Earlier this month councillors approved controversial plans to ban through traffic from major roads in the centre of Edinburgh, including the North and South Bridges corridor, The Mound, the Cowgate and Canongate.
It's all part of a blueprint for the city's roads, called "Our Future Streets", which is intended to advance the council's declared ambitions of reaching net zero and achieving a 30 per cent reduction in car kilometres by 2030. The plans go further than the previously agreed City Centre Transformation proposals and aims to create "a city centre that is far less vehicle dominated".
But the blueprint also extends well beyond the city centre, with proposals for some local town centres and measures on key routes into and out of the city.
5. Market Street
Market Street will be closed to general traffic under North Bridge. But access to Waverley Station is to be maintained: from the north via The Mound, from the south via Jeffrey Street, and from the east via Calton Road. The blueprint says traffic volumes in Market Street are relatively low and therefore its closure to through traffic does not have a significant impact on the surrounding network. | Council Photo: City council
6. Cowgate
The Cowgate will be one of the first roads to close with experimental closure to some or all through traffic scheduled for sometime this year. The blueprint says pavement widths are "wholly inadequate" and conditions for pedestrians are "particularly poor". The street is currently closed between 10pm and 5am to improve pedestrian safety. And it notes that recent traffic management associated with construction work suggests that the centre could function effectively with the Cowgate closed. Local access would be maintained. But the closure is expected to add 400-600 vehicles per hour on alternative east/west corridors: Queen Street, Lauriston Place, and Melville Drive. | Johnston Press Photo: Lisa Ferguson
7. Grassmarket
The Grassmarket will become a pedestrian priority with no through traffic. The blueprint describes it as a densely populated area and vibrant tourist hotspot in the centre of the Old Town. Local access would be retained throughout the day with turning provision introduced at the foot of Victoria Street. But it notes that the closure of Cowgate/ Grassmarket also puts additional pressures on Abbeyhill, Queen’s Drive and Melville Drive. | TSPL Photo: Scott Louden
8. Cockburn Street
Cockburn Street was closed as part of the Spaces for People scheme during Covid and has largely remained shut to general traffic since then. The blueprint envisages the closure becoming permanent. It says shutting Cockburn Street and other Old Town streets enhances the quality of the city's historic places and improves conditions for walking, wheeling and cycling. | TSPL Photo: TSPL