Still wanted: A vision for Leith Walk

Even before it became clear that the council had scrapped plans to build trams down Leith Walk for the foreseable future, there's been a debate over what the future might hold for the street.

Ray Perman called for the council to set out a vision for Leith Walk in May 2011, and in July 2011 Ross Armstrong called for something to be done about the street clutter - a call we reiterated a couple of weeks ago, because if anything, it's only got worse in the intervening months.  

Also in July last year we wondered why the council seemed to be exacerbating the effect of the economic recession and the collapse of the tram project by disinvesting from Leith.

In September, our Chair, Charlotte Encombe called for immediate action to improve Leith Walk, and more recently it has emerged that the owners of the derelict Shrubhill House have put the site back on the market once again.

We're pretty sure therefore that we'll not be the only ones to be delighted to learn that the City of Edinburgh Council has at last announced that they are to consult the public on putting together a 'Vision For Leith.'

Vision for Leith Walk 

This is a vision that could influence how more than £3million that is earmarked for Leith Walk will be spent, so there's actually some cash to back up people's aspirations.

The big debate really is whether people just want Leith Walk put back to how it was in 2008, before tram chaos descended, or do you think it could be improved upon?

If you attend this event, here's three ideas that the council could pursue. If you agree with them, be sure to tell your councillors and council officers - at this event, or by email. 

1. Extend plans to provide free wi-fi to cover the entire length of Leith Walk.

The council is due a guaranteed share of the £100million Urban Broadband fund announced by Westminster.

As the map above shows, the first draft of the Edinburgh proposal extends free wi-fi coverage to cover the Tram route, the city centre and indeed the Meadows. However, it is only propsoed to extend the free wi-fi coverage as far as Pilrig Street.

If one of the purposes of the fund is to create 'super-connected' cities and promote economic regeneration, leaving the poorer end of the Leith Walk out of the plan would seem counter productive.

Given how much tram pain Leith has suffered for absolutely no gain - perhaps this is one way the council could make ammends. 

2. Design Leith Walk for pedestrians, cyclists and buses.

This video from New York shows how streets are being redesigned to accomodate all the people in the neighbourhood - including pedestrians, cyclists and bus users. If it was possible to fit two way tram tracks on Leith Walk - it must surely be possible to redesign the street to include dedicated and physically seperated cycle lanes, dedicated bus lanes, and better quality pedestrian crossings.  

There are several good reasons to do this:

• Leith is one of the few parts of the city where only a minority of local households have access to a car. Most people get about in other ways.
• Most of the main roads in Leith are either breaching, or at risk of breaching, air quality laws. 
• A crash map of the area shows that most serious accidents happen on main roads. Coupling a redesign of the street with a 20mph speed limit would make the street far safer for all road users.

Making these changes may require that some car parking is removed from the street, and the people who most vocally oppose these moves are local traders. Yet research by SUSTRANS shows local traders consistently overestimate the role of the car in bringing custom to their shops. In fact, they show that most local businesses would benefit from having a more pedestrian friendly environment.  

Our own local consultation shows that Leithers view putting dedicated bike lanes on main roads, and making the street more pedestrian friendly - by adding trees and flowers - as high priorities. 

3. Make a register of commercial property owners available to the public.

This isn't our idea. It's 23rd in the list of Mary Portas' 28 recommendations for revitalising Town Centres. 

In Leith, we have some of the 28 in place already, but this one could be vital to making it easier for people to set-up pop-up shops and temporary retail outlets.

The first barrier to anyone doing anything with an empty shop unit is establishing who owns it, and who they need to get permission from. Perhaps if this was made easier we might see more great projects like Leith Lates helping to make Leith Walk an exciting vibrant place. 

It could even help to name and shame owners of shops units that have been allowed to fall into virtual dereliction. 

The council could help make this information available to the public. We'd be delighted to publish it. 

Pavements are for pedestrians, not cyclists

Following our recent post on whether the perceived dangers of pavement cyclists matched up to the statistics, Keith Irving from Living Streets Scotland got in touch. He argued that the statistics on serious accidents that we mapped out in that post don't tell the whole story. So we asked him to explain more, and we're delighted that he's written us this guest post below. 

An increase in cycling levels - alongside more people walking - has the potential to make our streets more civilised. But while most cyclists observe the rules of the road, a significant minority cause concern and fear among pedestrians by their irresponsible behaviour.

We all need to show mutual respect on our streets. Cyclists stopping for pedestrians on crossings and not mounting the pavement are key parts of this. Pavement cycling is illegal throughout the United Kingdom. It is dangerous and can cause fear and anxiety to vulnerable pedestrians.

Although Fixed Penalty Notices can be issued to offenders, we would like to see it, as well as irresponsible driving, more seriously enforced, with police forces taking the law more seriously and demonstrating that they are taking action against it. There are a number of causes of pavement cycling, but a major cause is the perceived risk to cyclists from fast-moving motor traffic on the road.

Whilst we understand that it can be scary being penned in by motor vehicles, it is wrong for cyclists to then cause disruption or anxiety to pedestrians on the pavement. The anxiety that pavement cycling creates can deter people from using public space. Even if someone is not actually hit by a pavement cyclist, the surprise and shock of a silent approach, or fear of injury, can be sufficient to put some people off walking entirely.

Young children can, of course, be first taught to cycle on pavements if under supervision. There are though two further reasons why pavement cycling should not be tolerated: We have a rapidly ageing population and peripheral vision deteriorates with age. There will therefore be increasing numbers of older pedestrians who may not be able to see or hear pavement cyclists as well as they used to.

Secondly, Anti-social cycling contributes to the anti-cyclist feelings all too prevalent across the country, making it harder to argue for other road users to give consideration to people on bikes. All road users must adhere to the law.

Although the needs of cyclists and pedestrians can be very similar, they are also very different. The need for slower motor speeds, driver liability, reallocation of road space (for example, wider footways and advanced stop lines) and greater enforcement of driving offences are key examples of a shared goal.

However it must be recognised that they remain two very different modes: mixing them together inappropriately can cause fear, anxiety, insecurity and, in a tiny number of terrible tragedies, serious injury or worse.

We believe that the best way to make all our streets safer for everyone is to introduce a default speed limit of 20 mph in areas where we live, work and shop. Walking and cycling are such fantastic ways to get about, they promote a healthy lifestyle, are environmentally friendly and also allow you to enjoy the area in which you live and work.

We actively encourage responsible cycling, but strongly believe that pavements are solely for pedestrians.

This opinion piece is by Living Streets. Keith Irving, the Living Streets Scotland Manager, cycles to work every day and recommends Hamax bike seats for toddlers…

Image by Steven Sutterby

Cyclists on pavements: How dangerous are they?

Before we explain what this map shows, we should make it clear that Greener Leith does not endorse cycling on pavements unless they are designated as 'shared use' paths. We'd also encourage all cyclists to adopt a considerate attitude to anyone around them.

With the disclaimer done, the point of this post is to try to get to the facts about the risks posed by cyclists to pedestrians on pavements in the city, particularly as the Evening News is fond of writing articles like this one, that simply begin: "It's a long-standing gripe about cyclists that some of them seem as at home on the pavement as on the road..," and then proceed to imply that "lycra louts" are a terrible risk to the good citizens of the city by cycling illegally on the pavement.

So lets look at some facts (kindly provided by the City of Edinburgh Council). The map above shows all the accidents that involved cyclists or pedestrians where they were killed or seriously injured in 2010.

Last year, there were precisely zero serious accidents on a pavement that involved a cyclist injuring a pedestrian, so there's none to show on the map.

The green markers indicate an accident where a cyclist was seriously injured or killed by a motor vehicle.

The blue markers indicate an accident where a pedestrian was seriously injured or killed by a motor vehicle.

The yellow markers indicate an accident where a cyclist was seriously injured in an accident with another cyclist. All of these incidents took between cyclists who were both on the road.

Lastly, there was one accident last year where a pedestrian was seriously injured by a cyclist, but the incident happened in a cycle lane on a road. That accident is marked with a red marker.

Now the Evening News is not alone in suggesting that there are risks posed by cyclists to pedestrians on pavements. Certain city councillors have been known to express their "grave reservations" about proposals to formally allow cyclists to use short sections of pavements.

As things stand it's usually illegal for cyclists to use the pavement, and there's also no doubt that, if you're walking somewhere, mindlessly enjoying your iPod, it can be somewhat disturbing to have an inconsiderate cyclist fly past you on the pavement, seemingly out of nowhere.

However, the data suggests that the magnitude of the risk to pedestrians from cyclists using pavements is tiny in comparison to the risks that both pedestrians and cyclists face from motor vehicles.

To add a bit of historical perspective, the graph below, shows all the people killed or injured in Edinburgh, across all transport types over the last three years. It shows that the general trend is downwards, even though more people are cycling and driving than before.

In 2010, there were precisely zero serious accidents between cyclists and pedestrians on any pavement in the city. So, whilst some pavement cyclists are undoubtedly obnoxious and scary to others, the next time you hear someone complaining about lycra louts, or voicing 'grave concerns' about the danger of cyclists on the pavements, show them this blog post. And then ask them whether council proposals to allow cyclists to use some sections of pavement seem so unreasonable.

For the geeks amongst you, the map was made using Google Fusion tables, whilst the graph was made using Google Charts.

Council wants to know whether it can manage the weather better

The City of Edinburgh Council has launched an online consultation to find out what it can do to improve its response to bad winter weather. After last years 'unprecedented' cold snap, many people will undoubtedly welcome this - and have a view on the subject.

Greener Leith has already proposed, as part of this process, for more attention to be paid to key traffic free routes in the winter. For example, The Water of Leith path became almost impassable on foot, or by bike, for a number of weeks this winter. If the council is serious about promoting active travel, these paths need to be given greater priority. This is based on feedback we gained during our We Love Leith project, that highlighted that the maintenance of these paths needed to be improved if more people were to use them.

Now there's an on-line survey where you can tell the council direct exactly how you think they can improve their winter weather response.

You can find it here: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/674/consultations/1327/winter_weather-working_together

Work to start soon on Leith path network upgrade

The City of Edinburgh Council has just released details of a confirmed plan to upgrade the existing cycle/pedestrian path running from Easter Road to Seafield Street, via Lochend. The path is currently poorly surfaced, full of muddy puddles, and unlit for a great deal of it's length, so we're sure this investment will go a long way to encourage more people to use the path.

This path is particularly important as it runs close to three different schools, including Leith Academy, and connects pretty well with Lochend Park and Easter Road stadium too.

Work is due to start in February next year.

The intention is that this upgrade will connect at the Seafield end with plans to improve the mainly off-road route between Portobello Promenade - Leith Links - Sandport Place. This further improvement is currently at the design stage, and identified as a priority in the councils Active Travel Plan with a target completion date of April 2014.

If you have any questions about the detail of the Lochend Path upgrade, you should contact the council officer developing the detailed design, Mr Andrew Easson on 0131 469 3643.

Greener Leith is unsurprisingly delighted that these routes are set for improvement so early, and together, they'll help to make cycling and walking a much more attractive option for residents of Lochend, Restalrig, and folk in the Pirniefield area. We note that "build a cross Leith cycle route" has come out in the top 5 on the list of priorities local residents would like to see when it comes to transport - so it's clear that there will be plenty of other local residents who will be delighted with this news too.

If you click on the image above, you should be able to view a larger map.

Walking in a winter wonderland

This is a Bristol path - which has been gritted

When we ran our We Love Leith travel survey, earlier this year, we encountered a huge number of people who said 'the weather' was a serious factor that put them off walking and cycling. And when it's as cold as it has been in the last week it's perhaps easier to understand why.

But if you have to get to work, a well maintained, gritted, traffic free path can be the most reliable and pleasant way to get to work if the roads are treacherous to drive on and the train and buses stop running on time. That's why switched on places as diverse as Bristol and Odense (in Denmark) attach a high priority to maintaining their path network - even in the winter. In Germany, if local authorities do not commit to maintaining cycle paths in the winter then they must declassify them.

Meanwhile in Edinburgh, the path network is not gritted at all unless it's specifically requested. However, in Novemeber the council Environment Committee has been quoted a top price of £100,000 by council officials in this report (pdf) to extend priority gritting treatment to about 25km of the path network.That works out as a cost of £4000 per Kilometer. Sounds pricey, and the council officials behind the report also, somewhat bizzarely, warn that gritting these paths as a priority could increase 'carbon emissions' too. 

So, intrigued, we did some maths. According to the council "key facts and figures,"  it maintains 1,378KM of public roads and spends, on average, £1.1 million on gritting them in the winter each year. That works out at a cost of, er, £798 per kilometer. If we applied that rate to the path network then it would only cost an extra £21,000 to treat those 'priority' paths.

OK, so perhaps we're being disingenious. Let's only compare the 'priority paths proposal' with the 312Km of 'classified' road network in Edinburgh, that would probably also get a priority gritting service. And lets be generous and assume that all the £1.1 million that the council spends on average is spent only on the classified roads. Well, even if we just use that network, then the figure is £3,525 per Kilometer - still £500 per kilometer cheaper.

So, to add in another 25 kilometers of priority path, even at this generous priority rate for roads would cost £88,125 per year. Where did that top figure of £100,000 figure come from? The one that council officers have now lodged into our elected members minds, as they deliberate where to put the beans in the next council budget?

You can put these figures another way. In Edinburgh 23% of people commute to work by walking and 4% cycle. In Leith ward, 51% of households have no access to a car. The proposed spend on the priority path network city wide, would seea maximum of 8.1% of the gritting budget spent on keeping these paths, for all those people who walk and cycle, snow and ice free. Currently, it's obvious that nothing like even the proposed 8% is spent on keeping these paths snow and ice free.

Indeed the report to council we linked to above, says that the path network is gritted "on request." It's interesting to note the experience of one cyclist on the Edinburgh City Cycling Edinburgh Forum who had this to say about the "request" service:

"Last year I asked Clarence if they could grit the Innocent Railway path and the person I spoke to hadn't heard of it and didn't believe there was such a place. Needless to say I never saw any grit go down on the path there all winter."

If the council is to fullfill it's own transport strategy, achieve it's own cycling targets of 15% of all journeys by bicycle by 2020, or the NHS targets for a 'more physically active population,' then we think identifying some of the cycle network for priority gritting in the winter has got to be a good use of money. If £88,000 seems like a lot of money, then even adding a shorter distance of city centre paths around the Meadows, Arthurs Seat and Leith would benefit a great many people. People who would travel by foot or by bike in the summer would be able to keep doing so - even in December. 

Our regular travel habits are exactly that - habits. If people have a good reason to get out of the habit of walking or cycling during the winter, then they're increasing the chances of losing people to the motorised transport habit: permanently. That's why we identified a lack of winter path maintenance as an issue in our submission to the Holyrood Active Travel enquiry.

These genius snow markings are on a path in Cambridge

This is the Water of Leith Path - taken by Gus Fraser on the 23rd of December

Update on January 4, 2010 by Ally

Here's a link to a photograph of a snowplough clearing the bike lanes in Copenhagen:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16nine/2345328582/

The City of Edinburgh Council has similar hardware in it's posession, however it seems it's reserved for clearing and gritting the pavements in the New Town.

Join in the Leith Walk

Greener Leith is pleased to be supporting David, a local resident who has volunteered to help set-up a new walking group in Leith. He's set the dates for the next few walks. All of them leave from the 'big pointy thing' at the Foot of Leith Walk - and anyone is welcome.

Recently we've met a few, often older, people who say that they would walk more, but feel that some of the paths, like the one that runs up the Water of Leith path, seem too dangerous for them to use on their own.

So if you want a chance to explore your neighbourhood, and feel there's safety in numbers, or if you want to get into the habit of walking more for health reasons, or if you fancy it  just for the simple pleasure of doing something together outdoors in a group - please do put these dates below in your diary. These walks are open to all.

Also, you can help to promote The Leith Walk, by downloading this flyer and putting it up somewhere - in your local shop, workplace, school or community centre. Click here to download it.