Spaces for people scheme - your views online

Edinburgh Spaces for People scheme on Lanark Road to stay in place despite warning of potential legal challenge

The Lanark Road scheme has been one of the most controversial in the city

John Tobin

The ones in Glasgow see very little use, most cyclists ignore them and use the main carriageway which just causes more congestion and danger as it’s effectively narrowed the road.

Irene Winton

Had to laugh at “we've used the money as wisely as we can” our money! Government funded is tax money. She is deluded!

Colin Gilbert

For anyone bleating about their council tax, you'd do well to remember that for every pound the council spends on enabling people to drive cars, they have to fork out several more later to cover the impact of people driving their cars. It's a negative return on investment. Investing in cycling has an ROI which is typically from 500 to 2000 per cent, depending on which study you believe. So it's not difficult to see why politicians are encouraging people to cycle - they can't afford to keep subsidising motor vehicles. Maybe if we doubled VED and fuel duty we could get back to break even and then you'd have a point.

Tony Ward

Recent "consultations" on both Lanark Road and Pentland Terrace / Comiston Road did not have an option for the complete removal of these "temporary" schemes! What kind of democracy do we now live in where negatively affected council tax paying citizens are denied their opportunity to inform our deluded Transport Convener Lesley Macinnes that we don’t want her mad, undemocratic road narrowing and road closure agenda imposed on us? This is all funded and "designed" by the unelected anti-car lobby group "Sustrans" with tax payers money.

Pam Brown

The council listens to consultants charging us, the tax payer, exorbitant, unjustified fees. “It’s the council, we can rip them off big time, it’s only tax monies” attitude.

Tom MacDonald

The Pentland Terrace scenario is hilarious. Cyclists (the keep fit enthusiast, leisure ones) don’t use it. Instead they use Braid Road! Up hill for the burn and down hill for the speed. One street across….the lanes sit empty with only the odd “real” cyclist using it from time to time. As for kids? All at home on games machines!

Doug Hartley

Have to say hats off to the city council for trying to retrofit dedicated routes for cyclists. That said, I cycled down a similar route back in June at about 2 in the morning. Luckily there was no traffic about as we all cycled in the vehicle lanes as the cycle lanes were not fit for purpose. Trying to avoid potholes and drain gullies was an absolute nightmare. If you’re going to do something, then do it for the benefit of motorists and cyclists, I’d read a lot about these “spaces” and thought people were over reacting. They’re not!

Scott Robertson

Let's be honest, it was always going to happen. The farce down at Silverknowes is far more controversial – if that stays they all do. Macinnes is hardly going to remove them knowing she's going to be in the firing line for wasting large sums of money.

Lewis Alexander Lach

Legalise escooters and the public will finally understand the point of "cycle lanes" – it's really there for PEV plans next year more than cyclists.

John Swaney

Any legal challenge should look into the apparent lack of an equality impact assessment, given any household with a disabled space has to cross a cycle lane to get to it.

Brian Barbour

It would appear a lot of cyclists don't like these cycle lanes, judging by the number still preferring the pavement. I counted five in one day and they were not kids. The council spent X amount of our money putting these things in place, the least they can do is use them.

Alex Monaghan

Keeping roads, and in particular these lanes, gritted during the winter will be impossible. Cycle lanes will become unusable resulting in them being abandoned and the main road being used.

Martin Gemmell

Strange, given it is one of the widest roads to have a scheme and plenty room for everyone.

David Black

Arrived back a week ago from Spain. Took the airport bus into the city centre and then a taxi home. Now, the airport bus stops outside TK Maxx in South St David Street, the taxi rank is either in the square and only two are allowed or on Waverley Bridge which requires a five-minute walk. It's bad enough for locals, but what about tourists who don't know where to go? What utter cretin in transport thought that one up?