Controversial city road closure will remain in place despite petition to reopen it

The controversial closure of Braid Road is set to remain in place for the near future, despite more than 1000 people signing a petition to reopen the road.

Closed: Braid Road

The closure of the road, which runs perpendicular to the A702/Comiston Road, is set to be continued as Edinburgh City Council unveiled a new raft of Spaces for People schemes at its transport committee on Thursday November 12.

At the meeting, rival Morningside councillors spoke for and against reopening the road.

Green Party councillor Melanie Main called for the closure to remain in place, saying: “Although I am aware there is a great deal of concern about the traffic on Comiston Road, and calls for Braid Road to be opened again, there is a considerable number of residents who do not feel that is the way forward and they would like to see Braid Road remain closed.

“They feel that the reasons it was closed in the first place are still there, and I think that their views are best summed up by a simple quote: ‘While Braid Road has been closed it has been a far more pleasant and safer place for my young children, for walking in the outdoors, and now we’re back at school, the commute to school is quicker, and safer. Quality of life has been incredible, I feel my family is so much safer.’

“Now I do appreciate there are concerns about congestion on Comiston Road, and I understand people are frustrated, but I would ask the committee to note the permanent road safety scheme, which is in its later stages and is due to be introduced next year, that will make a significant difference, particularly for the traffic on Comiston Road, and I really hope that will not be held up any longer than needs be.”

On the other hand, Liberal Democrat councillor Neil Ross spoke out against the closure, and said a Lib Dem petition to reopen the road had garnered more than 1000 signatures.

He told the meeting: “The closure of Braid Road, I appreciate, was initially justified as a response to the pandemic, but I don’t see that any longer being a proportionate, or I suspect legal, response to the virus.

“It has created various road safety problems for local residents, in particular trying to access Comiston Road from Braid Hills Road.

“At ten o’clock this morning, there was a long queue of traffic on Comiston Road, stretching from Morningside Station to the lights at Greenbank Crescent.

“This is now typical throughout the day, and is negatively impacting the quality of life of residents on the main road, of customers visiting shops, and of children attending South Morningside Primary School.

“You may have made up your minds already on this, but I’d like you to listen to the 1140 residents who signed the Lib Dem Citizens Team petition to reopen Braid Road and to install planned improvements along with appropriate traffic calming, as referred to in the deputations paper.”

In summing up the Spaces for People programme, Liberton and Gilmerton councillor, and chair of the transport committee, Lesley Macinnes, SNP, touched on the Braid Road closure: “We recognise the fact there has been considerable resident concern, we’ve also heard from councillor Mane earlier on, in her contribution, that there is also considerable support for retaining the closure.

“Clearly as a council responsible for that area we have to try and find a path through that.

“It’s quite clear we have to note it’s linked to Comiston Road, to the Braidburn Terrace temporary and longer term plan intervention scheme, and the Greenbank to Meadows quiet route, which appears to be quite a popular one.

“I think we have to agree that the Braid Road scheme is something which has to be closely monitored.

“As an interim measure, what I’ve done is ask officers to undertake a much more detailed level of monitoring, around things like air pollution, public transport, and traffic volumes, and on the basis of that I’ve asked them to provide a briefing note which will come before committee members in mid-December, leading to a much fuller report in January.”

The approval of the council’s new Spaces for People schemes, and the continued closure of Braid Road, has now been delayed, after opposition councillors requested the report be ratified at the next full council meeting.

Joseph Anderson, Local Democracy Reporting Service

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