The Spokes Spring public meeting will take place on Thursday 18 March 2021 and registration for the online event is open now.
The topic for discussion will be Spaces For People – the Future
Like many other councils in the UK, The City of Edinburgh Council has introduced a wide range of Spaces for People schemes, using the government funding provided for that purpose.
The meeting organised by Spokes, the Lothian cycle campaign group, will ask: Should they, can they, will they, be made permanent?
Measures in Edinburgh have included town centre footway widenings, 40km of semi-segregated main road cycle lanes, and school street safety measures at 80 schools – from expanded footways to road closures. These projects aim to make it easier to practice social distancing, and so free up space on buses as a result of modal shift. This means that those who can will transfer to bike for example. The measures also enable safer outdoor exercise.
The schemes also contribute substantially to council and government objectives on climate, physical activity, congestion, etc; and so the Council, encouraged by government, is consulting on whether to make them permanent once the pandemic is over.
The council says that improvements based on experience as well as on full consultations would be incorporated as the permanent infrastructure was developed.
Speakers
- Transport Convener Cllr Lesley Macinnes and Edinburgh Council officer Phil Noble will enlarge on the consultation
- Three Spokes people from across the city will give 5-minute views on Spaces for People
- Jocelyn Dellar – from Spokes Porty
- Claire Connachan – from Corstorphine
- Ewen Maclean – from Blackford Safe Routes
- A 45-minute QA will be chaired by Dr Caroline Brown of The Urban Institute, Heriot-Watt University
Sign up here
Date/Time: Thursday 18 March, 7.30-9.15
Place: Register in advance here
Twitter hashtag: #SpokesMtg
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
