The Edinburgh Liberal Democrat group of councillors in Edinburgh say they will propose a more ambitious design of Princes Street.
The group believes that the plans put before councillors are “not nearly bold enough for a street we should all be proud of”.
The LibDems planning spokesperson, Cllr Hal Osler, said: “In the 18th and 19th Century, the New Town was designed with a sustainable future in mind. We need to do the same now for the city’s growing needs.
“Residents have made their ambition clear for Edinburgh and I am very grateful to everyone who’s taken the time to engage on the future of our city centre.”
Ahead of Wednesday’s meeting, the Liberal Democrat Transport spokesperson on the council, Cllr Kevin Lang said: “The impact from the fire this summer, which saw major diversions for buses and a halting of the trams again, showed just how reliant Edinburgh’s public transport is on Princes Street. Part of that ambition includes looking at making sure our buses going through the city centre continue to serve everyone.
“In decades to come, we may regret not having a radical rethink of such an important space.”
The report recommendations from Council officers can be found here.
The Liberal Democrat Group have lodged an amendment, supporting option 2 set out in the report. The Greens and SNP groups have also lodged amendments. The SNP call for a “scoping out of options for segregated cycle lanes and removal of parking on George Street and a review of how to minimise non-essential traffic on Princes Street”.
The Greens acknowledge that the second option has affordability challenges and raises questions about the impact on public transport – specifically buses. But they have also noted that lifts could be installed into Princes Street Gardens which would only give rise to difficulties in that they would need to be maintained. The group also calls for accessibility improvements to Princes Street Gardens with better lighting and longer opening hours.
The committee will meet on Wednesday 10th September.
