Edinburgh campaigners call for full-time car ban in Holyrood Park - your views online

The roads in Holyrood Park are currently closed for most of the day at weekends

Park strife

Edinburgh campaigners call for full-time car ban in Holyrood Park

Dean Thomson

The road takes up a tiny bit of the park. There’s acres of land for everyone to walk about peacefully and safely. The road is a vital route for cars and spare me the “it’s to make for a cleaner less polluted environment” – that notion went out the window when the council approved housing to be built on so-called protected greenbelt areas around the city. It’s a car-hating council that’s already making driving around the city as difficult as possible.

Audrey Dyer

People should look at the contributions motorists make to the economy, stop treating them like lepers and instead thank them for being so considerate and allowing pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders to slowly push them further and further off the roads that their driving licences, driving tests, parking fines, speeding fines, taxes, MOT’s, fuel duty, insurance etc paid for. There are more financial implications to owning a car and keeping it roadworthy so please stop this campaign of hatred for cars as they are probably one of the biggest contributors to the economy. Sorry, rant over.

Robert Smith

No. The cycle path is largely ignored by cyclists - a waste of money. Also the surrounding roads can barely cope when the park roads are closed. Try to get up the Royal Mile on a Sunday by car before lockdown! Getting from Meadowbank to Newington is difficult and there is only one bus service - the number 5. Try to get to the Royal Infirmary from Meadowbank by public transport if you don't take a car through the park!

Kacey Milne

There is a cycle lane which few use. The park road is now a main thoroughfare, if you close it you just move traffic elsewhere. The road should remain open, there is plenty of room.

Christine Frayling-Kelly

This would be a disaster for disabled people and their carers. When my late husband’s mobility became impaired, a drive round the park with its wonderful views lifted his spirits. From Dunsapie car park he could use his Rollator and rest on a bench.

Steven Psihramis

Sounds like a great idea! Help return the road to a recreational space rather than a through route for motorists. The weekend road closures make the space much more comfortable, and the number of joggers, walkers and cyclists show that there's clearly demand.

Gary Morwood

If these campaigners find it hard to to see the difference between a road and a pavement/footpath should they really not be allowed out unsupervised.

Tom Young

Currently the roads around the park are jam-packed when this restriction is on and we are in so called lockdown . Let people use the pavement like in any other town and the miles of green grass!

Paul Harvey

No. By all means, restrict the use of the parking area by Dunsapie Loch to disabled drivers; and keep the circular road beyond that closed to normal traffic as it has been for some time. But we do need to remember the less able people in society who find it difficult to walk on the off-road paths. And the lower roads are an integral part of the road system in Edinburgh - so don't even think about it! Put all that extra traffic onto London Road, Regent Road and the Bridges? Just NO.

Rosalynn Rogers

Definitely not. The park is big enough for the fit and able to enjoy. Leave the road access for the elderly and disabled to also enjoy this beautiful space.

Lewis Mickel

Given the speed that cyclists go at through the park I would say motor vehicles are the least of the problems. At least you can hear cars coming.

Bill Whyte

Stupid idea. I walk in the park regularly and have no problems with cars using it Monday to Friday, you just need to take the usual precautions when crossing the roads, and for cyclists to be sensible when on the road, and please use the cycle lanes. Closing the road would only put more traffic on the narrow roads surrounding the park.

Elizabeth Thomson

Why don’t Edinburgh Council just ban cars from all Edinburgh EH postcode areas, as that seems to be the way they are heading?

Ronnie Wood

Holyrood Park has to be one of the largest parks in a city anywhere in the world. Why would you want to walk on the road? Cyclists already have a cycling path. By all means look at widening it and segregate it from the pedestrian path, however to close the park to all traffic permanently is nonsense. Where do you think the traffic will go? All you do is displace vehicles onto the surrounding roads, predominantly residential. I’m sure residents will be delighted !