Representatives from Murrayfield Community Council handed in a petition to the council today demanding action on rat running.
The document has been signed by more than 100 locals who want traffic calming on Ellersly Road and Kinellan Road.
The petition reads:
“Safety improvements for walkers and wheelers on heavily-trafficked Ellersly Road have been sought by Murrayfield Community Council and others for over ten years. In 2021 traffic data confirmed that both Kinellan Road, a popular high-speed rat-run, and Ellersly Road meet criteria for traffic calming. The 20mph speed limit is not enforced and is respected by only a small minority of drivers. Since 2022 traffic volume has visibly increased still further. Footways, particularly on the north side of Ellersly Road, are very narrow and abut high stone walls, leaving little separation between footway users and traffic speeding close to the kerb.
“The petitioners, residents and neighbours of Ellersly and Kinellan Roads and adjoining enclaves (Westerlea Gardens, Guardianswood, Belmont Drive and Wallace Gardens) now seek action by City of Edinburgh Council in 2024-25:
1. As the highest and most immediate priority, to implement traffic calming, promised since 2021, on both Ellersly and Kinellan Roads;
2. To take advantage of carriageway resurfacing scheduled in 2024 to widen the footway on the north side of Ellersly Road from Belmont Drive to Murrayfield Road; and
3. To develop a firm plan for a pedestrian crossing at the east end of Ellersly Road (“Benjamin’s crossing”).
“Items 2 and 3 have been identified as NEPs (Neighbourhood Environmental Projects) since 2020 but have not so far been approved for funding.”
Pic 1, L to R: Don Page, Jim Forbes, John Bishop. I represent Murrayfield Community Council; Don and John are leaders of an informal residents’ group set up specifically to campaign for improved road safety on Ellersly and Kinellan Roads in Murrayfield.
Pic 2, L to R: Sam Ho (CEC Committee Support) accepting petition from Jim Forbes, Don Page, John Bishop. Clock shows time of delivery, 11:24am.
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