It was only yesterday that the £10 million scheme for pop up spaces for walking and cycling was announced by Transport Minister, Michael Matheson.
Today the Transport Convener, Cllr Lesley Macinnes announced on Twitter that the first three road closures will take place by this weekend at Silverknowes Road which will be closed tomorrow 30 April 2020, and Braid Road and Links Gardens which will be closed by Sunday. The idea is to give more space for exercise and access.
Next week more measures will be announced to widen pavements and form segregated cycle lanes and further measures will be discussed at the May Policy and Sustainability Committee. Then there should be both emergency short term measures discussed, and also some progress on the active travel projects already underway in Edinburgh.
1. Hot on heels of yesterday’s key announcement by @MathesonMichael encouraging LA action to implement immediate Active Travel measures & help support effective physical distancing, I am very happy to say the @Edinburgh_CC is implementing 3 fast schemes by this Sunday. These…👇
— CllrLesleyMacinnes (@lmacinnessnp) April 29, 2020
This makes The City of Edinburgh Council one of the first in the UK to introduce such measures, helping cyclists and pedestrians observe social distancing.
The council says that immediate moves will tackle ares highlighted as pinch points for pedestrians and cyclists. They will include some lane closures and temporary cycle lanes. The Council Leader mentioned last week on our podcast that Nicolson Street is one such place where changes will be necessary.
In his announcement yesterday the Transport Secretary made it clear that during this emergency, local authorities will be able to bypass normal rules about Traffic Regulation Orders, which can take years to put in place.
Council Leader Adam McVey said: “The way we move around the city has changed significantly over recent weeks and it’s clear that we need to respond to this. We’ve been working closely with the Scottish Government to develop measures to help pedestrians and cyclists travel safely while remaining socially distant, so we’re delighted that Transport Scotland has confirmed funding to support local authorities to meet this challenge.
“Our commitment to encouraging and facilitating safer, more convenient walking and cycling in Edinburgh remains as strong as ever. We want to ensure that our city can support essential journeys and let local people access their local open spaces by creating safe, accessible routes to do so.”
Depute Leader Cammy Day said: “As we plan for the city’s recovery, we must consider ways in which we can help people make daily journeys while limiting the potential impact of coronavirus, and maintaining physical distancing is essential to this.
“We’re going to be making changes around the city over the coming weeks to achieve this, as well as progressing plans to further improve infrastructure as we emerge from the crisis.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
