Readers' letters: Cllr Booth’s bus lane plan reveals ignorance

I was horrified to read Ian Swanson’s article (July 1) and how little Cllr Chas Booth knows about the people he is supposed to serve.

Bus lanes 7am to 7pm seven days a week has no justification as it will not create a significant switch to public transport.

Local community halls (often church halls) currently littleaffected by peak time-only bus lanes will then have parking/drop off issue.

This will create issues in side streets or could see some activities stop because old and young cannot access these activities. This could knock on issues of loneliness/mental health as we recover from the pandemic.

As a motorist and bus user I do think peak time bus lanes (and enforcement) have a significant part to play in keeping Edinburgh moving, but with an ageing population investment in public transport has to look at frequency of services and spreading to all areas regular bus options.

I am amazed that Cllr Booth has stated drivers have a perception that bus lanes are holding them up. I suggest he talks to the drivers who come in at the Cramond Brig on A90 and the delays/increasing air pollution from the new peak time only bus lane there.

Mr Booth’s one size fits all approach is not the solution and the full council should reject it.

Michael G Cockburn, Edinburgh.

Pincher affair does Johnson damage

The behaviour of Chris Pincher MP, who has been suspended as a Tory MP in the latest of a series of sex scandals, is both shocking and speaks to the problems that persist both in Westminster and across society.

It is hardly naïve that we should expect our elected representatives to be above reproach, and Mr Pincher should clearly consider his future as a parliamentarian.

This, it should be noted, is quite incredibly the second time that Mr Pincher has left the whips office. In 2017 he was accused of sexual impropriety when he made an unwanted pass at Tory activist and former Olympic rower, Alex Story.

It clearly begs the obvious question of why Boris Johnson granted him a senior role in government a second time, and casts yet more doubt on his judgement in picking teams and whether he cares about sexual harassment. The whip, after all, is meant to look after MPs’ wellbeing.

Standards in public life matter and this is yet another damaging episode for Westminster and for Mr Johnson’s already deeply tarnished reputation.

Alex Orr, Edinburgh.

City’s fading glory

Travelling on a Lothian bus this morning from the West End to Frederick Street, I was astonished at the number of vacant retail properties displaying ‘To Let’ signs.

]I think that there must have been at least 10 on this short stretch of Princes Street. What was also striking was the poor quality of several of the shops that were open.

What was once one of the finest shopping streets in the world, Princes Street is now but a pale shadow of its impressive past and a very poor advertisement for Scotland’s capital city. How on earth has it come to this?

Eric Melvin, Edinburgh.

Nicola’s legacy

As the dust settles on Nicola Sturgeon's latest independence bid, it's clear it's all about her avoiding personal defeat.

Essentially she's creating a false legacy ahead of moving to an international third sector role. We know there'll be no referendum next year and her scheme to make the 2024 general election a de facto referendum is risible. But it will look like she's tried.

Martin Redfern, Melrose.

Write to the Edinburgh Evening News

We welcome your thoughts. Write to [email protected] including name, address and phone number – we won't print full details. Keep letters under 300 words, with no attachments. If referring to an article, include date, page number and heading.

Subscribe

Subscribe at www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/subscriptions