CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure

More Gritting

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  1. chdot
    Admin

    "
    2.6 Pavement treatment routes were also significantly increased and improved for the 2011/12 winter. By locating the pavement mini-tractors in the areas in which they operate it was possible to carry out the pre-treatment of many more footways using the same number of tractors. Currently nine Priority 1 pavement routes are pre-treated when freezing conditions are forecast. These routes cover the city centre and the more vulnerable higher ground to the south and south west of the city. This year a further two routes are being included for Priority 1 treatment. These are exclusively off-road cycle routes and cover the North Edinburgh Cycle network and the Innocent Railway cycle route.

    "

    My bold.

    This was agreed yesterday.

    http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/download/meetings/id/37281/item_79_winter_weather_preparations

    Posted 11 years ago #

  2. wingpig
    Member

    Whahey.
    Hopefully includes the Chancelot bit, still more prone to surface water than the paths where thirsty vegetation-lined older path-sections.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  3. LivM
    Member

    @Wingpig - I raised the Chancelot Path ice rink problem with the council a few weeks ago and their reply was:

    "Having now discussed the matter with Services for Communites Cycling Development Team, I have agreed with them that Chancelot Path will be given a higher priority status for winter maintenance in keeping with the other major parts of the off-road Cycle Network in the immediate vicinity. As a result the stretch of path you identified in your correspondence will now be added to Road Services priority cycleway gritting routes.

    This addition will be reflected in our online map of winter gritting routes at the next update."

    So if they're upgrading the NEPN to priority 1 gritting status, they should upgrade the Chancelot Path too. Or so one would hope :)

    Posted 11 years ago #

  4. cc
    Member

    That's tremendous. Well done everyone involved.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  5. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Well done everyone, great job. You can lead the council kicking and screaming to the grit bin and it seems sometimes you can make it drink. If you're persistent enough.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  6. DdF
    Member

    This has only been possible because of Edinburgh Council's decision, unique amongst other Scottish (UK?) councils to allocate 5% of its transport budgets (capital and revenue) to cycling.
    http://www.spokes.org.uk/wordpress/2012/03/bulletin-112-edinburgh-excels/
    The additional money in the revenue budget for cycling is allowing this gritting initiative.

    It shows the vital importance of lobbying for good cycling budgets. Once a good budget is in place then lots of other things become possible. Lobbying for budgets can sound abstract, but this is the sort of concrete outcome that can result! In previous years people lobbied for path gritting, but it was a constant struggle to get anything done because no money was allocated for it. Now, with a better cycling revenue budget, lobbying for specific issues like this can succeed more often.

    It's the same story with the Scottish Government budget. We are never going to see widespread decent cycling infrastructure across Scotland until the government starts to allocate much more than its current under 1% of the transport budget to cycling investment.

    Now is the time to write to MSPs, with negotiations underway on the budget for 2013/14. http://www.writetothem.com Ask them to raise this with the Finance Secretary, John Swinney MSP. If Edinburgh can allocate 5% of its transport budget to cycling (and this is due to rise by 1% a year till the next election) how come the Scottish Government is investing less than 1% - especially when it has set a target for 10% of all journeys to be by bike in 2020 (currently roughly 1% of trips in Scotland are by bike).

    Posted 11 years ago #

  7. Min
    Member

    Nice to see something positive happening, thank you to all who have spent many years pestering for this.

    Posted 11 years ago #

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