It’s now time for us to deliver on road safety
This coming Saturday will mark the one-year anniversary of the tragic death of Thomas Wong, the 11-year-old boy who was hit and killed by an HGV vehicle as he travelled to Cramond Primary.
March 1 will be a difficult and emotional day, bringing back the memories of grief and trauma that so many across Cramond and Barnton felt and still feel today.
That horrific event focused so many minds on how we make it safer for children and other vulnerable people. It also shone a spotlight on a simple truth – Edinburgh City Council has not been doing good enough on road safety.
All councillors can talk to safety improvements in our wards which have been spoken about and promised for years but not delivered. A long list of agreed new pedestrian crossings, a host of traffic calming measures, sitting on an unfunded list. A growing set of school travel plan changes with no clarity on when, or indeed if, they will be provided. A list of priorities doesn’t save lives. Technical designs don’t protect our children. Plans don’t reduce risk. It’s what is delivered on the ground that matters.
Just a few weeks ago we had the significant joint intervention of 53 parent councils who came together and wrote to all of us with a simple message – we are not spending enough on road safety. It’s why Liberal Democrats believed that if we had any opportunity to go further then we simply had to take that opportunity with both hands.
Now, the annual budget meeting can be a torturous affair. A day-long procession of pre-prepared speeches, jokes that don’t always land, gasps of politically fuelled outrage, all before a vote, the outcome of which everyone knew was coming. Yet, in amongst the political yah-boo and knockabout, good things can and do happen. Last Thursday was no different.
Because at this meeting, councillors agreed to a costed Liberal Democrat proposal to do something very simple but very important. It means this year, Edinburgh City Council will have its highest ever budget on road safety, £5.7 million in total.
What matters now is converting this injection of new money into real action on the ground, a chance to finally get on top of the backlog of promised safety improvements. The money is there, it’s time to deliver.
Kevin Lang is leader of the Liberal Democrats on Edinburgh City Council