Edinburgh North-South tramline: 'It's not realistic to talk about other options for the route'
Edinburgh transport convener Stephen Jenkinson has ruled out considering other options for the route of the city’s proposed North-South tramline.
He said all options had been looked at, proposals were drawn up and it was “not realistic” to suggest alternative routes. “We’re not going back to the drawing board on this,” he insisted.
The recently-concluded public consultation on the plans for a line running from Granton through the city centre and out to the Royal Infirmary and beyond offered two alternative routes for part of the northern section - using the Roseburn Path, a former railway line but now a popular walking and cycling route, or going via Orchard Brae and then across Dean Bridge, which is seen as a major engineering challenge.
The Save the Roseburn Path group has been running a strong campaign, opposing the loss of greenspace involved in the Roseburn Path option. And earlier this week Euan Baxter, a leading member of the group, told the Evening News they believed there were “multiple road options for the tram across the city, in the north and the south”.
He said: “If they believe Orchard Brae is a viable option they should put it there or if they think it's going to be too costly or not viable for whatever reason they should find a different road option.”
He suggested exploring a tram along the front, into Portobello and on to East Lothian. And he said: “There are many other options to explore. You could look at linking North Edinburgh round to the west; bringing the tram through and up to George Street in a different way; different options in terms of where trams used to go - there are certain ways trams used to go through Stockbridge and so on. There are multiple routes that could be assessed."
And Edinburgh World Heritage (EWH), which opposed the proposal to run trams along South Bridge, warning the structure built in the 1780s might not be able to stand the strain, also suggested alternative routes had to be considered.
Its submission said: “Other route options, such as Morrison Street or Lothian Road should be kept open”.
But Cllr Jenkinson took a firm line. He said: “It’s not realistic to talk of other options. All options have been investigated and the two options that were consulted on are the two most viable options and there will be no further options added. We're not going back to the drawing board on this.
“People still talk about taking it up Lothian Road or going through Stockbridge - the answer to that is no, it's been looked at, it's not feasible and we're not going there.
“A big feasibility study has been done, these are the only two viable routes North to South and that's what has been consulted on.
“The results of the consultation will move us towards the strategic business case, but we're not going to repeat the process we're currently going through to reinvent the wheel.”
On South Bridge, he said there had been some discussions with EWH on their concerns.
But he said: “The initial technical report which was produced as part of the consultation concluded that the tram can be delivered across South Bridge, based on current information and evidence.”
Cllr Jenkinson said if, following the consultation, the decision was to go ahead with the tramline, there would be “a range of further investigative studies into not only the South Bridge but all other aspects of the proposed tram extension”.
He added: “The tram is a potentially transformational development for all of Edinburgh, and we owe it to future generations to be bold and ambitious.”