Good news on Rosebery Avenue

Earlier this year., we made a major push to get Rosebery Avenue in Queensferry resurfaced. After all, it’s probably one of the worst roads anywhere in Edinburgh (and that is saying something!)

The good news is that the work to resurface Rosebery Avenue has been confirmed from 8 October.

The work will be carried out in four phases, starting at the western end, and will inevitably involve closures and diversions. We’ve attached the letter which will be circulated to local residents with details.

We realise this work will cause some disruption but after all the concern over the terrible state of the road, we are pleased to finally get agreement and a specific timetable for the resurfacing work to be carried out.

You can read about the detailed plans here

 

Kirkliston road works on Queensferry Road

BT Openreach will be undertaking major works on Queensferry Road near to the junction of Newmains Road and Housefield Drive from Monday (3rd September).

This work will run until 10 September and will involve three way temporary traffic lights.

We are conscious this is already a busy route so works of this scale are going to cause disruption.

We have already spoken with the local roads officer at the Council. After the problems we’ve seen elsewhere in the city, we really need the pressure to be kept on BT to make sure they stick to schedule and get the works compete ASAP.

You can see the plans showing the works and temporary lights by clicking on the link below.

Kirkliston Queensferry Road BT (Aug18)

Time for Lothian Buses to serve Kirkliston….properly!

The loss of the First Bus 38A and cuts to the frequency of bus services between Kirkliston and Edinburgh City Centre makes it even more important for Lothian Buses to step in and properly serve Kirkliston.

It is simply unacceptable that Lothian  – the Council owned bus company – serves places outside of Edinburgh like Musselburgh, Dalkeith and Penicuik when it does not provide Kirkliston with a direct city centre link.  The problem has been made even worse after Lothian launched new services in West Lothian, one of which passes just to the south of Kirkliston.

We have joined Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP and Christine Jardine MP to write (again) to the managing director of Lothian Buses to ask for the introduction of a new service. At the very least, we believe there is a case for Lothian to carry out a trial.

You can see our letter here.

Conifox expansion plans approved

We are delighted to see that the two planning applications to expand the Conifox Adventure Park in Kirkliston have been approved by Council planning officers.

One application is to build a new indoor multi purpose activity centre. The other is to extend the existing adventure park to include a dog agility area, fortress and maze, go-karts, mini quad bikes, crazy golf, remote control cars and more.

The applications were submitted last September and only attracted a handful of objections.

We were pleased to recently visit the Conifox to meet with the owners and discuss their exciting plans for the future.  We are looking forward to seeing those plans come to life now the planning processes have been approved.

Latest news on the Burnshot Bridge replacement

We have now received the latest update from the project team working on the Burnshot Bridge.

Work on the technical feasibility of the new bridge design is virtually complete.  Consultants are now being appointed to work up the detailed design with construction expected to start early in the New Year.

You can read the full report here.by clicking on the link below.

Briefing No 11 A90 Burnshot Bridge

New plan to ban larger vehicles from Queensferry High Street

Larger vehicles such as heavy goods lorries and tourist coaches could be banned from the Queensferry High Street for most of the day under new proposals put out for consultation.

The plans are part of the £1 million Council led project to redevelop and improve the town’s High Street.

Also out for consultation is an option of introducing a one way system along the High Street. A third option looks at making the High Street fully pedestrianised and blocked off to all through traffic.

There was an overwhelming view from residents in the last consultation in favour of changes to restrict High Street access for larger, more polluting vehicles. We obviously need to retain access for some parts of the day so local businesses can get their deliveries and have their refuse taken away. However, it appears to be widely accepted that the whole High Street would be improved if it was closed off to larger vehicles for most of the day.

Whilst there was divided opinion in the first public consultation, there was two to one majority support among people for retaining cobbles as the main road surface on the High Street. Council officials are now confident they can lay improved cobble materials which would retain the character of the High Street but better protect against wear and tear.

The latest plans have been put out as part of the second stage of the project consultation.  You can view all of the presentation  slides below.

You can also feed in your views by completing the online survey.

 

 

 

Good news on the Barnton junction

Back in March, we brought forward a motion to an influential new committee of the Council, calling for action to tackle the congestion at the Barnton Junction.
We know the junction is already gridlocked at peak periods and this is before the plans for almost 700 new homes at Cammo.
At this month’s North West Locality Committee and in response to our motion, Council officials agreed to look at a series of improvements and changes to try and improve flow.
Yellow “no waiting” hatching paint marking will be painted on the junction to try and prevent vehicle blocking.  Officials will also look at the option of building in a third southbound lane on Whitehouse Road and a third northbound lane on Maybury Road.
We are pleased that Council officers have now agreed to consider a number of changes to the junction. These could certainly help to ease some of the congestion in the short term. However, we know there are much bigger and wider issues that need to be addressed and before potentially thousands of new homes are built nearby.
It is clear we need a proper strategic plan for the whole A90 corridor. It must look seriously at public transport improvements and how current and new bus services can be prioritised along the A90. We also need to open discussions with other councils like Fife where decisions around charging for park and rides will only add to the congestion we face.
We also want to say a huge thank you and well done to the chair and secretary of the Cramond and Barnton Community Council who attended the committee and gave a presentation on why action at the Barnton junction is so desperately needed.

Plans for new nursery at Echline Primary

Following the increase of nursery entitlement to 1,140 hours a year and the growing local population, we know there is a need for additional nursery spaces in Queensferry.

We recently met with Council Officers to discuss the proposals for a new larger nursery based at Echline Primary School, just to the south west of the current school building.

Letters have already been issued to parents of children at the school.  Letters are also going out to those living near the school, to explain the timeline and the unavoidable disruption.

This nursery is expected to be ready from late next year and will see the current children move over before additional spaces are made available to other families in the community. The capacity will increase from 30 spaces to around 60 spaces and instead of being limited to term time only, parents will have a choice as to whether they want a term time space, or year round support.

We will keep residents informed as the project progresses.

What would you like to see in an improved Dundas Park?

Council officials from the parks and greenspaces team are consulting on plans to improve Dundas Park.   This comes after significant funding was secured and which can be used to leverage in further grant funding from other sources so significant improvements can be made.

They are very keen to hear what local people think on three different options.

Your can see the three different options

Dundas Recreational Ground SQ-Layout1

Dundas Recreational Ground SQ-Layout2

Dundas Recreational Ground SQ-Layout3

Having your say

You can complete the survey here.

The survey is open until 18 July.

One the responses have been compiled, officials plan to make an application for further grant funding by the end of July.