The newest Quiet Route is being introduced on a temporary basis under the Spaces for People programme, but it is one where there has been a huge desire for change.
It is designed to make walking, wheeling and cycling to several schools in the area much safer, and it will also create a protected link from the city centre to Astley Ainslie Hospital.
The route is created with what are called ‘modal filters’ (these will eventually be planters) which restrict vehicular access, while allowing bikes and those on scooters or in wheelchairs to pass through. The scheme was approved by the council in November last year and is now marked out on the roads with traffic cones which we understand will be replaced by planters soon.
Lothian Buses, community councils, SPOKES the Lothian cycling campaign and Living Streets have all been consulted on the new route.
The Greenbank to the Meadows Quiet Route is now operational and it will be of great benefit to school children when travelling to and from school, as well as others who live in the area.
The Bike Bus to James Gillespie’s which took place each month in the last few years might now become more of a daily occurrence owing to the measures. This is a cycling initiative organised by Blackford Safe Routes and involves adults on bikes supervising the children who wanted to cycle or scoot to school along a certain route at an organised time. The council assisted by having someone in place to ensure that traffic signals turned green for the Bike Bus approaching. The council’s Transport and Environment Committee expressed their support for bike buses at their meeting at the end of February last year when Ewen Maclean of Blackford Safe Routes delivered a presentation to councillors on the benefits of such schemes. There are several in the city, but this one is a route well known to councillors and transport officers. Without the emergency Covid-19 powers, it is still a move which could have taken years to implement under the current legislative structure.
A spokesperson for Blackford Safe Routes told The Edinburgh Reporter: “This Quiet Route will enormously benefit everyone in our community, giving safer travel options at a time when they are most needed. Schemes such as these give the opportunity for reduction of traffic volume which is key to easing congestion and pollution. The route directly benefits thousands of school children, but also enhances the community by introducing places where people can travel and exercise safely and maintain social distancing which is so important. We very much look forward to the introduction of planters, which we hope will arrive soon.”
Blackford Safe Routes were out testing the new route on Whitehouse Loan as soon as it was created – even though it was sleeting.
The schools which will be able to use the Quiet Route include South Morningside Primary School, St Peter’s RC Primary School, James Gillespie’s Primary and High Schools, Bruntsfield Primary School, Boroughmuir High School and Edinburgh Steiner School.
The changes to the road layout will mean that vehicles can no longer use Canaan Lane north of the Astley Ainslie hospital access, Whitehouse Loan south of the Strathearn Road junction and immediately south of the Warrender Park Road junction.
Transport and Environment Convener Cllr Lesley Macinnes said: “This is an extremely popular walking and cycling route, in particular for the many children and families travelling on foot, bike or wheelchair to the local primary and high schools, so it makes absolute sense to make these improvements.
“We’ve heard from residents, parents and school pupils about pinch points and traffic volumes, especially as people try to physically distance, and they’ve been extremely supportive of proposals to limit motor vehicles there. Not only will this provide a safer, more relaxed route once schools return but it will connect with our existing active travel network at the Meadows, and on to the city centre via the pop-up cycle lanes introduced through Spaces for People.”
Transport and Environment Vice Convener, Cllr Karen Doran, said: “It is our duty to protect the health and safety of Edinburgh’s children and families and these changes are about providing protected routes for people taking daily exercise and making essential journeys to local schools, when they reopen.
“Once in place we will closely monitor this scheme, as we have done with all Spaces for People measures, making tweaks where necessary.”
This is one of the measures introduced by the council under the Spaces for People programme funded by The Scottish Government and implemented by Sustrans Scotland. The funding of over £5 million was provided to create space for exercise and safe travel. In accordance with government and council transport policies, there is to be a consultation on making at least some of the Spaces for People measures into permanent ones.
There are already Quiet Routes in the city. You can download a map of these from the council website here.
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