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Traders meet trams chief to stress losses

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Published Date: 14 February 2008
THE chairman of tram firm Tie has met with traders on Leith Walk to address concerns about the disruption caused by the £498 million scheme.
The meeting with Willie Gallagher took place at Tony Crolla's Vittoria Restaurant.

Mr Crolla was one of dozens of traders who last week claimed they are losing thousands of pounds a week because customers are being put off by the disruption caused by the trams work.

Mr Gallagher said the meeting was "very positive" and both sides agreed to work together to ensure the public knew Leith Walk was still open for business.

He added: "Mr Crolla and his colleagues agreed that now is the time to talk up the businesses on Leith Walk and not talk them down.

"Constructive collaboration and open and honest exchange is the way forward. Together, I'm sure, we can meet our collective aims.

"After last week's reports, I was keen to sit down with Mr Crolla and hear his experiences and the experiences of other businesses in Leith Walk at first hand."





The full article contains 180 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 14 February 2008 11:14 AM
  • Source: Edinburgh Evening News
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: Transport , Transport policy
 
1

The_Doctor,

In a hole 14/02/2008 12:34:32
Interesting sight seen by me on way to work yesterday: busload of Japanese tourists alighting in Charlotte Square, then pointing and asking their guide what all the roadworks were about.

Guide: "The Council are building a new tramline".

Tourist (in perfect English): "Ahhh, good idea. Underground?"

Guide: "No, overground".

Tourists all stop and look at each other in disbelief.

Tourist: "But....WHY would anyone do THAT?!?"

From the mouths of babes and Japanese tourists....
2

Mallory,

Edinburgh 14/02/2008 13:07:42
Who paid for the Crolla food and drink?
3

alex paterson,

embra 14/02/2008 13:08:53
Close all the shops and turn them into student flat lets,the trams must get through,TIE Rules.
4

,

14/02/2008 16:25:35
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason:
5

OnTrack,

Leith 15/02/2008 09:46:52
Hmm.. Why *WOULD* anyone do that...

Let's think... it costs TEN TIMES MORE PER METRE to build underground...

I'm sure the daily complainers would have a field day if we were discussing a five billion pound transport scheme? Why on earth do people keep making this point?? Trams are almost as fast/efficient as an underground...but at a fraction of the cost. You can't criticise the tram scheme on price, then propose a humongously more expensive option...it's lunacy.

While we're at it, I have another bugbear.... someone needs to talk to Lothian Buses about how soon they will run out of capacity for new passengers.

LB are on board with the Tram Scheme because putting more buses into Edinburgh is not an option. Talk to someone there about it if you find this inconceivable... but stop writing in to tell everyone how more buses are the answer... THE BUS COMPANY DOESN'T AGREE WITH YOU!n Or you could spend a few hundred million filling in a bit of Princes Street Gardens and widening the street for extra bus lanes. Fairly sure it'll cost more than the tram though... and heavens forbid we'd have to move the Scott monument.

If an underground is what you want... speak up soon... and find that pair of trousers with the really deep pockets.
6

GraemeH,

Edinburgh 15/02/2008 12:28:34
#6 - You are wrong. Lothian Buses said that it could cope with planned increases in Edinburgh's population without trams.

Simple reorganisations, such as not running virtually every service along Princes Street, removing every other stop to speed up joureny times (some are little more than 100m apart in places) and putting double deckers in place of single deckers on some routes would make a huge difference for a miniscule amount of what is being wasted on the vanity tram.
7

Daveronimo,

Leith Walk 20/02/2008 16:37:00
I think you'll find that not all the parking is permitted round here, that's what's affecting many businesses here. There are 60 minute bays which are very difficult to get to now. But this isn't the only issue, the fences around Vittoria's are very offputting and as such I certainly would choose somewhere else. This is unfortunate as I really like Vittoria's.

Anyway, I think we can stop arguing about whether the trams are right or wrong. They're coming, the real issue is how we minimise their effects over the next few years of work... This will bring some businesses to their knees, some can weather the storm, some can't, some will move. This is going to take a long time, how can these works be reduced to help Leith Walk traders?

 

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