Edinburgh traffic: Haymarket Terrace to close for eight months eastbound for cycle lane works

Diversion while Edinburgh’s new cycle route is installed at Haymarket
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Edinburgh’s busy Haymarket Terrace is to closed in one direction for eight months from Monday, April 3 for the installation of a new segregated cycle lane.

The road – a key route into the city from the west – will be closed eastbound between its junctions with Rosebery Crescent and Magdala Crescent for up to eight months, until November 2023. It is to allow work on the latest stage of the City Centre West to East Link (CCWEL) cycle route.

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Traffic will be diverted via Magdala Crescent, Eglinton Crescent, Palmerston Place, Lansdowne Crescent and Grosvenor Street, with temporary bus stops set up along the route. But the closure is still expected to lead to traffic disruption and delays.

A bird's eye view of how the CCWEL cycle route will look at Haymarket.A bird's eye view of how the CCWEL cycle route will look at Haymarket.
A bird's eye view of how the CCWEL cycle route will look at Haymarket.

At the same time, gas company SGN will carry out work to divert a gas main, necessary for the CCWEL construction, and upgrade the local gas network. SGN’s work is scheduled to last 12 weeks, but the CCWEL construction in the area is not expected to finish until January 2024.The previous phase of the CCWEL project, at Roseburn, caused major controversy with local traders saying they had lost up to 70 per cent of their business due to the construction works outside their shops. They complained barriers and lack of stopping places or parking spaces deterred customers from coming to the area, but their pleas for compensation were rejected by the council.

The work at Haymarket involves constructing a two-directional segregated cycleway on the eastbound side of the road. Once complete, CCWEL will connect Roseburn to Leith Walk via Haymarket and the West End with a safe and direct cycle route. The project also includes improvements to streets for pedestrians and designed to encourage people to spend time there. The CCWEL route will tie into a new George Street cycling route which is part of the George Street and First New Town project.

‘A landmark scheme for the city’

Transport convener Scott Arthur said: “In consultation with Lothian Buses, we’ve worked closely with SGN to make sure these two major projects are carried out together to reduce disruption as much as we can for residents, visitors and people travelling through the area. CCWEL is a landmark scheme for the city, providing a safe, welcoming route for all those travelling from the east to west by foot, wheel or bike, as well as transforming public spaces along the way to help support local businesses.

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"Using funding from Sustrans to invest in active travel projects like this supports our net zero goals, boosts the local economy, and helps improve people’s health and wellbeing. I’d like to thank all those who live, work or run a business along the route for their patience as we carry out these improvements.”

SGN project manger Matthew Ferguson said: “Carrying out our gas main diversion and renewal work at this time will both allow the CCWEL project to progress and reduce disruption for the local community and commuters in future. Our work involves replacing our existing metal gas pipes with new plastic pipe, which will ensure a continued safe and reliable gas supply to the local area for many years to come."

During the closure, eastbound bus stops will be relocated to Magdala Crescent and Grosvenor Street and the Haymarket taxi rank will be removed with alternative locations available nearby. Information on bus diversions can be found on Lothian Buses’ website. CCWEL is funded by Places for Everyone, an active travel infrastructure scheme backed by Transport Scotland and administered by Sustrans.

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