Bus Shelters Update Jan 2017
Below is the email exchange with JCDecaux about bus shelters. I have had no further response since my email of 28th October. The attached document referred to in the top email is Edinburgh Street Design Guidance v1.01 (January 2015).
From: Philip McDowell
[mailto:webmaster@sccedinburgh.org.uk]
Sent: 28 October 2016 22:59
To: 'Williamson, Suzanne'
<Suzanne.Williamson@jcdecaux.com>
Cc: 'Deborah Charlesworth' <secretary@sccedinburgh.org.uk>;
'chair@sccedinburgh.org.uk' <chair@sccedinburgh.org.uk>
Subject: RE: Bus shelters in the Southside of Edinburgh
Dear Ms Williamson
Thank you for your email. I am quite mystified. I
collected the document attached from the Edinburgh Council website. You
will see that it specifies:
Minimum width of footway:
– Strategic and secondary streets: absolute min. 2.5m (only allowed in
short sections), general min 3m, desirable min 4m or wider.
- Local streets: absolute min. 2m (only allowed in short sections),
general min 2.5m, desirable min 3m or wider.
- Maximise clear “walking zone” (absolute minimum:1.5m
- only allowed in short sections)
Minimise corner radii (maximum 3m for all street types, desirable max 1m
only for local streets
I have looked carefully at the document and I can find nowhere
a specification for a footway width of less than 1.5 m. I have also looked at
the other documents you mention, and I agree, they do specify a minimum width
of 1 m, but I would have thought the Edinburgh document should take precedence
for the streets of our city.
The only reason I wrote to you was that I had reached an
impasse with the Council officers, so if you can persuade them to discuss the
position of bus shelters with the local representatives I would be much
obliged.
Yours
Philip McDowell
From: Williamson, Suzanne [mailto:Suzanne.Williamson@jcdecaux.com]
Sent: 30 September 2016 16:09
To: Philip McDowell <webmaster@sccedinburgh.org.uk>
Cc: 'Deborah Charlesworth' <secretary@sccedinburgh.org.uk>
Subject: RE: Bus shelters in the Southside of Edinburgh
Dear Mr McDowell
I am glad the email reached you and apologies it went to
the wrong address. I did consider writing to the Community Council but
felt this might take too long to reach you.
In
terms of the footpath widths, we work specifically at the advice of the
Council.
The bus
shelter replacement programme being carried out is using the Department for
Transport ‘Inclusive Mobility’ and Transport Scotland ‘Roads For
All’ guidance documents, both of which have provided detail for the new
Edinburgh guidance. Both sets of guidance, and the new Edinburgh guidance,
allow for minimum clear footway widths of 1000mm across the length of any
shelters.
We
follow the guidance given to us by the Council on footpath widths and the
rollout programme. We meet with them very regularly to discuss.
Perhaps
the council will be able to provide you further information on this and plans
for stops in your area. I would be happy forwarding your enquiry to them
if that meets your approval.
Kind
regards
Suzanne
Williamson
From: Philip McDowell [mailto:webmaster@sccedinburgh.org.uk]
Sent: 30 September 2016 15:34
To: Williamson, Suzanne
Cc: 'Deborah Charlesworth'
Subject: Bus shelters in the Southside of Edinburgh
Dear Ms Williamson
Thanks for your email, which has been passed on to me by the secretary of the Southside Community Council
I’m sorry you have had difficulty getting in touch with me. The address you used is an old one from where I used to work, and as I retired several years ago it is no longer valid. I do not know why the Transport Dept at Edinburgh Council put that address on their letter to me. I certainly didn’t use it.
I suspect you have not received the further letter I sent to JCDecaux, so I have attached it here. I am particularly interested to know if it is possible for JCDecaux to work to the up to date Edinburgh Guidelines, and also to let us know what is planned in our area. That would be very helpful.
Yours
Philip McDowell
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Dear Sir / Madam
Bus shelters in Edinburgh
I’m not sure which part of your organisation I should be writing to, so I hope you will be able to forward this letter to the appropriate person.
The residents of the Southside of Edinburgh are concerned about the placement of new bus shelters. You may be aware that one shelter, on Buccleuch Street, has been removed because local residents complained that there was insufficient space behind the shelter for people to pass by comfortably. As a result of this we felt that it would be useful to have prior warning of what further bus shelters are planned so we can advise, with our local knowledge, if there are likely to be similar problems with any of them.
I understand from the City of Edinburgh Council that the guidelines you have been given to work with specify a minimum pavement width of 1 metre is acceptable for the length of a bus shelter. However, the City of Edinburgh has a set of guidelines for street design, which came out in January 2015, which specifies a minimum width of 1.5 metres. I do not understand why you have been given the older guidance to work from, and would anticipate this giving rise to problems similar to the Buccleuch Street situation, which I am sure you would be keen to avoid if at all possible.
I am writing, therefore, to see if it is possible to set up some sort of informal consultation where we are given sight of any plans for bus shelters in our area, which we can then advise if we think they are likely to cause problems for people using the streets.
Yours faithfully
Philip McDowell
Member, Southside Community Council.