Roadworks

Admin wrote:

This morning I was heading past the Sheriffhall roundabout towards Asda. The tailback of traffic coming in the opposite direction was horrendous. It stretched from the A720 all the way to Sherrifhall roundabout

I don't know if it's the fact that the work is completed, or nearly so - or just that so many people are currently trying to avoid Sherrif Hall - but I had to go to Leith via Sherrif Hall today, and the experience was (for the first time ever) entirely painless.

They've made some changes to the lanes, and that was a bit confusing. Otherwise, however, I breezed through in both directions.

Thanks, that's good to know as I have to go down to Portobello tomorrow.

So how did you find it?

I had to go to Fort Kinnaird yesterday. Same story as last time. No queues at Sheriff Hall. I had to stop at the lights but only once each way. None of the okd Sheriff Hall Shuffle - Stop, move forward a few feet, stop, another few feet, stop...... and so on.

The big test would be to try it during the rush hour, I suppose, but I honestly think they have really managed to improve traffic flow by adding one more lane each way.

Well, it was the same for me. The roads did not seem terribly busy and I almost sailed right through

Now well into October and still no sign of them finishing off the "road improvements" at IKEA! Whenever I go past there they do seem to be working (if anyone is there) but never actually accomplish anything so the next time you pass it still looks pretty much the same.
I wonder if they take bets on how long the work will take?

I have to look at these nearly every day http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=28g2tpI4aew&NR=1

Wow! The junction at IKEA is finally open after all this time...........BUT the bus lanes are obviously not legal yet as they have painted over all the signs!
Oh well, I suppose the whole thing was designed to be "bus priority measures" (if you can remember that far back) so we cannot expect them to have sorted that bit of the project out yet.

The bus lane after the traffic lights heading towards Straiton is a bit dodgy. If the buses use it, they will have to make sure they move over to the outside lane in good time as it seems to end very abruptly.

I'm afraid it looks like the fun and games with roadworks in Edinburgh is set to become worse http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/latestnews/Strife-in-the-slow-lane.4737164.jp

and Mauricewood road will be closed at the top end over this weekend (29th and 30th November) while they install the new water mains.
Still no sign of anything at all happening in Roslin Glen - perhaps they hope that everyone will forget about it!

Anyone know what the problem is at the new traffic lights at the Ikea entrance road junction? This road has only just been laid and it's being dug up again!! This place is totally crazy! Anyone else notice that the sequence of the traffic lights at the Park & Ride is crap.... they don't give traffic on the dual carriageway any priority...you only get into 2nd and they change again. Then you are stopped at the next set, then the next set! The highways planning department need to be taken outside and....well....whatever!!

Maybe it is all part of Broon's "100,000" jobs creation scheme! The whole project has been a mess since they started back in 2007 with no sign of it being completed yet.
I definitely agree with you about the multitude of traffic lights at Straiton - bet the Traffic Light salesman got a nice bonus / commission for that lot

What really annoys me is when the lights change for no good reason. They change to red as you approach and then there is no traffic coming from the side roads

Two items I have spotted recently regarding those great "bus lanes" on the A701:
1: In the Town Crier it was warning that they will come into effect in March so you could get into trouble for driving in them during the times they are in operation (7.30am to 9.30am then 4pm to 6pm if I remember correctly)
2: Article and letter in the Advertiser complaining about the dangers with people undertaking in the bus lanes and the silly short sections at Ikea and Bilston.
The normal response from the cooncil as usual - nothing wrong and it will make things better for everyone!

I honestly cannot understand the point of the 6 or 7 foot stretch just past the traffic lights near the old Dansco dairy However, I wish that more people would use the bus lanes outside of the times when they are in operation. That way there would be less problems with the people who are 'undertaking' as they are not doing anything wrong.

I always use the bus lane when heading out of Penicuik, it's amazing though how many folk even driving slow moving vehicles just head to the outside lane. Anyhow reading the Advertiser the attitude of our caring loving council would appear to be, the changes have been made, you weren't asked about them and we'll just do as we please! The lights at Milton Bridge are the only bit of the road that actually make sense

I was disappointed to learn from Ian Baxter's letter to the Advertiser that the bus tracking system is not to be extended at the moment How come money can be found for bus lanes on the A701 that nobody needs but it can't be found for something that most bus users would find useful?

I think you have the answer right there in your post Andy! Bustrackers would be USEFUL for the travellers (unlike the bus lanes and traffic lights) so we are NOT going to get them. Maybe we should start a campaign against them then the cooncil will force us to take them

CONFUSED.COM

The cooncil tell us they don't have the money to spare to expand the Bustracker signs out here and then today I see that they have put some of them up at Bilston! Just what is going on???

Signs have appeared all over the place, like you say Bilston and I've seen them in Penicuik and heard they are in Roslin. I can only assume when they said there was no money left, what they mean't was the stops where they had started the work i.e. installed the poles would be completed but beyond that no new signs would be erected.

Saw the bustrackers today in the centre of Penicuik and at Tesco - and they are working too!!!

I expected a big fanfare about them, no doubt there will be pics of the Provost standing next to them in the press very soon

You can identify your local bus stop by its code number and access bus tracker online at
http://www.mybustracker.co.uk/display.php?clientType=b&busStopCode=[insert the bus stop code here] It's useful if you live 2 minutes walk away and the snow is coming down like .......