Edinburgh Council leader Adam McVey got a few things wrong about ‘my’ driving – Helen Martin

Following criticism from Edinburgh Council leader Adam McVey on Twitter, Helen Martin explains why she and her husband took the route across the city they chose, the problem with the city’s road changes, and that she wasn’t actually driving.

Adam McVey criticised Helen Martin's driving - and she wasn't even behind the wheel (Picture: Ian Georgeson)

WHAT a response to last week’s tale of our trip from the Grange to Leith, taking 50 minutes by trying to avoid road closures, pavement extensions, traffic jams etc amid “road reform”.

Just a few points I would add now to enlighten council leader Adam McVey who wasn’t very polite in response to my criticisms.

My husband drove – because he knew every street in Leith. I wasn’t driving that time. Yes, we have a satnav inbuilt in our car. No, we didn’t go through Newington, nor did we go down Lothian Road. Yes, we’re in our 60s but we have iPhones, iPads, a PC, and we use Google (which doesn’t include every delay caused by current council work).

Adam? I am a “woman” driver, even though not that day. Yes, I’ve driven to Kent and back, often to and from the Irish midlands. I’ve worked and driven in several locations in Scotland, also West Yorkshire, south-east England, and I’ve lived in Edinburgh for 30 years.

As we arrived at our maintenance team’s office in Leith, I asked them how long it now took them to come to our home. The directors said “about 45 minutes” for their cars or trade vans.

I avoided Newington or the Pleasance route to Holyrood because recently it took us 30 minutes in jams and blocks (beyond usual ten minutes) to meet my stepson’s wee boy in the Crags cycle venue.

Outside my GP’s surgery is now a diversion, a new bus route with queuing cars filling the nearby fire station’s exit because of temporary traffic lights, pavement digging and extension, and bollards, leaving one lane.

Finally, I don’t object to the council road goal – just how badly it’s being done.

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