Edinburgh's most dangerous junctions: 'Frustration' at two-year delay to safety work at junction in Portobello

Transport committee told original timescale was ‘very optimistic’

A two-year delay in safety improvements at an Edinburgh junction where two cyclists died has left people "concerned, disappointed and frustrated".

In June last year, city transport officials told councillors the work at the junction of King's Road, Portobello High Street, Inchview Tarrace and Sir Harry Lauder Road should be delivered by summer 2024.

But now the improvements are not expected to be completed until spring 2026. That is said to be the minimum time needed to go through the necessary legal processes and get the design right.

Safety improvements at the junction of Portobello High Street, Inchview Terrace and Sir Harry Lauder Road were due to be completed by summer 2024, but will now take until spring 2026. Picture: Google.

At the transport and environment committee on Thursday, one official told councillors the date given by colleagues had been "very optimistic".

In a written submission to the committee, cycling campaign group Spokes said: "We are deeply concerned, disappointed, and frustrated by the lack of progress, despite the political will, to deliver the King’s Road/Portobello High St Junction safety scheme, given the two fatalities and the subsequent amount of voluntary work put in by community members such as ourselves."

And SNP councillor Danny Aston said: "There is a huge amount of frustration in the area about what is perceived to be a setback in terms of the timescale for this. It's clear that what we were told in June last year was never going to happen."

Urgent measures, including a temporary ban on HGVs turning left from Portobello High Street into Sir Harry Lauder Road, are already in place and have now been extended indefinitely.

The new work, expected to cost up to £1 million, involves a segregated cycle route between Portobello High Street and Inchview Terrace and a single-stage controlled crossing across Sir Harry Lauder Road. The current number of traffic lanes will be reduced from five to four, retaining three northbound traffic lanes, including a dedicated right turn lane, but reducing the southbound exit from the junction to a single lane.

Cyclist Stuart Elliott died when his bike was in collision with an HGV at the junction in March 2019 and Heather Stronach died in a similar accident in November 2020. The Portobello junction is being prioritised ahead of the rest of the "top ten" junctions identified as needing action in the city.

Cllr Aston said: "It's great this junction is moving forward more clearly than others, it seems like the whole major junctions review programme has been set back. Clearly there are resourcing issues here. There has got to be some thought given to whether we have got our current priorities right.” He said the council’s budget was “just round the corner” and it was time for the different political groups to identify their priorities for the coming year.

Transport convener Scott Arthur said: "This programme of work was never going to be done soon and it looks like, in fact, that is moving further away form us just now, so it's not great." But he said another update was due in April. "That will be a chance to prioritise again in the aftermath of the budget."