The City of Edinburgh Council will reopen Braid Road to vehicles from Monday.

The road has been closed for a year to vehicular traffic and now it will be opened one-way to southbound traffic with segregated cycleways in place. This move was approved by the council in January, but it has taken until now to finalise traffic calming around Midmar Drive to manage any traffic, and also to protect the Meadows to Greenbank Quiet Route.

The council closed the road to allow space for people to exercise and go to and from the Hermitage of Braid. The design has now been amended and will reduce any impact on the southbound bus routes on Comiston Road, now that traffic levels have increased again.

There will be no entry onto Braid Crescent from Comiston Road and diagonal filters at the junction of Braid Road and Hermitage Drive, the junction of Hermitage Gardens and Cluny Drive and the junction of Braid Avenue and Cluny Drive.

Braid Road. Photo: Martin P. McAdam www.martinmcadam.com

Councillor Karen Doran, Transport and Environment Vice Convener, said: “We first introduced the closure of Braid Road to help people exercise and travel safely by foot, bike or wheelchair back in the early days of lockdown, when walking and cycling surged. 

“We’ve had some great feedback from the many families and individuals who have enjoyed using the route since then, but we’re also aware that, as traffic levels begin to rise, there has been an impact on neighbouring streets.

“Thanks to our ‘try then modify’ approach, we’ve been able to tweak the design, as well as introducing traffic-calming measures on nearby streets, helping to alleviate pressure on surrounding areas while also continuing to provide a protected space for all those walking, cycling and wheeling here.”

The council reports that recent workshops with local stakeholders, including ward councillors, community councils and the emergency services have helped them make changes to the scheme to meet issues which were highlighted to them.

Additional changes include retaining two-way traffic on Braid Road between Braid Hills Drive and the main entrance to the Braid Hills Hotel, closing the southbound ‘slip road’ between Braid Road and Hermitage Drive to discourage southbound journeys from the Morningside Clock and pavement-widening at the south-east side of the junction of Braid Road and Hermitage Drive.

The council is now making the changes, and plan to reopen Braid Road to southbound traffic by Monday, 19 April. Once in place, there will be ongoing monitoring of the new layout making any further amendments where necessary.

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