Edinburgh Trams

Edinburgh Trams Club
Established 2016

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Public Consultation 2018

Trams to Newhaven

Edinburgh Trams York Place to Newhaven

City of Edinburgh Council announced a Public Consultation for views on the line to Newhaven.

Open 19 Mar 2018

Close 29 Apr 2018

It is usual the noisy minority who complete these with negative comments. Very few are received with anything positive. To give your views the consultation questionnaire can be accessed here (please click on the blue writing below)

https://consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.uk/sfc/tramstonewhaven/

"...In late 2017, the City of Edinburgh Council approved the Outline Business Case for taking Edinburgh Trams to Newhaven. Since then we have spent time further developing our plans for delivering the line.

We have now reached the point where we feel the plans as proposed are ready to go out to public consultation to allow you, as a member of our community, the opportunity to review those plans and provide feedback and suggestions.

Taking trams to Leith will not divert any money away from other Council services. Rather, the line will be paid for through a loan raised against future revenue..."

edinburgh trams to newhaven

City of Edinburgh Council continued...

"...Why We Are Consulting

We are mindful of the previous works that took place along the proposed route and the disruption this may have caused you.

This time around it is our aim to ensure, should the line be approved, that views and suggestions of those in the local community and wider city are incorporated into final plan.

This means that your feedback could lead to changes to how we plan to build the line or to what the streetscape looks like once the work is completed.

Once this consultation closes we will work through all of your responses and make changes where it is practical to do so. Any changes we do or do not make will be communicated to you in July 2018 and ahead of our planned second consultation due to take place in Summer/Autumn of this year..."

The four public events are -

1 Public Information Event - Leith Theatre

From 22 Mar 2018 at 11:00 to 18:00

Leith Theatre

28-30 Ferry Road

Edinburgh EH6 4AE

2 Public Information Event - McDonald Road Library

From 3 Apr 2018 at 10:00 to 16:00

McDonald Road Library

2-4 McDonald Road

Edinburgh EH7 4LU

3 Public Information Event - Leith Community Education Centre

From 12 Apr 2018 at 15:00 to 21:00

Leith Community Education Centre

12A Newkirkgate

Edinburgh EH6 6AD

4 Public Information Event - Ocean Terminal

From 21 Apr 2018 at 12:00 to 17:00

Ocean Terminal

Ocean Drive

Edinburgh EH6 6JJ

From City of Edinburgh Council -

Business information days

"...As part of this consultation, we are holding a series of local business information days. The events are along the route to make it easier for you to get to an event near you/your business:

Malmaison,

1 Tower Place,

Edinburgh, EH6 7BZ

26 March 2018 6:30 - 8:30pm

David Lloyd Club,

Newhaven Harbour,

Edinburgh, EH6 4LX

4 April 2018 6:30 - 8:30pm

McDonald Road Library,

2-4 McDonald Road,

Edinburgh EH7 4LU

10 April 2018 5:30 - 7:30pm

City Chambers,

Business Centre,

High Street,

Edinburgh EH1 1YJ

25 April 2018 6:00 - 8:00pm

We will present our proposed plans at each event and give you the opportunity to take part in an open questions and answer session. The event in the City Chambers will give us the opportunity to provide early feedback on suggestions from the earlier business events and get more of your input on the best way forward..."

Sub contractors will be invited to meetings, organised with the Council procurement team, with the chosen main contractor. This will allow as many local businesses as possible to be involved and benefit from the work.

City of Edinburgh Council have provided some Key Facts

"...Key facts

Constructing the tram line to Newhaven will not divert funding from other Council services. Rather, it will be funded by a loan which will be repaid from future tram income.

This is not Edinburgh’s first tram. Edinburgh’s first tram was introduced in 1871. By the time they were removed in 1957, there were 47 miles of network.

Edinburgh Trams was named ‘Global Light Rail Operator of the Year 2017’ and the UK’s best transport operator for customer satisfaction.

Our trams are among the most advanced in Europe, offering a fast, safe, and reliable service that connects the city and the airport with zero on-street carbon emissions.

There are 27 trams operating along the current 14 kilometres (8.5 miles) of twin lane tram track from York Place to the airport. The trams have a top speed of 70 kph (43.5 mph).

Each tram is 43 metres long, with a capacity of 250 passengers (three times that of a bus).

Why trams?

Edinburgh is Scotland’s fastest growing city.

The additional trams will help accommodate the additional 102,000 people expected to live in Edinburgh by 2039.

A quarter of this growth is forecast to occur in Leith Docks and Western Harbour area.

The social, economic and environmental case for taking the tram to Newhaven is strong, as set out in the Outline Business Case (approved in principle by the City of Edinburgh Council, October 2017).

Tram allows far greater numbers of people to travel, while creating employment during construction, boosting development along the route and connecting people to centres of employment, leisure and retail.

High capacity and high quality public transport is key to allow everyone in Edinburgh to benefit from the city’s success.

The existing service from the airport to York Place is performing strongly with numbers of travellers and income well-ahead of expectations.

Independent survey

As part of our consultation, we commissioned an independent survey to understand local behaviours and attitudes towards taking the trams to Newhaven.

The research was carried out by Progressive Partnership, an Edinburgh-based market research company. This involved a ten-minute on-street interview with a representative sample of 368 people at three locations along the proposed route.

What people said

59% agreed that the line would benefit Leith

58% said it would be easier to get around

42% said it would be good for local business

91% were satisfied with current transport provision on Leith Walk

When asked what would improve public transport provision in Leith Walk, the most popular response at 38% was 'introduce a tram service'

NB most respondents currently used buses or walking to get to and around Leith

56% said they were likely to use the new line

Among those who did not think Leith would benefit, concerns focused chiefly on disruption, delays and congestion resulting from construction works..."

Edinburgh Trams York Place to Newhaven

Announcement from City of Edinburgh Council made 1 May 2018 -

Thousands take part in Trams to Newhaven plans consultation

Thousands of people shared their views in a major consultation about plans for taking trams to Newhaven, which closed at the weekend after six weeks.

More than 3,000 people either attended one of the information events, sent in their comments by email or completed the consultation online on the Council's Consultation Hub.

The consultation was very widely publicised, with 26,000 letters sent to households in the area surrounding the proposed tram route, extensive online and local media promotion, as well as four public information events and four business forums held.

Through the process, which is part of Stage 2 of the project following approval of the Outline Business Case last September, members of the public were invited to give their views on draft proposals for:

a) managing traffic during the construction period;

b) supporting local businesses while work is ongoing; and

c) the final road layout along the route.

Now that the consultation has closed, the Trams to Newhaven project team will consider the feedback received and re-examine the plans before publishing them for further consultation at the end of the summer.

Transport Convener Councillor Lesley Macinnes said: "A huge thank you to everyone who's taken the time to give us their feedback during the consultation process. The comments submitted will help us make changes to the plans before we consult again towards the end of the summer.

"Of course, no final decision on taking trams to Newhaven, or not, will be made until much later in the year, when we’ll consider a Final Business Case based on the tenders submitted and the outcome of the consultation. "

A number of key themes emerged during the consultation:

- the misconception that the project will divert resources from other Council services: The Outline Business Case explicitly states that the tram will not redirect funds from existing Council budgets over the life of the project, and instead, all borrowing costs will be met by an extraordinary dividend from Lothian Buses, as well as future tram revenues.

- support for businesses: Businesses are at the heart of the Council's plans and the team continues to be in close dialogue with all those who will be affected, with a financial support scheme currently in development. Traffic management for the project is being mapped out extremely carefully to mitigate disruption to businesses, ensuring continued service access, and a dedicated team of officers will be deployed to help with logistics and deliveries.

- need to achieve the best possible balance for all road users, particularly at the northern end of Leith Walk, ie between Pilrig Street and Foot of the Walk.

There was a mixed response to the plans with some respondents saying the current plans gave inadequate provision for pedestrians and cyclists and others reiterating the importance of loading and parking on Leith Walk to support businesses and residents.

This is something the project team is now actively addressing as the plans are re-examined.

- location of the Balfour Street tram stop

- the need to consider more pedestrian crossing points and signal controlled junctions on Leith Walk

- parking and loading on Constitution Street

All of the above, plus any other issues raised, will be considered as plans are revisited ahead of further consultation towards the end of the summer.