Edinburgh's East London Street: Replacing setts to curb traffic noise would cost up to £1.3 million

Transport convener Scott Arthur says any investment should follow ranking process for all roads in city

Resurfacing a New Town street in response to complaints from residents about traffic noise would cost up to £1.3 million, council officials have said.

People living in East London Street have claimed they are regularly disturbed late at night and early in the morning by the noise of out-of-service buses going to and from Lothian Buses’ nearby Annandale Street depot. And they have been pressing the council to take action to remedy the situation.

Now a report to the transport and environment committee outlines the cost involved in resurfacing the cobbled street. Reconstructing the setts would take a full year and cost between £1m and £1.3m. Removing the setts and replacing them with asphalt would cost £600,000 to £800,000 and take 16 weeks, but would go against council policy of preserving cobbled streets. A third option, of overlaying the setts with asphalt is priced at £250,000 to £350,000 and would take four weeks, but officials warn it would quickly deteriorate.

Residents in East London Street have complained about the noise from buses using their cobbled street early in the morning and late at night.

But transport convener Scott Arthur said recent monitoring showed far fewer vehicles were using the street than in 2019 and people were largely sticking to the 20mph limit. And he said council working with Lothian Buses to look at alternative routes for buses going to and from the garage, which would reduce pressure on East London Street.

“My personal view is that the road probably does need investment, but it’s not the only road in the city that needs investment. And I don't think we should be deciding which road gets anything from £600,000 to £1.3 million spent on it. That should be decided not off the back of lobbying the committee. I think it should be done through a proper ranking process, where we rank the all the roads in the city and decide which ones need investment most.”

But he said one of the political groups on the council might decide to include investment in East London Street in its budget proposals when the council comes to agree its spending plans next month.

"I think if through a motion to a committee we have a road resurfaced, then I think that's just a road to nowhere. I can list roads right now for the council to resurface in my ward. I think that's how it used to happen in distant past. I don't think we should go back to that.”

The alternative route being examined focuses on Green Street, on the other side of the bus depot, which the report says is not currently suitable for buses due to the existing street dimensions and traffic calming measures. But a preliminary redesign has been commissioned to improve the Green Street / Annandale Street junction to allow unobstructed turns for buses to and from the depot and future proof the junction as an alternative route to East London Street to reduce delays and journey times.