A peaceful protest on Ashley Terrace – but with a serious message
On Wednesday evening locals took to the streets in a peaceful protest drawing attention to the amount of traffic, the speed of the traffic and the lack of pedestrian crossings.
An 80-year-old woman was seriously injured at the junction of Ashley Terrace on 28 April.
Cllr Christopher Cowdy said to The Edinburgh Reporter: “The biggest problem is lack of resources in the council. So when I came here in 2022 there was already a pedestrian crossing programme. There were hundreds of crossings being promised. But within a year, when I was on the Transport Committee that had already run over two years late, because they had bitten off more than they could chew, they said, and they were lacking in resources.
“So I know that the city council is short of money, and it’s running on a budget deficit about £50 million a year, and trying and trying to make that up, and trying to get the resources to provide all of the crossings for all of the schools across the entire city is very difficult.”
David Hunter of Living Streets said: “I think it’s fantastic to see. I think pedestrians often don’t kick up as much of a fuss as maybe other groups do, so it’s great to see it mobilised.
“There must be quite a strength of feeling to have this amount of support.
“But of course there has been a really serious injury to an old lady here. You can see the speed, some of this traffic’s going at. I think we really need a strategy for the whole city. I would like to see more money going into these kind of routine improvements, particularly around schools, and I think it would get a lot of public support.”
Despite the council promising crossings three years ago nothing has happened, although Cllr Stephen Jenkinson the Transport Convener has said that “Councillor Stephen Jenkinson, Transport and Environment “pedestrian safety across the city is a priority”
He said: “I fully understand the safety concerns raised by the community in relation to the junction at Ashley Terrace and Harrison Gardens, particularly given the recent road traffic accident which took place there.
“As outlined in the Road Safety Delivery Plan, there are plans in place for two footpath build-outs on Ashley Terrace. Unfortunately, we have experienced some delays due to necessary design revisions and coordination with other services.
“In relation to Ashley Terrace, the installation of a build-out directly in front of the school entrance requires the relocation of a nearby bin hub. This is being progressed through a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) by the Waste team, and we are awaiting further updates from them.”
