithers are encouraged to come and buy bric-a-brac, art, home made cakes and coffee.

Of course, local residents can become ghost town busters themselves. Last year we set out to test the popular perception that chain stores are cheaper than independent shops, and discovered that the independent stores in Leith are 15% cheaper, with more choice, than the local chain stores. You can support your local shops by using your We Love Leith bag when you go shopping in the neighbourhood. Lots of local businesses will give you a discount to thank you when you shop with it.

There are other discount schemes going on too. For example, The Leith Business Association have recently set-up the "Leith Shoppers" facebook page, with the aim of helping local businesses to promote special offers to local residents.

But, it isn't just about spending your money cleverly. If you see litter, grafitti, dumping, potholes or other public realm problems, don't ignore them! Report them to www.fixmystreet.com - and not only will they automatically be referred to the council to do something about it, they'll also appear on our Fix My Leith page.

And of course there's the I Love Leith partnership - that brings together folk from the council, TIE and other agencies (sometimes even Greener Leith) to help promote the area. Apart from the banners along Leith Walk, this groups most high profile initiative is the Leith Business Hub in the McDonald Road Library - this provides free training courses to help traders upskill and compete.

It's worth bearing in mind that new shops are opening up in Leith all the time too. Perhaps in a few years time, when the tram is finally built, we've got out of the worst of the credit crunch, and Leith Walk has been restored to its former glory, Leith won't even be in the 'Ghost Town' league table at all?

Of course it might not work out that way. Certainly we may need to ask some tough questions. The toughest one of all is posed by Mathew Hopkinson, of the Local Data Company. He asks, "In light of these new and fast growing ‘off the high street’ channels [internet shopping etc], will we ever need these vacant shops again?"

Recently Leith Central Community Council discussed a planning application from a developer who wants to convert a series of shop units on Easter Road into flats. We hear opinion was divided.

Update on September 14, 2010 by Ally

Linda Tarbuck from the Leith Links Residents Association and Cllr Munro discussed this issue on Radio Scotland. At the moment you can listen to what they said on BBC I-player: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00tptyz/Call_Kaye_13_09_2010

Welcome to Leith

The "I Love Leith" partnership have commissioned a new "Welcome to Leith" sign, that is set to be formally unveiled by the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Cllr George Grubb, at 11am on the 14th of September. The sign is to go at the old boundary between Leith and Edinburgh, on a pole outside Pilrig Church.

In case you were wondering, the symbols underneath the sign say "I Love Leith" in nautical flags. A neat touch we think.

Sadly, there's no evidence of any more amusing "Leith Twinned with..." japes, and we can't help but wonder whether the honorary Provost of Leith was invited!

Hopefully, the sign will be more permanent that other marketing attempts to brand Leith Walk.

Love hurts

Recently, the folk behind the "I Love Leith" campaign spent some money on these I Love Leith 'roundels' on the pavement, in a bid to promote the area as a shopping destination. You might have been lucky enough to see them.

Within days however, they've started to go missing, with an entry on the I Love Leith facebook page simply asking, "Who's been nicking them?"

Presumably, someone, somewhere is so in love with Leith that they felt the need to take a little bit of it home.

Another Tram Rumour Quashed

Earlier this week the Leith Business Association ran a blog post that suggested that the removal of Tram information boards on Leith Walk but not apparently elsewhere lent credence to the rumours that the Tram on Leith Walk will never be built.

Given that we know that the majority of Leithers still want the Tram route to be completed to Newhaven, even if it costs more than originally anticipated, we're sure you'll be delighted to read the following statement that we recieved from TIE:

"There has been some speculation over the removal of tram information boards on Leith Walk. We can confirm that these boards are being removed from all parts of the route as part of the overall clear up of the City. Until a more definitive timetable has been agreed for the tramworks, there is little point in continuing to keep out of date notice boards on the street where they are effectively yet another piece of street furniture. We have therefore taken the decision to remove the boards. When the next phase of the works has been agreed, we will take another look at what public information mechanisms support best the needs of the communities affected.

We are still fully committed to delivering the whole route of the tram, and there has been no change in that.”

Indeed, it turns out that the first board they removed was from Shandwick Place, as confirmed by this Tweet from TIE:

We doubt many Leithers will be sorry to see the back of the Tram information boards. They were often out of date, and did just add to the street clutter on Leith Walk. However, this Evening News  article offers some hope for the project as it suggests that relations between TIE and the lead contractor, Bilfinger Berger are improving. Of course that could just be another Tram rumour...

Detailed Tram plans released. What do you think?

How the Foot of the Walk will be affected by the TramsEver wondered what the streets on the tram line might look like after the trams finished? Well, now you can find out. If you've got a nice broadband connection and a big computer monitor you can download the following key documents:

• Edinburgh Tram TRO Drawings (38Mb pdf)
• Statement of Case For Traffic Regulation Orders (1.2MB pdf)

If you'd prefer not to download these files, then the plans will be on public exhibition too. You'll be able to see them at both MacDonald Road Library, and Leith Libraries, or if you prefer there'll be a staffed exhibition at the City Chamber. All displays will be running 22nd February to the 20th March 2010.

There's a vast amount of information in these documents, and we're sure most people will mainly be concerned with what's likely to be happening at the end of their street, so we'll save you a blow by blow account at this stage.

However, it's worth noting that the exhibition of the proposals coincides with the formal public consultation period on the proposals. So, if you want to influence the plans - now is your chance.

Objections should be made, in writing quoting details of the grounds of objection,quoting reference
TRO/09/60A, within the consultation period which ends 21 March 2010 to:

The City of Edinburgh Council,
c/o Dundas and Wilson,
Saltire Court,
20 Castle Terrace,
Edinburgh, EH1 2EN.

As the Leith Businesses Association point out on their blog post on the matter:

it is not possible to submit an objection to reject the TRO, as it enjoys prior approval because it is a consequence of the Edinburgh Tram (Line One) Act.  It is only possible to object to the manner in which the Order is being applied, e.g. the removal of a right-turn at a particular junction, or the removal or parking spaces.

When you're considering all the proposed changes to the neighbourhood you might also want to have a look at the results of the traffic modelling report released by TIE in January this year.

Although it would appear some boffins got paid an awful lot to produce the traffic models, the results of this model are based upon a remarkable series of assumptions, including future developments in the area. So we'd think that you might want to take these results with a pinch of salt. Afterall, in recent weeks we've heard of plans to start building a giant ferris wheel, a cruise liner terminal, a power plant, and a wind turbine factory on the docks - not to mention all those hotels cropping up everywhere. And with the exception of Port of Leith Housing Association, house building everywhere seems to have almost ground to a halt. How can anyone predict future traffic against that background?

Anyway, caveats aside, there are some interesting predications. The main point is that the tram will displace traffic away from Leith Walk and onto other nearby arterial routes. In the somewhat fuzzy map below (that shows traffic predictions for peak time travel in the morning), the streets coloured red show places where traffic is set to fall. Meanwhile the green streets show places where traffic is set to increase.

Virtually every other route in Leith will see increased traffic levels whilst the study also predicts increased congestion on the junctions around Picardy Place, Foot of the Walk, London Road/Leith Walk and the Baltic Street/Constitution Street/ Bernard Street Junction. All those junctions will be 'at capacity,' and we note that the report recommends that further consideration be given to a number of junctions that aren't on the tram route, so that they can cope better with the extra traffic.

For example, the traffic study highlights the fact that people traveling up Easter Road will be more likely to drive down Brunswick Road, or Dalmeny Street, in order to avoid congestion on London Road. Should more be done to cut down 'rat-running' through the streets between Easter Road and London Road?

Let us know if you have an idea that could improve on the current proposals.

Tracking the Bus Trackers

It was the eagle eyed members of the Leith Central Community Council who first alerted us to the mystery of the disconnected bus tracker signs on Leith Walk. So intrigued, we made a few calls, and at last we have a written statement of what is going to happen next, and when it's going to happen from TIE. Their spokesman said:

"During the Mudfa works power was removed to some Bus Tracker units.  With the expected imminent start of Infraco works it was not restored as it would have been disconnected again almost at once.

 Given the current situation, we are now actively pursuing reconnection.  Clear Channel (the shelter owners) will be providing quotes and anticipated time scales for reconnection from Scottish Power. The original request for this went out on 02/02/10 and, following a conversation Yesterday with Clear Channel,  Scottish Power have now acknowledged receipt of the request.

In the past it has taken up from four to six weeks for Scottish Power to issue a quotation. Upon payment of the quote Scottish Power will confirm and the connection will be made anywhere  8 to 10 weeks thereafter.

 Six locations are to be reconnected."

It turns out that the Bus Tracker signs were not included in the first contract issued for the "MUDFA" works (this was the first phase of roadworks on Leith Walk that diverted all the utilities) because when the contract was drawn up - the Bus Tracker signs weren't there!

"The current situation" refers to the various contractual wrangles between TIE and it's subcontractors, which have lead to a delay between the MUDFA work and the second phase of work to lay the track - the so called 'INFRACO" work.

As we understand it, there are more than six bus trackers signs that are currently disconnected. However, some of them are in areas where work is likely to be ongoing - so there's little point in connecting those ones up.

It's pretty clear from this statement that the hold up is not with TIE - it's with Scottish Power. It's astonishing that it can take them up to 4 months to complete a job!

Whilst it may be weeks before the signs on Leith Walk are fixed, there is some good news on the bustracker front. It looks as though bus users on Easter Road are soon to get the signs.

Of course, if you've got an iPhone - you don't need the signs. You can download the Edinbus iphone app.

Thanks to Jonathan from the Edinburgh Blog for the photo.