In Praise of FixMyStreet

I have been using FixMyStreet  since May 2013 and can highly  recommend it.

I have made 51 reports to the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) on a wide range of issues, and to date (24-NOV-2014) there are 17 still outstanding, although a few of those were submitted only recently.  That equates to a success rate of very approximately 65 percent. To be fair, a handful of the unresolved problems, for instance dog fouling and pavement parking hotspots, are hardy perennials that may never be satisfactorily fixed. Incidentally, perhaps my most memorable FixMyStreet report, because I was on the spot when the incident occurred,  was this one sorted in record time by CEC.

For me, FixMyStreet has three major advantages: (1) is the invaluable ability to add as illustration photographs that are routinely blocked by the CEC email server and a hassle to have unblocked; (2) the facility to add updates on any progress thus providing a history; and (3) the online FixMyStreet report can be linked to in emails and on social media and therefore readily referred back to. FixMyStreet is in my view infinitely superior to poorly designed web reporting forms that go unacknowledged and indeed seem to  evaporate leaving no trace.

One drawback, however, has been the refusal of some utility companies to accept reports made in this way as FixMyStreet is not recognised by them as an official reporting tool. An example of this from Virgin Media here. Whilst I accept that FixMyStreet is primarily a tool for reporting to local councils, it is frustrating and a real nuisance having to start over from scratch if it is not deemed to be a council responsibility to sort an issue. Compared to FixMyStreet the reporting facilities at certain  utility companies are neither state of the art nor easy to use?

FixMyStreet is though merely a reporting tool and not a silver bullet. Seemingly more complex cases, like this one that remains open because I do not know whether the job has actually been completed and  ownership of the Lucy box  has still not been properly resolved, are however more straightforward to deal with using FixMyStreet.

All in all, I have found FixMyStreet to be an easy to use digital tool that can be effective in getting local issues sorted expeditiously. My comments apply only to the web version of FixMyStreet as I have not used the mobile app.

Footnote: CEC has not yet integrated with FixMyStreet, and is sticking with the proprietory CLARENCE telephone/email/online reporting form setup meantime.

Van breakdown St John's Rd EH12 5.30PM 31-OCT-2014

On the evening of Friday 31st October a vehicle broke down during the rush hour on the busy St John's Road, Edinburgh EH12 - not an uncommon occurrence. The van was dark-coloured, unlit and in the outside lane - see photograph - so clearly a hazard as well as an obstruction. Traffic quickly backed up over a quarter of a mile to Edinburgh Zoo and beyond.

Walking along St John's Road, my attention was first drawn to this incident by very loud shouting which turned out to be the driver of the vehicle attempting to summon help on his mobile phone. He seemed to me to be saying that he had been stuck for "30 minutes" and was quite irate. He and someone who appeared to be his mate did a sterling job directing traffic, although they were dressed in dark clothing, including when an ambulance on an emergency call came along St John's Road west-bound, past the traffic tailback, on the wrong side of the road at speed. Two cars travelling east were involved in a very minor bump as the ambulance passed at the nearby Post Office, presumably because one or other or both car drivers were not paying full attention to the road.

I sent a tweet to Edinburgh Travel News @edintravel - see below - from the foot of Clermiston Road where I noted that the CCTV camera appeared to be facing westward, that is in the wrong direction (Murphy's Law?). The camera had been turned around when I looked up shortly after sending the tweet. Help did then arrive within minutes, first someone in a private car, and then according to Twitter a Police van. The vehicle was apparently shifted to the inside lane and shortly afterwards fixed and moved off.

My concern is that this incident might have been picked up earlier on the CCTV camera than it seemingly was, and some of the resultant traffic chaos avoided, not to say the potential risks to life and limb of those involved?

Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian polar explorer.

"Never stop because you are afraid - you are never so likely to be wrong. Never keep a line of retreat; it is a wretched invention. The difficult is what takes a little time; the impossible is what takes a little longer."

Subsidence at roadside off Station Road EH12 7AF

Ref: 13/01606/FUL

Demolition workers taking down the former GRO warehouse buildings at 35 Station Road, Corstorphine, have removed the entire length of the boundary / retaining wall between that site and The Paddockholm estate next door.

As a result the ground alongside the roadway next to no. 25 Station Road is collapsing. The photograph below shows the soil perceptibly easing away from the kerb stones after the heavy rains over the past weekend of 7th / 8th June 2014.

The next photograph below, taken from the demolition site, shows the other side to the roadway / shrubbery with the Tesco carrier bag marking the location of the previous shot. Note the appreciable change in ground level.

The next two photographs provide an impression of the way in which the shrubbery and its roots have been undercut and the associated slumping of soil.

Finally, this last photograph taken farther along the same roadway shows the ground adjacent to it has almost completely gone aided, at least in part, by the recent deluge with gravity doubtless accounting for the rest. A strip of communal land approximately 1.2 metres wide belonging to the proprietors of The Paddockholm estate has been largely lost here, and along the length of the now obliterated boundary line.

Clearly, if this process is allowed to continue the road itself is likely to be undermined, if it has not already been so that is, and as a consequence might well collapse under the weight of any vehicle(s)?

NB This is the Emergency Services alternate access to The Paddockholm estate of 122 houses and flats so must surely remain serviceable at all times?

Cyclists - do you have to stop at a zebra crossing?

I am pro-cyclist, but there are occasions like this afternoon when I do question that stance.

I was crossing the zebra crossing on Gylemuir Road EH12 with another pedestrian just behind me and had reached halfway when I realised that an approaching adult male cyclist looked as though he was unlikely to stop, so I therefore paused and sure enough the cyclist cut in front of us both with a cheery "Hello!" in passing. He then mounted the pavement farther along the street, cycled to the access to Tesco Extra Corstorphine, and proceeded to ride along the footpath, at the front of the store, which was busy with late Saturday afternoon shoppers.

By chance, I caught up with him at the cash machines so I asked him, "Does the Highway Code not apply to you?". To which his  response was, "Nope, especially pedestrians.". Admittedly, it was a candid response, but I did not discuss it any further with him as it seemed futile.

Looking online, however, the answer to my question - Do cyclists have to stop at zebra crossings? - is not as clear-cut as I had first thought. For instance, the Highway Code section for cyclists seems to be more concerned with cyclists crossing zebras than whether they should actually
stop for pedestrians on them? Then there is this
from the UK Cycle Rules website which talks about according precedence to pedestrians on zebra crossings - "you don't have to stop".

Regardless, in my view it is simply best practice and good manners for cyclists, rather than riding in front of them, to give priority to pedestrians who are midway or farther across a zebra by stopping and allowing them to reach the pavement before setting off again?

I, of course, do accept that only a tiny minority behave like the gentleman this afternoon. The issue for all sensible cyclists though is that such people spoil things for the responsible majority?

Archive photograph of Gylemuir Road EH12 showing zebra crossing plus Tesco Extra store frontage and car park.
Highway Code Rules 64, 195

Jotunheimen Research Expeditions to Norway.

The arrival of a letter seeking support for the School of GeoSciences Undergraduate Fieldwork fund brought to mind the mid-1970s University of Edinburgh Jotunheimen environmental research expeditions to southern Norway.

I was a member of two of the expeditions in 1976 and 1977 working as an undergraduate field assistant and I also did research for my BSc Geography dissertation.

The education and training that I received in Norway proved to be an invaluable foundation for my subsequent PhD palaeoenvironmental research.

The photograph below shows members of the 1977 expedition enjoying a celebration meal. A twenty-first birthday party?

So, not all work and no play, as was also evident from the Jotunheimen or 'Home of the Giants' cricket series in the long summer evenings!

Front row left to right: Margaret MacMillan; John Farquhar; Ian Scott; Dr Peter Beckett (co-leader) Back row: Dr John Matthews (co-leader) & Clare Swindells. Photograph taken by Alan Alexander, Geography 'Class of 1978'.

Dropped Kerb at The Paddockholm EH12 7XR

The contractors returned yesterday, 14th May 2014, to address the dropped kerb issues at The Paddockholm. They dug out the tarmac they had laid previously and put down new. However, it looks as though the joint with the existing tarmac has not been properly sealed or caulked with bitumen? Also, there are cracks in the surface around the join which looks as though it will break down in no time.

The specified concrete edging stone has now been installed, but the surrounding turf was just hammered down to get the ground level right. The kerb stones have not been grouted with cement mortar, although some tarmac has found its way into the cracks.

As previously noted, the kerb stones have still not been properly grouted with cement mortar, leaving the job looking unfinished?

Note also the exposed lawn edge which is liable to collapse. All in all, in my opinion, this is not a quality job: it ought to be possible to achieve a higher standard?

Update: There was a suggestion on the City Cycling Edinburgh Forum that the contractors would go back to The Paddockholm on Friday 16th May to grout the setts, however, they did not do so as is clear in the photographs taken at 5.30pm that day.

Update: On Saturday, 14th June 2014, the contractors returned to The Paddockholm.

All of the kerb blocks were properly pointed with cement mortar.

To address the exposed lawn edge issue, the kerb blocks on the north side were re-laid at their former level - top photograph below.

The grassed area on the south side which had been re-shaped has been re-styled and neatened up - bottom photograph.

The joint between the new and the old tarmac has yet - close of play on Monday, 16th June - to be sealed with bitumen, however, overall this is a big improvement on how the job had previously been left.

Epilogue: This dropped kerb appears - see photograph - to fail the 6mm or two pound coins test?

Final, final word: The joint between old and new tarmac has been sealed at last. 20-JUL-2014

The Backwash of War: The Classic Account of a First World War Hospital by Ellen N La Motte, Conway, 186pp

Short review of the above book appeared in "The Times" newspaper on 10th May 2014.

The Paddockholm EH12 7XR: Cycle Barriers.

We need a solution to put to City of Edinburgh Council, so thinking caps on!

The cycle barriers at the east end of The Paddockholm date from ca 30 years ago when, soon after the estate was built, it was realised that there was an issue with cyclists speeding and also incursion by motorcycles / scooters.

Originally they were situated parallel with the outer boundary fence, but later on were moved inwards to the apex of the blind corner in order to try to slow the faster cyclists down.

The barriers, which are approximately 1 metre wide by 90cms high, were placed 1 metre apart.

Recently, presumably to conform to new regulations, the inner one has been moved and placed 2.3 metres [the recommended gap is 3 metres?] to the east of what was the outer one.

This has had the effect of both moving the barriers away from the bend and also allowing some cyclists to proceed through them at higher speeds as there is now minimal overlap between the barriers. This new configuration further results in cyclists entering the estate meeting head on any pedestrians leaving the estate on their left hand side of the path, that is on the inner side of the bend rather than the outer as previously? There is also now nothing to stop rogue motorcyclists gaining access to the estate via this footpath?

A 19 second YouTube video of a responsible family group of cyclists negotiating the barriers may be viewed here.

My view is that, whilst this modification may have improved access for tandems, bicycles with trailers, tricycles, wheelchairs and mobility scooters, it has increased the risk to pedestrians. Indeed, one female local resident has been in a collision with a speeding BMX that left her with a bruised back.

As the footpath is only a metre wide through the barriers and approximately 2 metres wide overall it provides little room for mixed pedestrian / bicycle etc access? It would seem, therefore, that a re-think is required here to determine the optimal way in which safe shared use can be achieved?

Additionally, the kerb on the pathway from The Paddockholm has been dropped.

However, the re-laid kerb stones have not been grouted with cement mortar and the lawn edges left exposed are liable to break down?

Also, the tarmac that has been laid does not appear to be of a high standard, and does not match the existing surfacing material used?

Meeting the ambulance train.

Nurses at Huddersfield station in November 1917. In the First World War more than a million casualties were loaded on to thousands of trains in Dover. This image is part of the National Railway Museum archive in York. "The Times" 17-04-2014

Some of the nurses appear to be holding charity collection tins? American and British flags are also displayed? The USA had entered WW1 in April 1917.

Hello world!

Watch this space!