If you live in North Edinburgh then you are invited to add your ideas to the North Edinburgh Active Travel Connections scheme.
This includes proposals to make more room for walking cycling and wheeling as well as improving public areas and green spaces. There is a dedicated Commonplace map which will be used to help identify existing problem areas and highlight the places it would be good to have more pedestrian crossings, green spaces or other improvements.
This is a key project which the council will use to make changes to Pennywell Road and the surrounding area. This could mean changes for pupils at Craigroyston Community High School as well as Craigroyston Primary, Oakland Special School and Forthview Primary.
This will also tie in with the new civic centre now being planned at the former Muirhouse Shopping Centre.
Transport and Environment Convener Councillor Lesley Macinnes said:“This project will create a much more welcoming, relaxed environment for those travelling on foot, bike or wheelchair. We’ve already seen how temporary Spaces for People initiatives across the city have encouraged people to walk, wheel or cycle and we want to see this happen long-term, with the associated benefits to health and the environment.
“Of course, we want any changes to work for all the people who live and spend time in this area, which is why we want to hear what they think and where improvements can be made. By sharing their thoughts and ideas they can help shape the final design, which will make travel to nearby schools, shops and local areas much easier and safer for pedestrians and cyclists.”
Interim Head of Infrastructure Delivery for Sustrans Scotland, Chiquita Elvin, said: “Despite being close to existing walking, cycling and wheeling routes, such as the North Edinburgh Path Network, it can be challenging to access them for Muirhouse and Pilton due to the volume of traffic and the focus on roads in the original design of the area.
“We want the local community to tell us how we can make walking, cycling and wheeling easier for them, be that with new path connections, wider pavements, dedicated space for cycling or new crossings. These changes have the potential to transform how people get around North Edinburgh and every opinion matters.”
neatconnections.commonplace.is
In addition to the Commonplace website anyone can leave their feedback on maps displayed in the North Edinburgh Arts centre café.
NEAT Connections has been funded through Sustrans’ Scotland’s Places for Everyone programme, with support from Transport Scotland.
Separate temporary measures to make cycling safer and easier on Pennywell Road, Muirhouse Parkway and Ferry Road are currently in place and have been implemented through the Spaces for People programme.
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