September 2024 News from Councillor Neil Ross
Bus Tracker real-time data in September?
The latest update on progress with the new bus tracker software suggests that real-time data might appear in September. There is more on this at page 6 of August’s Transport Committee Business Bulletin at item 6.1 here.
Bus Service improvements to 15, 23, 24, 27 & 45
Lothian Buses has announced timetable and journey improvements w.e.f. 8 September.
Service 15 has a route extension to King’s Road, Portobello, every day except midweek peak times, plus a couple of additional journeys to Easter Bush.
Services 23 and 27 have increased frequencies on Saturdays (15 minutes) and Sundays (20 minutes).
Service 24 has increased mid-week daytime frequency to every 15 minutes plus later journeys on Sundays.
Big improvements to Service 45, with later journeys during the week and Saturday, plus a 30-minute frequency most of Saturday, instead of hourly, and an extended route out to King’s Road, Portobello.
More information is available here.
Canaan Lane
The Council recently provided an update to say that work has started on possible changes for Canaan Lane which will include widening footways to make it safer for children using the street as a route to school. This is to be part of a plan to improve facilities for contraflow cycling on one-way streets for delivery in 2026/27. I have asked for re-instatement of the pavement build out and cycle lane divider at the north end of Woodburn Terrace and hope this can be done soon. The update is given on pages 1 & 2 of the Transport Committee’s August Business Bulletin at item 6.1 here.
New Meadows Public Toilets
The new permanent toilets for the Meadows are planned to be located at the intersection of South Middle Meadow Walk near Melville Drive. Council officers explained that this site was chosen for its excellent visibility, easy utility connections, accessibility, and minimal impact on the existing tree canopy. The site of the current temporary toilets was not selected due to its limited visibility and accessibility issues. More information is available here.
New Initiative for Deaf People at Morningside Library
A new initiative, called Near You, has launched in Morningside Library in partnership with the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID). It is a free, monthly drop-in service for people who are deaf, have hearing loss or suffer with tinnitus. Staffed by volunteers, Near You will provide three main services – Hearing Aid maintenance for NHS open fit and mould hearing aids; Hearing Checks and Information & Signposting.
More about Bin Hubs
A workshop has been arranged for Monday 16 September to enable discussion of noise mitigation and resident amenity in relation to the placement of bin hubs. Councillors, representing wards where bin hubs have been installed, Transport & Environment Committee Members and Community Councils have been invited to attend the workshop. It is expected that the outcomes will be reported to the committee in November and might result in further changes to the bin hub location criteria and parameters. I’ll update on this in December.
Police Surgeries at the Eric Liddell Community
In addition to all the events taking place to celebrate the Eric Liddell 100, the local police will start holding regular surgeries in the Café Annex with the first surgery on Monday 23 September – more info here.