Edinburgh roads: Opinion divided on Leith low traffic neighbourhood, says community council

A deputation from Leith Links community council told the transport and environment committee that many people living within the low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) liked the measures designed to reduce traffic, but those living on the perimeter were less happy with the LTN.

A meeting of the council's Traffic Regution Order sub-committee next month is due to consider making the LTN permanent.

Leith Links community council conducted its own survey on the LTN and found opinion was divided. | Google Maps

The market research commissioned by the council found 74 per cent of people in the area supported the changes made by the project - part of the Leith Connections scheme - while only 6 per cent opposed them.

But Sally Miller, one of the deputation, said the community council queried the market research. "We'd like to know how many people were consulted to get those percentages and where did those residents come from."

She said the community council had carried out its own consultation, receiving 364 responses, which painted "an extremely divided picture".

She said: "Forty per cent are supportive - many people inside the LTN like it and find it improves their lives -but 34 oppose it - and some of those had very strong feelings - and 26 per cent have mixed feelings, usually related to specific aspects of the LTN that affect them.

"We think those figures reflect a more or less equal division of views in the community and up to 60 per cent are not fully supportive of the LTN."

Leith's low traffic neighbourhood could be made permanent at next month’s TRO sub-committee.

Ms Miller went on to give more details of the survey' findings. "More people living inside LTN were supportive, whereas more people living just outside were opposed. Nearly all of their comments were related to increased traffic and congestion displaced to the roads around the perimeter of the LTN. This congestion also affects bus timetables and bus journey times.

"There was a broad consensus that the bus gate on Links Place should be discarded - no bus goes through there anyway and the closure to westbound traffic causes undesirable traffic increases on Duncan Place.

"And it has also unnecessarily caused a new rat run through narrow residential streets nearby."Letting traffic through there would also relieve congestion Salamander Place / Baltic Street corner.

"A lot of people think that just closing off street is not enough - there are other improvements to pavements and cycle route surfaces needed. And if the LTN were to be made permanen we have a huge shopping list of mitigating steps we think would need to be taken."

A separate deputation from Liveable Leith, a group which backs the LTN, said it hoped the scheme would be kept, built on and improved.

Chair Rachael Revesz said: "We thik it has been a huge success with the majority of residents supportive of the scheme and a significant proportion of busiesses also. We say 'No rolling back'."

But Tory group leader Iain Whyte claimed the update report seemed one-sided and did not address any of the concerns raised by the community council.

He said: "I'm concerned that some of what's being ignored is increases in traffic at peak times on roads that are surrounded by high sided buildings, already heavily congested, are having further work to narrow them and are bus routes.

"I know that people in Restalrig and Craigentinny find their buses are being delayed because of the changes in Leith because the buses go through Leith to get to town, whether that's the 25 or the 49.

"We're also seeing some big increases at peak times at some of those junctions.It should not be about private empty roads for some and very congested roads for others. We have to deal with things for the whole community and that means looking at all the evidence."

Transport convener Stephen Jenkinson said he was confident that the TRO sub-committee, with the evidence gathered, would make the right decision.