Edinburgh's future will be high-tech, cleaner, greener and safer – Cammy Day

Think of Scotland’s biggest trailblazers in tech right now and I’d be surprised if your first thought was the public sector. Yet, even with extreme financial challenges, Edinburgh has never been a city to rest on its laurels.

Creativity and innovation are historically what our Capital is renowned for, of course, and the work of partners like the Edinburgh Futures Institute at the University of Edinburgh is keeping our city at the top of its game. Within the council, we’re also developing ways in which we can use technology to make improvements to our services to make life better – and easier.

We’ve been busy installing Scotland’s first cloud-connected smart sensors on street bins so that we can better coordinate collections. They will proactively monitor and manage fluctuations in how full bins can get – think of a hot summer’s day in the Meadows versus a rainy Monday in March.

We’re also installing sensors in 500 council homes to assist us in predicting repairs. We’re in an early phase of this trial but I’m excited to see how it will help us understand ways of working cost-effectively while providing a good service to tenants. All of this work – in addition to our focus on re-using and recycling equipment and promoting paperless technologies – will guide the council to save money and reduce carbon emissions in line with Edinburgh’s ambition to reach net-zero by 2030.

Today we’re launching a major consultation to help shape the way people move around, to and from Edinburgh. Together, the draft active travel, public transport, parking, road safety and air quality action plans aim to create cleaner, greener, safer, more accessible and affordable travel choices, while reinforcing the Capital’s net-zero 2030 goals.

We’re now seeking feedback on all of the plans collectively, including via an online survey which will be available on our website, public drop-ins, focus groups and key stakeholder discussions and a toolkit to support community group involvement. We need to balance different travel needs with the limited street space we have, and that’s going to involve some difficult decisions.

Gathering views from our communities, alongside data and technical evidence, will be critical to these decisions. Whether you’re interested in improved public transport links, better walking and cycling routes or making our streets more accessible and pleasant places to spend time, I’d encourage you to take part in our consultation.

Meanwhile, you will have all seen the shenanigans of the SNP government since the resignation of Nicola Sturgeon – whether about missing paperwork for ferry contracts, a shiny new luxury camper van, or allegations regarding hundreds of thousands of pounds that may have gone missing or been misused. We’ve seen boxes and boxes of secret papers removed from the SNP offices by Police Scotland. Who knows what comes next?

Scotland’s first cloud-connected smart sensors will monitor how full street bins in Edinburgh get (Picture: Lisa Ferguson)

Scotland deserves better, and it’s time for change, my colleagues at the Scottish Parliament, led by Anas Sarwar, stand ready to lead the change that we as a city, and as a country, need.

Cammy Day is Edinburgh Council leader and Scottish Labour councillor for the Forth ward