Edinburgh's buses '˜unaffected' by car-free George Street proposals

THE CITY council's initial designs to overhaul George Street and key New Town roads will not force bus operators to amend their services.
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Draft designs for George Street, Hanover Street, Frederick Street and Castle Street have been unveiled by the council today as the authority launches a public consultation on the proposals.

Vehicles could be restricted on George Street, but the council has insisted that “all buses will continue to have access” as they currently do in the New Town.

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A council spokeswoman said: “Bus routes through the city centre can remain as is under the current concept design - although potential revisions to traffic movements through the Hanover Street / George Street junction are a possibility.

The council's draft proposals for George StreetThe council's draft proposals for George Street
The council's draft proposals for George Street

“The current concept design proposes the removal of westbound stops on the south side of the street may and this might bring some changes to a limited number of services. “

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She added: “All buses will continue to have access into the First New Town area, although stopping patterns of some services may need to be revised.

“Alternative bus stops are available within the area in the current concept design, as the aim is to limit the impacts on existing stopping patterns. The routing of a limited number of bus services will need to be revised due to potential amendments to traffic movements through the Hanover Street / George Street junction.”

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The city council is set to carry out a citywide review of bus stops in order to speed up public transport across the Capital.

The city has more bus stops than other comparable cities and the council will consider bringing them in line with national guidelines that “400m is the optimum distance between bus stops”. A report to councillors earlier this year pointed out that one fifth of stops in the city are less than 200m from the previous stop.

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