Our Future Streets

Edinburgh Evening News

A detailed look at Edinburgh's plans to ban through traffic from certain key roads in the city centre

Transcript

00:00 Edinburgh is a busy city with a fast-growing population and according to the council, unless

00:06 something is done, that will mean more congestion, more harmful emissions and streets even more

00:12 dominated by cars.

00:16 Edinburgh has the twin targets of becoming a net zero city and also cutting car use by

00:21 30%, both by 2030.

00:25 So the council is proposing to close a number of key roads in the city centre to through

00:32 traffic, as outlined in a recently published blueprint entitled 'Our Future Streets'.

00:39 Under the plans, the North and South Bridges corridor, one of the main north-south routes

00:43 across the city, would see general traffic planned except for local access.

00:48 The council has highlighted busy pavements in South Bridge and says removing traffic

00:53 will help bus journey times as well as being better for pedestrians and cyclists.

00:59 In the longer term, the bridges will become the route of the tram line from Brampton to

01:04 the Royal Infirmary.

01:06 The Mound, another key north-south route, is also due to see general traffic banned

01:16 with a bus gate at Market Street at the top of the Mound.

01:20 But unlike the bridges, the changes at the Mound are not expected to improve bus journey

01:25 times, partly because new traffic lights at Chambers Street will cause a delay.

01:30 Lothian Road will be left as the one main north-south route across the city, but the

01:39 closure of the Mound and the bridges will mean even more traffic being piled onto this

01:44 already busy road.

01:46 Plans to transform it into a tree-lined boulevard will have to be rethought.

01:51 The council acknowledges that the ban on through traffic elsewhere will mean more spaces needed

01:56 for buses and general traffic on Lothian Road, but insists improvements can still be made

02:02 for pedestrians and cyclists.

02:04 However, bus passengers should be warned.

02:07 The extra traffic could mean delays for them of up to eight minutes.

02:13 One of the first roads which will be affected by the new blueprint is the Cowgate.

02:22 Because of its narrow pavements, the street is already closed between 10pm and 5am for

02:28 pedestrian safety, and now through traffic will be banned altogether.

02:32 An experimental closure is expected to be introduced sometime this year.

02:39 The nearby grass market will become a pedestrian priority area with no through traffic.

02:48 The local access will be maintained.

02:51 And colourful and quirky Victoria Street, already a pedestrian priority area, will remain

03:01 closed and become part of a core area in the city centre with no or very limited traffic.

03:08 Coburn Street, also largely closed since the start of the pandemic, will also see the closure

03:18 made permanent.

03:20 The council says the absence of through traffic enhances the quality of Edinburgh's historic places.

03:27 Waverley Bridge, already closed to through traffic, will have the closure made permanent.

03:40 Market Street will close to general traffic under North Bridge.

03:54 But access to Waverley Station will be maintained.

03:58 The Canning Gate will be closed to through traffic too, ending the through route from

04:05 New Street and East Market Street up Geoffrey Street to the Canning Gate.

04:10 The council says expansion of the Royal Mile pedestrian zone will create improved walking

04:15 opportunities in an area which already has high footfall for residents and tourists.

04:22 It suggests bus access would be maintained and there would be early morning delivery times.

04:29 A car ban in Holyrood Park already features in the vision statement published last year

04:41 by Historic Environment Scotland which manages the park.

04:45 The council broadly backs that ambition with its proposal from Visage Keeping Open, a route

04:51 from Holyrood Road along Holyrood Gate, that's the road between the old Scotsman building

04:57 and Dynamic Her.

04:59 Then along Queen's Drive through the park.

05:04 And down Horsewind between the Palace and the Parliament, towards the foot of the Royal Mile.

05:14 So that's an ambitious package, but Transport Convener Scott Arthur and his colleagues at

05:20 the City Chambers don't want to hang about.

05:23 There was talk of introducing everything in one big bang over a single weekend next year.

05:28 It now looks as if there might be a slightly more cautious approach, but Councillor Arthur

05:32 says these changes will come into effect in weeks or months rather than years.

05:38 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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