The petition calling for an independent study on CCWEL’s impact on Roseburn air pollution will be heard at the Council Transport Committee on 12th Sept 10am. There will be a rally at 9.15am on the day at the City Chambers – please bring a placard, or we’ll give you one. George Rendall of Art et Facts, who lodged the petition will be addressing the committee- please come and show your support. The petition is now closed- see it here. It received a whopping 32 (Business) and 296 (individual) signatures.
The Council is certainly rattled by the petition. On the 17th July it invited a few reps from Murrayfield Community Council (I am on that Council) and the shops to Council HQ (including George) to discuss their “Roseburn Terrace Traffic Management” CCWEL paper. I have uploaded it to my website, see it here. At the meeting, the Council officers said:
We have carried out EnViVer emissions modelling, looking at the impact of the CCWEL proposals on emissions within Roseburn Terrace and this has predicted a 9% drop in overall emissions produced on Roseburn Terrace as a result of the CCWEL project.
This is due to the reduction in capacity at the junction with Roseburn Street due to the introduction of the new Pedestrian Crossings, and consequent ‘holding back’ of traffic outwith the Roseburn Terrace Canyon (primarily on Roseburn Street and Russell Road).
This is also aided by the synchronising of the Pedestrian Crossing at Murrayfield Bar, and the traffic lights at the Roseburn Street junction.
We were incredulous at their claim there was to be a drop in pollution. A few days later we met with our retired SEPA expert, John Lamb, who’d been on holiday. He pointed out that the Council were trying to pull the wool over our eyes. The EnViVer emissions modelling was one which measured the output of the car exhausts and was based on the assumption that 9% of car drivers would now be cycling (or possibly so fed up with Roseburn congestion that they took a detour!) and with 9% fewer cars there would be 9% less pollution. Putting aside the untested claim of so many converts to cycling, the EnViVer emissions modelling takes no account of the Roseburn canyon, where the pollution is always 30% higher on the south side and will get higher still with the parking removed. The Council claims their model captures “platooning strategies” where they claim cars will move “in platoons”, whereas the ADMS dispersion modelling does not. This is laughable, because the Council and the Government uses ADMS everywhere in Edinburgh and other Scottish cities. Essentially the Council officers are out to both fool us and the Councillors. We wrote to them on the 24th July seeking a meeting with our ex-SEPA man to point this out and suddenly they all went on holiday. They are trying to avoid meeting us. What we do know is that they will peddle this nonsense to the Councillors on the 12th September in doing their best to refuse a study. If previous form is anything to go by, Cllr Lesley Macinnes will then dismiss our petition.
Our only chance to prevent this is by writing to councillors now, pointing out the flaws in the Council officers case. Please click on this link, which will generate an email to the Committee Chair, Cllr Lesley Macinnes and her Deputy Karen Doran, with copies to the three Roseburn Cllrs
It is the only way we can fight back against the threat to Roseburn’s health the cycle track will bring. Rather than a 9% reduction, we foresee a possible 19% increase, based on a Dundee comparison. That would take pollution there to 19% MORE than the legal maximum.
Best wishes
Pete Gregson
www.kidsnotsuits.com/roseburnvisionwww.kidsnotsuits.com/roseburnvision