Edinburgh Council coalition is anti-car so why can't they just admit it? – John McLellan

The problem with the council administration councillors’ oft-repeated protestation that they’re not anti-car is that few believe them and it’s regularly contradicted by their own actions.

Edinburgh Council's approach to transport is an abject failure, says John McLellan (Picture: Lisa Ferguson)

Yet understanding why does not appear to be part of its thinking.

Apart from clear admission that the Spaces for People traffic reduction debacle is a vast experiment to “give us an idea of what could be achieved in the long term”, it’s also far from uncommon for those involved in projects like city centre transformation to let slip comments such as, “if we’re serious about removing cars from the city centre”.

What irks people is why the administration is less than open about its disdain for private motoring and doesn’t admit its reluctant consultations are primarily to let people know what’s happening, not to involve them.

It’s the double-speak which really riles residents, with an administration claiming it is “helping people to make the choice to leave the car behind” when the operative word is forcing.

The dogmatic approach has succeeded only to deepen the conflict between pressure groups and residents across the city in ways never before seen in Edinburgh.

People in areas like East Craigs, Lanark Road and Duddingston Road and businesses in places like Morningside are now uniting against an administration which regards public engagement as a hurdle, not an opportunity. And it divides communities by setting residents who favour more radical approaches against their neighbours.

If leadership is the art of persuasion, the city council’s approach to transport is an abject failure.

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