Edinburgh North-South tramline: Final figures show over 11,000 people took part in consultation
More than 11,000 people took part in the online consultation about Edinburgh's proposed new North-South tramline.
The number was hailed as "positive" for the democratic process. Now council officials will have to analyse the results, which will feed into recommendations they are expected to put to the city's transport committee next year.
The 12-week consultation asked members of the public for their views on the plans for a new tramline between Granton in the north and the Royal Infirmary and BioQuarter in the south.
A surge of responses in the last week ahead of the deadline at midnight on Monday saw the total jump from over 7,000 to a final figure of 11,425.
In addition, there were a small number of written responses from individuals and over 20 submissions from key organisations such as Lothian Buses and heritage bodies.
Transport convener Stephen Jenkinson said: "Altogether that's probably around 11,500 took part in the consultation. There were also 1,500 people who attended the drop-in sessions we held and 1,100 people we spoke to as part of our market research, which was a separate piece of work.
"It was important to us that as many people as possible had the opportunity to take part. It's really pleasing that so many people have taken the time to engage with the process.
"Last week we were at 7,000 and I thought it would be good if we could get to 10,000, but 11,500 blows that out of the park. It's quite positive from a democracy point of view.
“The figure for drop-in sessions is a particular highlight - those numbers are quite impressive. That's 1,500 people who physically came along to ask questions and find out information, and then probably completed the consultation off the back of that.
"What people have told us, I've no idea. I look forward to the results.”
The responses to the tram consultation was not, however, a record - more than 19,000 people took part in a consultation about bus lanes in 2019.
Cllr Jenkinson continued: "It's always important to say it is consultation, it's not a referendum. The results of the consultation will form part of the recommendations the officers will make to committee next year. We all want to be making decisions based on as much information as possible.
"But I'm very pleased so many people have taken the time to take part. Hopefully they found the process easy and straightforward and it helped them learn more about the project and encouraged them to tell us what they think."
The main controversy in the tram plans is whether the northern section of the new line should use the Roseburn Path, a former railway line now a popular active travel corridor, or an on-road route via Orchard Brae and Dean Bridge.
But other issues also emerged during the consultation, including concerns about South Bridge, a historic structure dating back to the 1780s, which heritage groups fear might not be able to take the strain of trams travelling along it.