Powderhall Footbridge, opened in 2009, was designed in accordance with the standards and engineering knowledge applicable at the time. However, its 120-year design life was not a guarantee that the bridge would last for 120 years.
These startling assertions appear in a Briefing Note (14.10.26) just issued by the Council’s City & Neighbourhood Services and Transport & Mobility Directorate. We attach it in full below.
Eighteen months of capital trials look set to begin this summer for e-Bebé – an initiative promising to cut city-centre congestion and shave hours off parents’ and carers’ journey times each year.
At July’s Transport & Environment Cmte, Lyons-based urban solutions consultants SeraParfait (SARL) will seek consent to pilot a 300-strong fleet of rentable battery-assisted prams and push-chairs, available for pick-up or deposit at over 20 Edinburgh ‘communication nodes’, starting in August.
The start of a new year is often a moment for reflection rather than reaction.
St Mark’s Path reopened yesterday and will remain open for most of the construction period between now and completion in spring 2027.
In the future, the Path will have to close for periods of a few days, during which time alternative arrangements will be in place.
These include a circuitous diversion around the neighbouring construction site and a controlled crossing point.
This solution is unclearly explained with a profusion of red lines in the site plan shown below.
Dennis O’Keeffe is an independent construction and infrastructure advisor acting for Broughton Rd coffee-kiosk proprietor Yossi Mazon over the ‘sudden and unconsulted closure’ of St Mark’s Path (see our report here).
In an email dated yesterday and shared with the Spurtle and others, he has urged relevant community councils to:
While there’s nothing hugely substantial to report, I once again iterated the importance of either minimising closure of the path itself, or opening a better diversion due to concerns about the length of diversion and suitability of the currently posted route for wheelchair users, prams, and cyclists as
Following in-person and online discussions with the public which began in September 2022, engineering and design consultants Stantec have updated plans to reconfigure the Powderhall Junction.
The preferred option aims to improve safe and inclusive connectivity and to encourage active travel through the intersection of McDonald Rd, Broughton Road, St Mark’s Path and the entrance to the future housing development.
Features of the final design include:
advanced stop lines and maximised approach lanes for cyclists
A community engagement event to discuss latest plans for the Broughton Road/McDonald Rd/St Mark’s Path junction will take place on Wednesday 24 January (3.30–7.00pm) in the Link building classrooms at Broughton Primary School.
The junction requires attention because of its proximity to the school and the imminent arrival of new housing on the sites of the former bowling greens and Powderhall Waste Transfer Station.
Consultants Stantec aim to encourage and prioritise active travel and make it safer.
City of Edinburgh Council seeks Sustrans Places for Everyone (PfE) funding to improve the junction of Broughton Road, McDonald Road, St Mark’s Path, and the entry to the forthcoming Powderhall development for all users.