Police appeal for help
Parking Consultation – have your say now
Scotrail need new drivers
Balerno Music Festival
Bike Powered Cinema tonight!
Police Scotland is seeking the assistance of the public in an effort to trace a man who carried out a serious sexual assault against a 20-year-old woman at an Edinburgh cemetery on Friday night.
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The public’s views are sought on a raft of measures aimed to help improve parking in Edinburgh.
A public consultation is now under way on the draft Parking Action Plan, which is intended to develop a cohesive vision of parking in Edinburgh, encouraging active travel and supporting the city’s economy while safeguarding residents’ spaces.
Proposals for the plan, approved by the Transport and Environment Committee in August, are based on consultation with the public and take into account the priorities of those living in the city.
Amongst actions suggested are the roll-out of shared-use parking for permit holders and pay and display customers, visitor permits and the introduction of parking restrictions in the evenings and on Sundays.
Transport Convener, Councillor Lesley Hinds, said: “We’ve been evaluating parking in Edinburgh over the last few months, studying the use of city centre parking by residents, shoppers and visitors to see where the most demand for spaces is. We’ve really listened to the public to create the new Parking Action Plan, and have responded to their concerns.
“This is about relieving demand for residents’ parking as well as promoting sustainable travel into the city centre. Our proposals would reduce the negative impact of uncontrolled parking, encouraging parking turnover near local businesses and helping to encourage active travel and use of public transport.
“We want to involve the public in the Parking Action Plan, so I would urge anyone interested to participate in our consultation.”
The draft Parking Action Plan, which affects the Controlled Parking Zone, was drawn up following a series of information gathering exercises, including interviews with drivers and pedestrians, vehicle counts on key streets and internal workshops.
Amongst the findings it was shown that, when parking is uncontrolled on a Sunday, people stay for a long time, reducing the turnover of business for shops, making it harder for residents to find spaces and impacting on traffic. It also indicates that parking pressures in the evenings are similar, if not greater than during the controlled hours.
In addition, of 535 drivers interviewed on a Sunday, 43% said they would travel by public transport, walk or cycle if they were making the same journey during the week, while 42% indicated that free parking was not important to their decision to visit the city centre that day.
The draft plan is now out for consultation, engaging the public, stakeholders and other interested parties. Views gathered will influence the finalised Parking Action Plan, expected to be considered by committee in January 2016.
Participate in the consultation online.
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Scotrail are recruiting 100 new drivers for a year long training programme. We met Phil Verster the Managing Director of Scotrail and he explained why:
The Edinburgh Reporter NEWS Scotrail recruiting 100 new drivers from Phyllis Stephen on Vimeo.
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The eighth Balerno Music Festival runs from 23rd September and features concerts and events for all the family. For adults there is a mix of instrumental, vocal and folk concerts, cabaret, jazz and lots more. Children’s events cover ages three to secondary and some events are free.All venues are held within the Balerno Village.
Read more in our What’s On section today and throughout the week ahead.
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BIKE POWERED CINEMA UNDER THE STARS
Join in under the stars as somebody rides the bike that powers the film (voluntary!) at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. You are asked to please bring warm clothing and waterproofs as rain cover is limited.
Admission via the John Hope Gateway entrance.
Doors and Bar open 19:00
Click here for more information and to book tickets
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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
