Edinburgh motorists blast travel 'nightmare' as 'poorly coordinated' roadworks bring gridlock to city centre
One resident declared “enough is enough” after a 15-minute drive took nearly an hour
Residents have called on councillors to get a grip of Edinburgh’s roadworks, claiming that poorly coordinated closures make navigating the city centre a “nightmare”.
Last weekend saw a number of major roads in the heart of the city shut as repair works and events combined to cause headaches for motorists and bus passengers.
Waterloo Place, Charlotte Square and St Mary's Street remain partially or fully closed for repair works, while parts of the West End and Murrayfield were temporarily shut for Scotland’s Saturday afternoon clash against the All Blacks.
Residents told the Evening News that journeys that normally take just 15 minutes left them stuck in traffic for almost an hour on Sunday.
Declaring “enough is enough”, one local said: “Edinburgh at the best of times can be a nightmare to drive through, but the recent spate of roadworks have made it into pandemonium.
“Those behind planning roadworks, and even where there are emergency repairs needing to be done, must think more about the cumulative effect of allowing too many roads to be dug up at the same time. It seems they have no care for the residents of Edinburgh, and certainly not the ones who live in the city centre.
“Firms need to be called out by the council for their poor and thoughtless planning just as much as they need to be reprimanded for the dreadful job they often do of patching up the roadworks once they are finally over.”
Another resident, who described Edinburgh as “the city of roadworks”, questioned why more was not being done to speed up repairs.
They said: “Any roadworks on important roads should be round the clock, not just nine to five and Monday to Friday.”
While often not itself the one carrying out the work, the City of Edinburgh Council is responsible for co-ordinating all roadworks on public roads across the city and provides real-time travel updates through its Edinburgh Travel account on X.
The council’s transport and environment convener councillor Stephen Jenkinson said: “I fully understand the frustration experienced by motorists and residents as a result of the increased traffic congestion over the weekend.
“We are working hard to minimise disruption wherever possible, while striking the right balance between carrying out essential repairs and maintenance and supporting the many events and activities that make Edinburgh such a vibrant capital city.”
Edinburgh’s West End is braced for further disruption over the next two weekends as road closures are put in place for several hours around the nation’s championship games.
Edinburgh’s Christmas, which starts on Saturday, November 14, is set to see millions of tourists descend on the city over the next seven weeks. As a result, the road closures in George Street will remain in place for at least seven weeks until the festival ends in January.
Scottish Water’s £3 million upgrade to the sewer network beneath Waterloo Place means a westbound diversion will continue until the end of this month.
Other diversions are set to remain in place for much longer, with re-setting work on St Mary’s Street in the Old Town forcing its closure to vehicles until March.