£5 million funding awarded for Edinburgh's road closures and cycleways

Grant ‘testament to scale and ambition of schemes’

Road closures, cycleways and wider pavements are designed to make it easier for people to keep their distance as they walk and cycle

EDINBURGH has been handed £5m from the Scottish Government to help with temporary road closures, bike lanes and wider pavements to make physical distancing easier when people are walking and cycling.

The cash help, under the government’s Spaces for People initiative, was announced as two more roads in Portobello and Warriston were named for closure from next week.

And traffic lights at 150 junctions across the city have had an automatic pedestrian phase added, so it is no longer necessary to press the button to call the green man during the daytime and evening. The first 100 went live yesterday and the other 50 will go live from Friday.

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson this week trebled the £10m originally available under the Spaces for People scheme, inviting local authorities to take advantage of reduced traffic levels to introduce measures such as new and expanded cycle lanes, wider pavements, new bus lanes and street closures.

A programme of road space improvements was launched in the Capital earlier this month, with road closures in Silverknowes, Greenbank, Cammo and Leith and a long list of proposed measures at other sites.

The new grant award was hailed as testament to the scale and ambition of the schemes being brought forward.

City transport and environment convener Lesley Macinnes said: “We’re delighted that this will allow us to make extensive changes to provide a safer and more attractive environment for walking, cycling or wheeling at no cost to the council.

“There’s been a step-change in the way people move around the city, with a surge in walking and cycling, and our proposed measures will harness this enthusiasm long term.

“Facilitating active travel and public transport use is essential if we are to limit the negative impacts of congestion, air pollution and carbon emissions as we return to a ‘new normal’.”

The latest measures will see the partial closure of Stanley Street and Hope Lane between Stanley Street and Christian Grove to provide a low-traffic corridor for people to walk and cycle and access nearby green spaces like Figgate Park for exercise, from June 2.

And Warriston Road will be closed to through traffic to provide a wide pedestrian and cyclist-friendly space leading to access to the North Edinburgh path Network, also from June 2. Access to the allotments and Warriston Crematorium will be maintained via Ferry Road.

Plans for pop-up cycleways to Edinburgh’s two main hospitals were announced earlier this week.

A temporary segregated cycleway on Old Dalkeith Road, between Cameron Toll and the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, and an advisory cycle lane on Crewe Road South, between the Orchard Brae roundabout and Crewe Toll roundabout, are intended to allow safer travel by bike for key workers and service users and will be introduced from early next month.

In addition to the proposals brought forward by officials, the public has also been invited to make suggestions of measures they would like to see and the council said it had already received many ideas from people across the city.

The council said its strategy would be implemented to support the Scottish Government’s four-phase approach to lifting lockdown.

It said the proposed partial pedestrianisation of Waverley Bridge, for example, aimed to create more space at a key transport hub, while the measures in the Capital’s eight local high streets would support local shops, pubs and cafes to re-open in safe environments.

And space would be created on the main routes into the city to support people returning to workplaces by walking where possible, and by bike, which has seen a surge in popularity.

The council added all measures would be closely monitored and refined or adapted in response to any issues, where necessary.

A dedicated webpage is also due to be set up, listing schemes that have been implemented, those that are under consideration and any which have been discounted.

Cllr Macinnes acknowledged that making road alterations across the city to cope with changed travel habits was a complex process.

But she said: “Our project team are working extremely hard to get schemes in place where they are needed most.

“We’ve already seen a fantastic reaction to the first phase of improvements in areas like Silverknowes and Greenbank, where road closures have brought communities out to stroll and cycle on newly-peaceful streets, and this is exactly the kind of response we want to see.

“There’s clearly a desire to be able to travel on foot or bike and by giving residents safe and accessible routes to do this, we are encouraging healthier, more environmentally-friendly habits now and for generations to come.”

Transport and environment vice-convener Karen Doran said the council was already “100 per cent committed” to delivering a people-friendly, accessible city.

“Our existing plans for Edinburgh City Centre Transformation, the City Mobility Plan and Low Emission Zones envision a city where pedestrians, cyclists and public transport is prioritised, and the temporary measures made possible by this funding will help us build towards this.”

Meanwhile, sight loss charity RNIB Scotland has written to the city council asking it to ensure that its plans to create temporary cycle lanes do not endanger blind and partially sighted people.

While welcoming the Spaces for People scheme, RNIB Scotland said it feared cycle lanes could exacerbate problems it has been campaigning on if they were introduced too hastily.

The charity’s director James Adams said: “New cycle lanes must be created with full regard to pedestrians with sight loss or other mobility issues.

“The problem is that blind and partially sighted people might not be able to see or hear cyclists approaching, while cyclists might simply assume a pedestrian will see them coming. Mobility aids such as white canes getting caught up in bicycle wheels is a further hazard to both.

“Mr Matheson also urged councils to engage with disability organisations so plans do not compromise the ability of people who have impaired mobility to cross roads and to use pedestrian crossing facilities.”