Local Council c***s

[DeeTillEhDeh]

4 minutes ago, Billy Jean King said:

I think all the Councils have been caught on the hop a bit by the split in the unions after the improved offer. Unison clearly the biggest union but the GMB and Unite recommending acceptance has forced talks over the weekend and that spilled into today due to this being a holiday weekend for most of the WoS authorities. Presumably the late calls are down to the unexpected attempt to find a solution to prevent the strike. Not ideal for parents but surely better than the alternative. 

FWIW I suspect Unison will cave reasonably quickly now assuming the GMB and Unite members vote to accept the offer as recommended.

Leaving an announcement until after the end of the school day is not acceptable.

[Billy Jean King]

5 minutes ago, DeeTillEhDeh said:

Leaving an announcement until after the end of the school day is not acceptable.

I agree thoroughly was just giving a bit of context and let's face it this weeks strikes were always likely the second Unison rejected the offer, it would have been confirmed last week had the other 2 unions not split and recommended acceptance. 

[AyrshireTon]

My local mob of crooks have gotten their way.

The same pack of c**ts that have sat back and watch Ayr Ice Rink go into liquidation yet will likely spend heaps ensuring that everywhere is gleaming for a fucking golf tournament next year.

[MacDuffman]

Labour/Tory scum in North Lanarkshire closing 39 swimming pools, sports centres, libraries & community facilities.

[MazzyStar]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3g255p1y89o
Just the north east tories up to their usual. 

[Lyle Lanley]

 

Looking forward to him releasing the proposal for this. 

[Salt n Vinegar]

There's clearly divided opinion on this but Edinburgh has been strangling east/west traffic for decades. Maybe if the traffic could actually move when it's obeying the bus lanes it wouldn't be so bad.

There are bus lanes in the city centre and well outside it.  The trams have right of way (which I think is fair enough).  Enough is enough.

Oh, and by the way, Councillor Arthur... residents and businesses in the city want to use THEIR vehicles as well!  If you want to help businesses in the city centre, build some fekkn car parks instead of allowing blocks of student and two bedroom flats to go up every time a square yard of land is available. Maybe then folk wouldn't head for Fort Kinnaird instead of the city centre.  

Edinburgh could be a great city but the Council are strangling it. Oh, while I'm here, the city centre Christmas entertainment and market... awful.

Merry Christmas!

[Left Back]

18 minutes ago, Salt n Vinegar said:

There's clearly divided opinion on this but Edinburgh has been strangling east/west traffic for decades. Maybe if the traffic could actually move when it's obeying the bus lanes it wouldn't be so bad.

There are bus lanes in the city centre and well outside it.  The trams have right of way (which I think is fair enough).  Enough is enough.

Oh, and by the way, Councillor Arthur... residents and businesses in the city want to use THEIR vehicles as well!  If you want to help businesses in the city centre, build some fekkn car parks instead of allowing blocks of student and two bedroom flats to go up every time a square yard of land is available. Maybe then folk wouldn't head for Fort Kinnaird instead of the city centre.  

Edinburgh could be a great city but the Council are strangling it. Oh, while I'm here, the city centre Christmas entertainment and market... awful.

Merry Christmas!

Never understood why people would want to drive into the City Centre.  I had to go into town a couple of weeks ago.  Looked at the price of the car parking and thought sod that.  Drove to the Gyle and jumped on the tram.

[Salt n Vinegar]

2 minutes ago, Left Back said:

Never understood why people would want to drive into the City Centre.  I had to go into town a couple of weeks ago.  Looked at the price of the car parking and thought sod that.  Drove to the Gyle and jumped on the tram.

I can give you an example of the attitude that seems ok superficially, but is actually bollocks.

IIRC The road from Cameron Toll to Fort Kinnaird as you go through Craigmillar (shields up) used to carry 4 lanes of traffic, certainly near the Jack Kane Centre. The Cupid Stunts reduced it to one lane in each direction but didn't give every bus stop a layby. Result? Buses are held up by cars, true, but the cars are held up only because the cars can't move because they are held up behind buses at bus stops further up the road. As soon as the road widens again, the traffic moves much better.

I know that not everyone has a car. However, folk with blue badges need their vehicles.  Maybe as a first step vehicles displaying blue badges could be allowed to use bus lanes? God... the curtain twitchers would go nuts.  "But.... but... he/she doesn't LOOK disabled!"

[Soapy FFC]

3 hours ago, Salt n Vinegar said:

I can give you an example of the attitude that seems ok superficially, but is actually bollocks.

IIRC The road from Cameron Toll to Fort Kinnaird as you go through Craigmillar (shields up) used to carry 4 lanes of traffic, certainly near the Jack Kane Centre. The Cupid Stunts reduced it to one lane in each direction but didn't give every bus stop a layby. Result? Buses are held up by cars, true, but the cars are held up only because the cars can't move because they are held up behind buses at bus stops further up the road. As soon as the road widens again, the traffic moves much better.

I know that not everyone has a car. However, folk with blue badges need their vehicles.  Maybe as a first step vehicles displaying blue badges could be allowed to use bus lanes? God... the curtain twitchers would go nuts.  "But.... but... he/she doesn't LOOK disabled!"

And would I be correct in saying that in that time there has also been more houses built, and more scheduled to be built, south of Niddrie Mains Road that have to use the road. Doesn't seem like things are joined up.

[Salt n Vinegar]

15 hours ago, Soapy FFC said:

And would I be correct in saying that in that time there has also been more houses built, and more scheduled to be built, south of Niddrie Mains Road that have to use the road. Doesn't seem like things are joined up.

Aye loads of new homes there in recent years.

Same chaos incoming between Edinburgh and Musselburgh. Hundreds and hundreds of new family homes built on agricultural land eliminating the open space between Milton Road and Newcraighall.  All the new traffic from a huge housing development will have to use ONE new access point on Milton Road. Utter mucking fadness. The Council couldn't strategically plan a trip to the pub.

Better get up now.  (I know, lazy git!) Mrs Salt and Vinegar probably heading for the prosecco!

[MazzyStar]

#scotlandsworstcity

[orfc]

Tch, Scotts my local councillor. He's nice enough, but he's really into cycling and thinks everyone else should be too. I'm not, because a) it looks fucking dangerous, you want a city of cyclists, you don't want to share road space with HGVs and w****r van drivers half of whom are banned anyways and b) Edinburgh is fucking hilly, especially the south. I'd need defribrilated if I attempted to cycle up oxgangs road 

[Lyle Lanley]

On 24/12/2023 at 14:33, Salt n Vinegar said:

There's clearly divided opinion on this but Edinburgh has been strangling east/west traffic for decades. Maybe if the traffic could actually move when it's obeying the bus lanes it wouldn't be so bad.

There are bus lanes in the city centre and well outside it.  The trams have right of way (which I think is fair enough).  Enough is enough.

Oh, and by the way, Councillor Arthur... residents and businesses in the city want to use THEIR vehicles as well!  If you want to help businesses in the city centre, build some fekkn car parks instead of allowing blocks of student and two bedroom flats to go up every time a square yard of land is available. Maybe then folk wouldn't head for Fort Kinnaird instead of the city centre.  

Edinburgh could be a great city but the Council are strangling it. Oh, while I'm here, the city centre Christmas entertainment and market... awful.

Merry Christmas!

The issue with Cllr Arthur is it’s clear he wants to ban cars altogether from the city centre. Fine but improve the transport system and folk might agree with you. But like you said other people who live in the city centre want to use their cars too. 

[scottsdad]

As someone who lives about half way between Glasgow and Edinburgh, I'll shop in Glasgow every time.

I can hop in my car, park in Buchanan Galleries and be in Sauchiehall Street in about 40 minutes. To get to Princes Street takes twice as long, is twice as complicated and costs twice as much.

[Left Back]

13 hours ago, Lyle Lanley said:

The issue with Cllr Arthur is it’s clear he wants to ban cars altogether from the city centre. Fine but improve the transport system and folk might agree with you. But like you said other people who live in the city centre want to use their cars too. 

I must be missing something here.  What’s wrong with the transport system in Edinburgh?  I don’t live there any more but it seemed perfectly OK when I moved out.  I still use it on my infrequent trips into town and don’t see any issues.

Try moving out of the city if you want to see shite public transport.  Truly atrocious where I live now.

[Leith Green]

On 24/12/2023 at 15:06, Salt n Vinegar said:

The road from Cameron Toll to Fort Kinnaird as you go through Craigmillar (shields up) used to carry 4 lanes of traffic

Maybe 25 years ago it did................

[Leith Green]

42 minutes ago, Left Back said:

I must be missing something here.  What’s wrong with the transport system in Edinburgh?  I don’t live there any more but it seemed perfectly OK when I moved out.  I still use it on my infrequent trips into town and don’t see any issues.

Try moving out of the city if you want to see shite public transport.  Truly atrocious where I live now.

Public transport in Edinburgh is good. My sister lives in Bath and my son lives in Glasgow - I know which of the three has the better public transport systems.

On roads, its clear that governments (all over the UK) want to introduce LEZ for health reasons - but they also know it will discourage vehicle use in city centres which they (and councils) see as a win.

Its already in place in Glasgow, and comes in Edinburgh next year. 

I live in the southside of Edinburgh and wouldnt dream of taking the car into the city centre for leisure, although I do need to cross it for jobs in the North of the city etc.

The buses are regular, and cheap - its no surprise to anyone living here that Lothian Buses get voted the UKs best public transport operator regularly.

Driving in Edinburgh IS a mare, but having been through to Glasgow on many occasions to see my son, its also clear that anyone who says "driving through Glasgow is easy as there is a motorway" has never been there at 9am or 5pm........................

Unless we all want to move to a New Town, we kinda need to accept that our cities were not designed for this many vehicles.

Final point though - Councillor Scott Arthur is, indeed, a p***k.

[GHF-23]

1 hour ago, Left Back said:

I must be missing something here.  What’s wrong with the transport system in Edinburgh?  I don’t live there any more but it seemed perfectly OK when I moved out.  I still use it on my infrequent trips into town and don’t see any issues.

Try moving out of the city if you want to see shite public transport.  Truly atrocious where I live now.

Also ignores the point that when the citizens of Edinburgh were offered an improved public transport system which would be funded by a congestion charge they rejected it, leaving the trams a complete novelty for anyone not going to the airport or the offices on the west edge of the city 

[Salt n Vinegar]

25 minutes ago, Leith Green said:

Maybe 25 years ago it did................

I've been in the Edinburgh area since the late 80s... 25 years ago was yesterday afternoon to me!  

IIRC there's going to be a "consultation" (aye, right) on closing the Duddingston to Commonwealth Pool road through Holyrood Park. That will increase congestion on the only two alternative routes - Willowbrae Road and the road through Craigmillar. Any significant roadworks on either (or even a minor accident) will grind the traffic to a halt.

We use buses as well... being of a certain age it's free and the service is excellent.  However a couple of times a week we have to go to the other side of the city centre, and we also do driving for a disabled relative as the need arises.  My perception is that the anti-car owner rhetoric has just gone too far.  As older, more polluting vehicles are forced off the roads and the number of electric ones increases, pollution will fall anyway.  

Anyhoo, tis the season to be jolly, so I'll call it a day on this subject... for a wee while anyway . Have a good day folks.