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Pedestrian Crossing of Hope St

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Dear Edinburgh Council,

In lieu of any meainingful response to my past queiries (first raised 6 weeks ago) I’m now lodging this as a public FOI resquest. Also note I have had zero response from any of the coucillors I’ve raised this with.

Regarding the reopening of Hope Street, Edinburgh to two way traffic referred to in the report “Post Tram City Centre Review – West End” to the Transport and Environment Committee, 26 August 2014.

• Can you please confirm why the council has failed in its commitment to provide a controlled pedestrian crossing of Hope Street?
• Can you please confirm who made the decision not to be install this crossing prior to the amendment to the TRO being made.
• Can you please provide any road safety audits and risk assessments carried in the vicinity of Hope Street and the junctions of Hope Street, Princes Street/Shandwick Place and Queensferry Street in the past 12 years.
• Can you please provide me with accident data held for the above locations, over the same time period.
• Can you please provide me copies of the design drawings produced that show the current setup of Hope Street and the junction with Queensferry St including the pavement, tactiles, signs and signals – confirming who signed off these designs and under what authority.
• Can you confirm when the TRO was made, when the current tactile paving was installed and when the signage was installed to make this road two way.

The reason for my request is that I have, over a period of time, witnessed a number of near misses at this junction as pedestrians are encoraged to cross the road when they have no visibility of oncomming traffic and traffic could be coming from either direction in the same lane.

I’d be surprised If there are no recorded serious accidents at this location to date, however it must only be a matter of time.

I’d be interested to see who is to blame for going against the proposals put to committee, particularly related to a safety critical situation.

__________

I include for reference my previous communications on this matter which before now have been via twitter.

Me - 8:55 a.m. - 5 Oct 2015
When is the pedestrian crossing of Hope Street to be installed as promised? @Edinburgh_CC @EdinburghTrams http://t.co/WaczbpwsM0

Me - 6:40 a.m. - 9 Oct 2015
Should I expect a response any time soon, @edinburgh_cc ?

Edinburgh Council - 6:56 a.m. - 9 Oct 2015
@edinburgh_james @CityCentreLeith Can you respond please, Thanks

CityCentreLeith Team - 8:05 a.m. - 9 Oct 2015
@Edinburgh_CC @edinburgh_james We will make enquiries from our Tram Team. ^A

Me - 3:26 p.m. - 31 Oct 2015
@jomowat @KarenDoran3 @lahinds - Any comment on lack of action on this road safety issue, or the lack of response from @Edinburgh_CC

Me - 4:21 a.m. - 8 Nov 2015
@edinhelp - How about help with this road safety inquiry?

Edinburgh CC help - 5:29 a.m. - 8 Nov 2015
@edinburgh_james This is not within the remit of the out of hours service James but will pass onto daytime colleagues for response. Thanks

Edinburgh CC help - 5:16 a.m. - 9 Nov 2015
@edinburgh_james Hi @CityCentreLeith Can you look into this please, Thanks ^Li

CityCentreLeith Team - 9:00 a.m. - 9 Nov 2015
@edinhelp @edinburgh_james Hi James - just getting some information on this for you. Will update you asap. ^K

-----------------

Yours faithfully,

James Watson

Freedom of Information, City of Edinburgh Council

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City of Edinburgh Council

Mr James Watson

Date: 17/11/2015

Our ref: 9558

Dear Mr Watson

Acknowledgement of Request

Subject: Pedestrian Crossing of Hope Street

Thank you for your request for information received on 17/11/2015. In your request you asked for the following;

"Regarding the reopening of Hope Street, Edinburgh to two way traffic referred to in the report “Post Tram City Centre Review – West End” to the Transport and Environment Committee, 26 August 2014.

• Can you please confirm why the council has failed in its commitment to provide a controlled pedestrian crossing of Hope Street?
• Can you please confirm who made the decision not to be install this crossing prior to the amendment to the TRO being made.
• Can you please provide any road safety audits and risk assessments carried in the vicinity of Hope Street and the junctions of Hope Street, Princes Street/Shandwick Place and Queensferry Street in the past 12 years.
• Can you please provide me with accident data held for the above locations, over the same time period.
• Can you please provide me copies of the design drawings produced that show the current setup of Hope Street and the junction with Queensferry St including the pavement, tactiles, signs and signals – confirming who signed off these designs and under what authority.
• Can you confirm when the TRO was made, when the current tactile paving was installed and when the signage was installed to make this road two way."

I can confirm that your request will be processed under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, Environmental Information Regulations (Scotland) 2004, or the INSPIRE (Scotland) Regulations 2009.

You will receive the information requested within 20 working days unless the Council does not hold the information, or there is a reason for it to be withheld. We will write to you in any event.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case we will let you know.

If you have any requirements regarding the format any information should be supplied in, e.g. the language to be used, audio, large print and so on, then please let me know.

If you have any queries or concerns, do not hesitate to get in touch. Please quote the reference number above in any future communications.

To promote transparency and accountability, please note it is the Council’s policy to publish all request details and responses made under the freedom of information legislation. This information will be made available through the Council’s website and will not include your personal details. The disclosure log is available at the following link: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/homepage/175....

Further information about your rights and accessing information is available on our website at: www.edinburgh.gov.uk

Yours sincerely,

Information Governance Unit
Level 2:1, Waverley Court, Edinburgh EH8 8BG Tel 0131 200 2340
[Edinburgh City Council request email] www.edinburgh.gov.uk

Information Compliance 2, City of Edinburgh Council

1 Attachment

  • Attachment

    EDIR 9558 Information.zip

    5.5M Download

Mr James  Watson

 

[FOI #302819 email]

 

Our ref: 9558

 

Dear Mr Watson

 

Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 - Partial Release of
Information

 

Subject: Pedestrian Crossing at Hope Street

 

Thank you for your request for information of 17/11/2015 which has been
processed under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004
(EIRs). Unfortunately, the Council is only able to meet part of your
request, this information is released to you now and the details are
provided below.

 

1. Can you please confirm why the council has failed in its commitment to
provide a controlled pedestrian crossing of Hope Street?

 

The report decision states ‘at the point the proposed amendment to the TRO
was made, a pedestrian crossing would be included within the revised
signal design’.  The signal design work is still being undertaken and the
construction work is still to be completed.

 

2. Can you please confirm who made the decision not to install this
crossing prior to the amendment to the TRO being made?

 

There is no commitment in the report to require the Council to install the
crossing prior to the TRO amendment – just to start the design process
when the TRO amendment is made.

 

3. Can you please provide any road safety audits and risk assessments
carried in the vicinity of Hope Street and the junctions of Hope Street,
Princes Street/Shandwick Place and Queensferry Street in the past 12
years.

 

Please find copies of the following attached:

Road Safety Audit Stage 1

Road Safety Audit Stage 2

Road Safety Audit Stage 4

Road Safety Audit Stage 3 is publicly available and can be viewed at the
following link:
[1]https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/site/custom...
 

 

Under the Regulations, a request for information can be refused where one
or more exceptions apply. In this instance, the Council is claiming an
exception under regulation 6 because the Road Safety Audit Stage 3 is
already publicly available and easily accessible.

 

If you do have difficulty in accessing the information or if you have any
queries about this letter please contact me quoting the above reference
number.

 

4. Can you please provide me with accident data held for the above
locations, over the same time period?

 

Please find copies of the following attached:

*EDIR 9558 Hope Street Aggregate reports

*EDIR 9558 Hope Street Collision Plot

*EDIR 9558 Hope Street Aggregate reports

 

*Please also refer to the document: Notes on Accident Data.

 

In addition some accident data is part of the Road Safety Audit Stage 2
document. Information outwith the scope of your request has been redacted.

 

5. Can you please provide me copies of the design drawings produced that
show the current setup of Hope Street and the junction with Queensferry St
including the pavement, tactiles, signs and signals – confirming who
signed off these designs and under what authority.

 

Please see attached two drawings:

RTD-636571-8-1100 Tender

RTD-636571-8-1200 Tender

 

The Head of Service for Transport is John Bury and he has responsibility
for tram works. The work would be approved by the Transport and
Environment Committee.

 

6. Can you confirm when the TRO was made, when the current tactile paving
was installed and when the signage was installed to make this road two
way.

 

The TRO was made on 05 November 2014 with an implementation date of 10
November 2014 when the current tactile paving was installed and when the
signage was installed to make this road two way. The tender for the work
was awarded in April 2015, construction would have been May/June 2015.

 

To promote transparency and accountability, please note it is the
Council’s policy to publish all request details and responses made under
the freedom of information legislation. This information will be made
available through the Council’s website and will not include your personal
details. The disclosure log is available at the following link:
[2]http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/homepage/175....

 

Your right to seek a review

 

I appreciate that our decision may disappoint you and I am sorry that we
have not been able to release all the information you requested on this
occasion. If you are unhappy with the way we have dealt with your request,
you can ask us to review our actions and decisions by writing to the Head
of Legal Risk and Compliance, The City of Edinburgh Council, Waverley
Court Business Centre 2:1, 4, East Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BG or
email: legal.[Edinburgh City Council request email]

 

Please note that your request must be in a recordable format (email,
letter, audio tape etc.), and that you have 40 working days upon receipt
of this letter to ask for a review. You will receive a full response to
your review request within 20 working days of its receipt. Please remember
to quote the above reference number above in any future communications.

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the review, you can ask the
Scottish Information Commissioner to review our decision. You must submit
your complaint to the Commissioner within 6 months of receiving our review
response. The Commissioner can be contacted at:

 

The Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner

Kinburn Castle

Doubledykes Road

St Andrews

Fife

KY16 9DS

Telephone: 01334 464610

Fax: 01334 464611

Website www.itspublicknowledge.info

E-mail: [email address]

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Sue Brown

Information Compliance Officer

 

Information Governance Unit

Level 2:1, Waverley Court, Edinburgh EH8 8BG Tel 0131 200 2340

[Edinburgh City Council request email] www.edinburgh.gov.uk

 

 

 

 

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1. https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/site/custom...
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We don't know whether the most recent response to this request contains information or not – if you are James Watson please sign in and let everyone know.