Wednesday 5 February 2014

Community Spirit Action Group meeting

Earlier tonight,  I attended the February meeting of Community Spirit - the community group for the "north" part of West End Ward, covering Tullideph, Pentland, Ancrum and the Cleghorn area.   The meeting took place in the Mitchell Street Centre.

There was firstly a presentation by George Gammack of Living Streets, on the advantages of 20 mph zones in highly residential areas, an issue I have long campaigned for, particularly in parts of the West End that have very narrow roads, like Logie, the Perth Road lanes, Pentland and Ancrum Drive.

Thereafter, at my request on behalf of residents and with the kind agreement of the Chair of Community Spirit, a representative of the Environment Department spoke to update everyone about the communal 'eurobin' trial in Saggar Street and the intention, in due course, to review the bin collection arrangements in other parts of Pentland, such as Loganlee Terrace.

I am very grateful to the residents who attended (particularly as it has been a miserable, rainy evening!) to give their feedback on the trial.   Loss of parking through placing the bins on the road edge is a clear issue and I have asked that the council look at the viability of placing the bins off the road and, meantime, the department has agreed to ensure the siting of the bins minimises parking loss.   It will also look at changing the bin lids, which are rather heavy, particularly for older residents to use.