Mon the trams!!!

[Power Lunch Club]

It's all kicking off!

Police called in as traders party for tram hole turns nasty - Edinburgh Evening News

 

[Former Member 1]

I'm planning to get a new AV amp for my surround system....

Made the mistake today of trying to visit a shop in Morrison street that sells home cinema stuff. Couldn't get near the damn place for 'oles in t'road...

I've now given up on the idea and may well wind up ordering one from somewhere in darkest Englandshire.... Edinburgh's a nightmare at the best of times; this is just crippling the place.

 

[Power Lunch Club]

I'm planning to get a new AV amp for my surround system....

Made the mistake today of trying to visit a shop in Morrison street that sells home cinema stuff. Couldn't get near the damn place for 'oles in t'road...

I've now given up on the idea and may well wind up ordering one from somewhere in darkest Englandshire.... Edinburgh's a nightmare at the best of times; this is just crippling the place.

Absolutely....no one has really figured out that if you encourage people into the city centre then they will spend and boost the economy.

This chaos comes on top of a already in existance traffic policy that has driven (excuse the pun) cars to the outskirts of the city. This along with high carparking charges, just don't encourage people to come to the city centre. Admittedly is may be difficult to put more carparks in the city.

Glasgow is well serviced with good carparks and its always a pleasure to do shopping there....so come on Edinburgh, once the trams are in place, what are you going to do, to encourage business to the centre?

Also witht the issue of the trams, the shopkeepers are suffering and what it boils down to is money. Either more money given as compensastion from TIE (Trams In Edinburgh) to the traders or money injected to TIE to get the job done quicker.

 

[Scottish Business Owner]

Every morning I drive in to work it almost seems as if Edinburgh is in daily grid lock and all you seem to hear is Edinburgh Council blaming TIE and vice versa. Maybe they should stop arguing and focus on finding a solution to what's becoming and ever growing problem.

Lets be honest Glasgow is miles better (bring back memories :thumbup for shopping than Edinburgh ever will be. Most of Edinburgh's good shopping isn't actually in Edinburgh.

 

[Former Member 1]

Absolutely....no one has really figured out that if you encourage people into the city centre then they will spend and boost the economy.

Well the chap in this particular shop saved the day... Bent over backwards when I phoned up again to see if he'd do one mail order. Gave me chapter and verse on how to circumvent the chaos and took £50 off the price of the Amp...

And if anyone's looking for a decent telly or HiFi kit I can highly recommend giving Gerry Madden at The Home Cinema Centre a call.

But much as the excellent service is to Gerry's immense credit it's completely unacceptable that the traders are having to live like this. Despite living only a few miles outside the city If I want shopping I generally drive the 40 miles to Glasgow. OK, as a native Weegie I have to say Glasgow's miles better :sneaky2: But really the Capital is not without a certain charm; save for the fact it's basically shut!

 

[Scottish Business Owner]

I hope my post wasn't coming accross as Anti-Edinburgh, I think it's a fantastic city as long as you dont take the car :w00t:

Both Gordon and Matt hit the nail on the head it's the traders that are suffering the most and I really have to wonder whether the introduction of the trams will be of that much benefit to these same traders.

This could be an incredibly huge waste of public money but then again it'll not be the first time :confused1:

 

[stugster]

I'm sure an Aquarium on Leith Walk has since shut down because of the trams disrupting their business.

 

[Former Member 1]

I hope my post wasn't coming accross as Anti-Edinburgh, I think it's a fantastic city as long as you dont take the car :w00t:

I think anyone who seriously regards the Glasgow-Edinburgh 'divide' as anything other that a bit o' banter is barking. Doesn't apply to anyone here I'm sure. Scotland's a great country with great towns and cities.

It's just that Glasgow is best

This could be an incredibly huge waste of public money but then again it'll not be the first time :confused1:

It IS a huge waste of money. But then it's not about benefiting the city. It's about massaging the egos of 'empire builders' who lack the mallum to create anything for themselves and build their empires by leeching off the public purse.

 

[Power Lunch Club]

Think about the big shopping complexes, like The Gyle, Fort Kinnaird, Braehead...and many more.

Brilliant places to shop and free parking, a pleasure to use....not like going to the city centre; expensive and sometime time limited parking, where is the encouragement in that to shop in the centre of town.

 

[Gordon N]

I really miss Edinburgh, and there was one thing stopping me moving back until now (house prices!) - now there's two!

I have to say that although Edinburgh is my home town, I used to travel to and from Glasgow on a daily basis to meet with clients and liked it just as much, except for getting on/off the M8. Glasgow has a very different personality to Edinburgh, I always take any East/West banter with a pinch of salt!

Up north I have to say that I find Aberdeen to be a bit of an 'Edinburgh' now, limited and expensive parking, and gridlocked traffic during peak times. I am a big fan of Inverness, its closer to me for a start, parking is comparatively cheap, good choice of shops and restaraunts etc, and it is growing 'the right way' very quickly. So if any of you southerners fancy a weekend with a more steady pace, I would recommend you forget the trams and put up with the A9 for a couple of hours! Come and discover what fresh air really smells like, and have a chuckle at the local accents! :tongue_smilie:

Regards,

Gordon

 

[Former Member 1]

Think about the big shopping complexes, like The Gyle, Fort Kinnaird, Braehead...and many more.

Brilliant places to shop and free parking, a pleasure to use....not like going to the city centre; expensive and sometime time limited parking, where is the encouragement in that to shop in the centre of town.

It depends what you're looking for Gordon...

We have a fairly large shopping complex near here in Livingston.

Yet you'll struggle to buy a set of Guitar strings, knitting needles, art supplies, any kind of decent Hi Fi equipment, a good watch, a good briefcase, a refill for a Mont Blanc pen or a decent jacket. Just a few of the items someone in my house hold has sought over the past month or so and NOT been able to purchase locally.....

The same is pretty much true of all the big centres. They're clones of each other, dominated by the same big chains punting the same dreary old chav tat. And the small independents have little hope of making a mark in these places.

Personally I find these places mind-numbingly restrictive places to shop. They serve a purpose, but they have no soul. And that soul can only really be satisfied by supporting the high street specialist. Don't get me wrong; I've no objection per se to these big centres. But the small businessman on the high street suffers from their presence; and if that body-blow weren't trial enough it seems that our city authorities are only too ready to stick the boot in to our already winded colleagues.

There IS no encouragement to go into town. But ultimately where does that leave our towns and cities? Commercial wastelands?

 

[Power Lunch Club]

Contract row derails tram project

Just a day before the shutdown of Princess Street for a whole year.....the contrators and the project managers fall out.

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Edinburgh, East and Fife | Contract row derails tram project

Talk about 'Carry On Trams'.

 

[stugster]

You can be sure of one thing: Edinburgh Cooncil will muck it up

Fair play that on this occasion it's not really their fault. I expect this disagreement to be resolved quickly. Hands up who thinks it wont be?