CAMPAIGNING GROUP CALLS FOR DELAY IN ‘FLAWED’ NEW BUS SHELTER PROGRAMME
The City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) should call a halt to its new bus shelter programme [1] while numerous breaches of Council space standards for pedestrians by contractors are investigated, says the walking campaign group, Living Streets Edinburgh [2]. In a letter to CEC Transport Convenor, Cllr Lesley Hinds [3], Living Streets say that “in random sampling in a few areas of the city we have identified a range of locations [4] where the pavement space left for pedestrians does not met the minimum standard in CEC’s Bus-Friendly Design Guide. which states that ‘an unobstructed width of at least 1400mm must be provided along any length of footway adjacent to a shelter’”. The group’s Convenor, David Spaven commented:
“We’ve found some shocking examples where contractors installing new shelters have seriously failed to meet the Council’s own standard that ‘an unobstructed width of at least 1400mm must be provided along any length of footway adjacent to a shelter’. This is highly inconvenient for people on foot and in wheelchairs, and flies in the face of the Council’s claim to be prioritizing the needs of pedestrians. The bus shelter programme is clearly flawed and we’ve called on Cllr Hinds to delay the implementation programme until CEC can be assured that implementation will be such as to (a) meet CEC’s minimum standards and (b) at the very least not make conditions worse for pedestrians at the bus stops.”
MORE INFO: David Spaven on 0131-447-7764 or 07917-877399
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
[1] Over 350 ‘advertising bus shelters’ are being provided across the city as part of a 10-year CEC contract with JC Decaux, a major advertising company, see: http://www.jcdecaux.co.uk/edinburgh-live
[2] Living Streets Edinburgh is the local volunteer group of Living Streets the national charity for ‘everyday walking’, see: http://www.livingstreetsedinburgh.org.uk
[3] Letter from Living Streets Edinburgh Group to Cllr Hinds sent 11 October 2015:
‘Cllr Hinds
‘Living Streets Edinburgh is concerned that a number of the new bus shelters now being installed by JC Decaux are failing to meet even the absolute minimum space standards specified for pedestrians in CEC’s Bus-Friendly Design Guide, let alone providing much needed improvements to allow reasonable space for pedestrians. In random sampling in a few areas of the city we have identified a range of locations (see foot of letter) where the pavement space left for pedestrians does not met the minimum standard in the Guide, which states that ‘an unobstructed width of at least 1400mm must be provided along any length of footway adjacent to a shelter’.
‘We are aware of two instances, at Constitution Street and at Buccleuch Street, where the shelters have apparently been installed in the wrong positions, and where remedial action is being taken, or is planned, after this has come to the attention of CEC staff.
‘But there are other locations where the minimum standards have clearly also been breached, such as Crewe Road North (at Selex) and Lindsay Road (at Annfield), and a number of others where the absolute minimum width requirements are barely met, but where the shelters could readily have been positioned to give more space. Examples of the latter are on Ferry Road (at Wash & Valet, Morrisons and Pilton Drive). In these instances the shelters could have been positioned at the rear of the pavement where an unnecessary c. 0.5m gap has been left (supposedly for cleaning purposes, despite there being no need for such a gap and none usually being left when installing CEC funded shelters).
‘It would seem that JC Decaux and their contractors cannot be relied upon to have any regard for the needs of pedestrians, or for the Council’s standards, even at the most basic level. In the circumstances we are seeking your intervention to delay the implementation programme for the new shelters until CEC can be assured that implementation will be such as to (a) meet CEC’s minimum standards and (b) at the very least not make conditions worse for pedestrians at the stops.
‘In view of the importance of this issue, we will issuing a media statement, embargoed until 10.00 Tuesday 13th.
‘Kind regards
‘David Spaven
Convenor, Living Streets Edinburgh Group’
[4]
‘Photos of issues noted above:
Still being installed but looks like they will breach standards:
Previous issues that we’ve been informed are being fixed:
END OF NEWS RELEASE
The Living Streets Edinburgh group organised a ‘street audit’ in Tollcross on 25 and 26 September. The aim of the initiative was to help the local community identify improvements to local streets in a systematic way and campaign for improvements. Thirteen people took part, with Living Streets supporters and members of the public joined by people from the Tollcross Community Council and the Edinburgh Access Panel.
