Edinburgh's Spaces for People scheme facing upsurge of complaints – John McLellan

There may be an argument for tackling all your problems in one go, but I’m not sure that’s how officers in the city council’s transport department view things as they deal with mass complaints across the city about a host of projects which aim to change the way people live their daily lives for good.
Edinburgh City Council is holding a consultation on which Spaces for People schemes residents wish to keep permanentlyEdinburgh City Council is holding a consultation on which Spaces for People schemes residents wish to keep permanently
Edinburgh City Council is holding a consultation on which Spaces for People schemes residents wish to keep permanently

At least all pretence has been dropped that the Spaces for People schemes are only temporary measures to allow for safe distancing during the pandemic, and to an extent the cover of medical officers saying it could be with us for some time justifies carrying on in particularly tight locations.

However, as the vaccine roll-out continues, it’s hard to justify local consultations lasting just a week on the basis of the same dire emergency we faced this time last year, but the tactics have not been adjusted to new circumstances.

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On the relatively quiet, residential Duddingston Road West, which is neither a shopping street nor a main commuter route, residents got till yesterday to respond to the removal of on-street parking, and in Marionville the deadline for comments about converting the busy Smokey Brae to a one-way street expires tomorrow.

That Smokey Brae is a key to the new Meadowbank development and that various options have been raised at the Meadowbank Sounding Board does not appear to count for much as one preferred scheme is driven forward.

Meanwhile the expansion of controlled parking zones has led to concerns across Jock’s Lodge in Willowbrae and beyond. No wonder residents are concerned.

John McLellan is a Conservative councillor for Craigentinny/Duddingston

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