Edinburgh wins another £2 million for controversial Spaces for People programme

Edinburgh has been awarded another £2 million for its controversial Spaces for People programme of road changes to promote walking and cycling during the Covid crisis.

The new money will help complete existing projects and carry out some resurfacing

The money from the Scottish Government, via Sustrans, is on top of the original £5m grant made earlier in the pandemic.

The council said the funding would help it complete the programme of temporary measures already in play and enhance some of the schemes already implemented, as well as carry out road and pavement resurfacing and remove more street clutter.

But it is understood the cash is unlikely to mean major new Spaces for People projects being launched in the city.

Transport convener Lesley Macinnes said: “This is fantastic news and is testament to the hard work of our Spaces for People team, who are developing schemes which support people to walk, cycle and wheel while Covid restrictions are in place.

“Additional funding will help us to deliver an even better package of routes and improvements which not only create more room for physical distancing but help residents to make healthy, active travel choices whenever they can.”

And vice-convener Karen Doran added: “We’ve already delivered a whole range of projects – helping children to get to school safely, creating space to spend time on shopping streets and giving cyclists safer, segregated routes for travel.

“This funding will help us provide additional improvements including removing street clutter to help reduce obstacles to pedestrian movement and improving some projects already on the ground, for example by renewing surfacing, and potentially adding some new projects.”

The latest Spaces for People initiatives are due to be approved at a full council meeting tomorrow.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.