Edinburgh's Spaces for People scheme: There's a lot to like about road changes around schools – Steve Cardownie

The city’s transport and environment committee will convene tomorrow when it will discuss the “Spaces for People update – April 2021” which details, amongst other things, “the schedule of proposed measures near schools and the schedule of changes to school-related road closures”.
Changes to roads and pavements under Edinburgh's Spaces for People scheme have proved controversial, but Steve Cardownie says some measures are worthwhileChanges to roads and pavements under Edinburgh's Spaces for People scheme have proved controversial, but Steve Cardownie says some measures are worthwhile
Changes to roads and pavements under Edinburgh's Spaces for People scheme have proved controversial, but Steve Cardownie says some measures are worthwhile

The report notes that “a number of measures to create or improve space leading to, in and around our school access points and travel routes have now been introduced to many council and independent schools”, while also noting that “these include temporary road closures, footpath widening, the introduction of additional waiting restrictions and changes to access arrangements...”

The Spaces for People programme of temporary traffic infrastructure measures has come in for a great deal of criticism from some quarters, most notably from some local communities which assert that their views have not been given due consideration and that local transport initiatives are flawed as a result.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

One consequence of this is that many of the positive aspects of the programme have largely gone unnoticed and traffic safety improvements such as those that have been welcomed around schools remain unheralded.

Read More
War of words over Edinburgh's Spaces for People scheme

The result of the city-wide Spaces for People consultation exercise will be made known to the committee in June and the decisions which flow from that meeting will no doubt be the subject of a great deal of scrutiny.

But it is important to recognise that there is a lot to like about some aspects of the traffic measures that have been implemented, such as those around schools – after all, child safety concerns should be the first that are addressed.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.