Edinburgh Council Rant.

dunedin said:
Actually the tram was running today - but only a couple of kilometres and no passengers, due to one section now being completed (many years late)
Still a total waste of vast amounts of money
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-21706237

Lesley Hinds, Edinburgh City Council's transport convener, said: "With the airport to Gogar section now handed over to the council and good progress being made all along the route, it's clear to see that the Edinburgh Tram project is heading towards completion.
"The coming months will see on-street works completed, full-line tram testing and driver training along the whole route.
"It's a big year for the project and we can push on safe in the knowledge that this first 2.8km section has been successfully completed and is working well.
"Very good progress being made but there is still some on-street disruption to come and we're determined to limit this as much as possible."
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I visited Port Edgar a few years ago, and was very grateful for the ' immersive interactive experience ' so that I could use the very loos and showers the WWII RN used...:rolleyes:
 
dgadee said:
Have you got your tram lines sorted out yet?
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Don t be daft...... Half the original length and three times the budget sounds about right for Edinburgh! They have got a 2 mile stretch near the airport for PR and driver training but a while before passengers can travel from the airport to city centre.
 
Bilgediver said:
Didn t you find the ones from WW1?????
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You're probably right, really ! I remember the photo's of the place as a warship base.

As for overbudget trams, well Crawley, West Sussex spent many millions - and caused much traffic disruption - on the ' magic bus ' ( metrobus ) project.

I still don't know how it was supposed to work, but there are long stretches of road with a low central island and some sort of sensor on the bus.

No-one else knows either, and they now have some incredibly expensive bog standard bus's...
 
Seajet said:
You're probably right, really ! I remember the photo's of the place as a warship base.

As for overbudget trams, well Crawley, West Sussex spent many millions - and caused much traffic disruption - on the ' magic bus ' ( metrobus ) project.

I still don't know how it was supposed to work, but there are long stretches of road with a low central island and some sort of sensor on the bus.

No-one else knows either, and they now have some incredibly expensive bog standard bus's...
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Ah, but Edinburgh also HAD one of those - installed a few years ago at great expense I should imagine. It all had to be dug up though - it was on the same route as the tram lines (almost said trams there - but then realised that the tram lines are a distant prospect, but the trams themselves?? who knows!).

As for Port Edgar, my understanding is that the council did allocate a big wad of cash. The first thing Edinburgh Leisure did was to buy a new crane which they paid for completely up front and the crane manufacturer went bust leaving them with nothing. The decision to sell the lease came along relatively shortly after that. That's the story as I remember it but stand to be corrected on that.

PP
 
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I am not a fan of indoor climbing walls, I was brought up in an era where if you wanted to go climbing you got your boots on and walked to the cliff face, that was Glen Nevis or later in life Ben Nevis for me. However, I understand that indoor climbing walls are very, very popular today. Given the popularity of the local one I can understand why the council has put some cash into their one. What will be interesting is the number of people who move to 'proper' climbing in the cold and wet (we are talking Scotland here) and without a latte and a wee cup cake every hour! The trip from the top of Tower Ridge to the Volley in the Fort is a lot longer than that!
 
Camelia said:
.... What will be interesting is the number of people who move to 'proper' climbing in the cold and wet ....
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No one is really interested because indoor climbing is a standalone sport, it's not a feeder to rock climbing. There is certainly a large bunch of winter users who keep their skills honed for outdoor use in the summer. Its also a fantastic way to keep fit, physically and mentally. Just popping down to the wall appears to be a lot more convenient and satisfying than pounding a tread mill, stepping machine, rowing machine or running in the street, which appears to be the reason for the high demand. I am a regular user of Ratho with my son and it is usually very busy - the office fatties out number the lithe climbers by a large margin. However, clearly there are very skilled outdoor climbers practising their moves. The other big thing is bouldering. There are folks who just appear to go round and round FRP boulders for an hour, sometimes upside down as well! Scottish outdoor climbing is dreich at the best of times, give me coffee and a fairy cake any day. So the council are pandering to a popular venue. Port Edgar is a well used facility as well and their sailing course are very well subscribed I understand. I hope that Port Edgar gets some money spent in the next few years as I am sure the Council will have less and less available over the next 10 years.
 
Its not just Port Edgar though is it. The whole of the top part of the Firth could be so much better than it is. I hope that the HELIX project, improving the entrance to the Forth and Clyde canal, can be used as an inspiration to improved this maritime "gateway" into Scotland. Its not just for the yachties. A huge number of folk arrive by criuse ship, and should have a first class way of getting ashore either step ashore or by launches, and frankly they are let down. Scotland's capital deserves much better. Edinbugh City council have a part to play in that, but so do others.
 
Romeo said:
Its not just Port Edgar though is it. The whole of the top part of the Firth could be so much better than it is. I hope that the HELIX project, improving the entrance to the Forth and Clyde canal, can be used as an inspiration to improved this maritime "gateway" into Scotland. Its not just for the yachties. A huge number of folk arrive by criuse ship, and should have a first class way of getting ashore either step ashore or by launches, and frankly they are let down. Scotland's capital deserves much better. Edinbugh City council have a part to play in that, but so do others.
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Romeo,

couldn't agree more.

I helped a chum sail his Anderson 22 from Dysart to Port Edgar a few years ago; it's a lovely area, but so short on decent harbours !

I'm certainly not suggesting it be desecrated into a marine car park like the Hamble, but a helluva lot could be done, sympathetically.

It beats me why some developer hasn't grabbed Port Edgar - or at least gone in with the council - and turned it into something like Port Solent, a great marina with shops, restaurants, cinema etc to attract non-yotties, apartments too, and there are loads of other places like Dysart and Burntisland which are begging money and imagination, the Forth is great but there's nowhere to go !
 
dgadee said:
Have you got your tram lines sorted out yet?
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It's not just trams!

Look at the mess RBS got into.

The oil industry has been on the go for over 30 years, and we were promised a bypass round Aberdeen at the start. To date, not one sod of earth has been moved for its construction!


And those in power in Scotland think they can run a country? ? ? ? ?

We should stick to what we're good at - Making whisky and supplying the army with cannon fodder.

If I wasn't well past my "sell by" date, I'd be emigrating!
 
Aren't there plans for another Forth marina after Cockenzie Power Station gets closed and dismantled? I don't know how likely this is to actually happen.
 
Merry Girl said:
Aren't there plans for another Forth marina after Cockenzie Power Station gets closed and dismantled? I don't know how likely this is to actually happen.
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Latest suggestion was for a cruise liner peir there: http://www.scotsman.com/edinburgh-e...-as-a-major-cruise-line-destination-1-2555225

Leith Docks could host a marina, but unfortunately it belongs to a housing development company who view a dock as somewhere to fill with rubble until you can build flats on it. For a city with such a long waterfront, Edinburgh is astonishingly poorly served by marine facilities.
 
Port Ed is in the throes of being privatised so some changes will be coming. I agree that Edinburgh Leisure have not been impressive stewards.

As a cruising area the FoF is never going to compete with either the Clyde or for example parts of the Solent. Most of the harbours dry, and shelter from the prevailing Westerlies (or indeed in the Spring, Easterlies that can blow for many days continuously) is in rather short supply. We also have some big tides, yes they flow E and W as well, so it's an interesting bit of water but wih limited choices. Some development of yacht facilities in older commercial harbours would improve things but I have long argued that the best thing would be to turn the land through 90deg so that the prevailing winds blew across rather than up and down the river. Even in an independent Scotland that's not going to happen.
 
KenMcCulloch said:
Port Ed is in the throes of being privatised so some changes will be coming. I agree that Edinburgh Leisure have not been impressive stewards.

As a cruising area the FoF is never going to compete with either the Clyde or for example parts of the Solent. Most of the harbours dry, and shelter from the prevailing Westerlies (or indeed in the Spring, Easterlies that can blow for many days continuously) is in rather short supply. We also have some big tides, yes they flow E and W as well, so it's an interesting bit of water but wih limited choices. Some development of yacht facilities in older commercial harbours would improve things but I have long argued that the best thing would be to turn the land through 90deg so that the prevailing winds blew across rather than up and down the river. Even in an independent Scotland that's not going to happen.
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I don't know Wee Eck is a miracle maker
 
Romeo said:
Its not just Port Edgar though is it. The whole of the top part of the Firth could be so much better than it is. I hope that the HELIX project, improving the entrance to the Forth and Clyde canal, can be used as an inspiration to improved this maritime "gateway" into Scotland. Its not just for the yachties. A huge number of folk arrive by criuse ship, and should have a first class way of getting ashore either step ashore or by launches, and frankly they are let down. Scotland's capital deserves much better. Edinbugh City council have a part to play in that, but so do others.
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Cruise ships cannot get to the western part of the Forth there is a rather famous bridge in the way which has restricted headroom. I understand that there are plans to put a proper cruise berth into Leith docks but it needs a larger entrance lock which will not be cheap. To make it an attractive cruise ship berth they may need to get rid of the scrapyard. I agree that ferrying passengers ashore to South Queensferry and bussing them into Edinbugh is not the best solution.
 
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