It was during the Beast from the East in March that we were all supposed to go riding bikes across the city centre to celebrate the fact that the whole of the city centre is now a 20mph zone together with residential and shopping streets elsewhere in the city. Although that was postponed, the 20mph restrictions are here to stay.
Police Scotland say that they are enforcing speed restrictions across the city as they are bound to do in terms of the Service Level Agreement which they entered into with the council. In January the council said that the police had caught a thousand derivers since July 2016, and that figures from the Edinburgh Road Policing Unit show that at least 55 tickets and 960 warnings had been issued at that stage.
It took about six years for Edinburgh to move in the direction of 20mph speed limits after a successful pilot project in south Edinburgh.
We told you a couple of months ago about Pop up Bob spotted on Eglinton Crescent in the West End. He seems to have vanished after the recent roadworks there, but his presence was effective for a time.
Now you can get your own Pop Up Bob for your street to slow drivers down, as long as someone is prepared to chain him to a lamppost…and take Bob down at night.
You can also use other methods like stickers and posters to help educate the city drivers who don’t think these rules apply to them (and it is my personal view there are many of them!).
A toolkit which has all the measures you might like to use are on the council website here.
Edinburgh schoolchildren have contributed to a film about 20mph.
Transport Convener Councillor Lesley Macinnes said: “The decision to make Edinburgh’s streets slower, safer and more community-friendly was influenced by the successful outcome of the South Edinburgh Pilot Project in 2012. Since then we’ve made a great deal of progress, with Councillors approving the 20mph network in January 2015 following an extensive period of public consultation and research.
“The benefits of calmer speeds are already being felt across the Capital. People have welcomed reduced traffic noise, celebrated feeling safer on foot or by bike and are enjoying a more relaxed environment. We have also received requests from around the city for additional streets to be added to the network.
“This feedback demonstrates strong support for 20mph, however loudly opponents may shout. We need this quieter majority to speak out and make their voices heard – to tell their friends, family and colleagues and spread the word that together we can make Edinburgh’s roads safer and more pleasant for everyone.
“This new toolkit is a fun and user-friendly new resource to help them do just that and I’d encourage all communities who are interested to take a look.”20mph is here to stay in Edinburgh. Together we are making our city a safer and more enjoyable place to live, work and visit.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
