The Causey: sneak peek at plans to transform Southside street

• The Causey Development Trust (CDT) is working with local Edinburgh resident Robert Motyka and Aga Miętkiewicz of Wee Dog media to share artist’s impressions and a video animation of how The Causey could look and be used
• The Causey is a street in South Edinburgh that is currently vehicle dominated and unattractive
• Objections to a design to transform The Causey into a street that is safer for walking, cycling and all users are currently with the Scot Govt. Department of Environmental Assessment
• At a time when attractive outdoor space is at a premium and how we socialise safely has changed for the foreseeable future, creating places that prioritise people has never been so important

A charity that has been working tirelessly to transform an ill-used and vehicle dominated street in South Edinburgh for over 14 years is excited to give the local community a sneak peek at its plans thanks to a local partnership. 

The Causey Development Trust (CDT) has teamed up with local resident Robert Motyka and Aga Miętkiewicz – the creative minds at Wee Dog Media – to create artist impressions of what The Causey (a street with historic significance in Edinburgh South) could look like, when the proposal currently sitting with the Scottish Government Department of Environmental Assessment (DPEA) gets the green light.

You can read the CDT proposal in full HERE

Available to view online and via social media, Robert and CDT have ensured that the local community are first in line to check out the artist’s impressions, by posting them in communal stairwells and around The Causey itself. 

The first of the artist’s impressions looks down West Crosscauseway from Nicholson Street and using digitally created characters, draws attention to the proposed design that features a two-way bike system, plenty of space for pedestrians and makes way for trees, benches and neighbourliness. 

The second impression looks from The Causey towards Nicholson Street, highlighting the change from a two-way, car dominated rat run, to a tranquil throughway for pedestrians and cyclists and hinting at the benefit to business spruced up shop fronts.  

These artist’s impressions and indeed the design proposal promoted by City of Edinburgh Council in a Traffic Regulation Order for this street by CDT, have come about as a result of years of Ideas Workshops (with participants aged 12 -92 years) exhibitions, consultation with individuals and businesses located locally as well as liaison with The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh World Heritage, Sustrans Scotland, Spokes and Living Streets Edinburgh.

The City of Edinburgh Council supports CDT’s aims and the design proposed for The Causey.

It is not the first time that Robert Motyka and CDT have teamed up to help promote create a safer, healthier, and more attractive environment for those living in and around The Causey, and to promote the design proposal under review by DPEA.

In 2020 CDT premiered a film called The Causey – transforming a place created by Robert as part of their Doors Open Day 2020 contribution and you can watch it in full HERE. 

The Causey Development Trust Chair David Wood said: “We are delighted to be in a position to share these amazing visualisations of our plans for The Causey with both the local community and wider Edinburgh public thanks to the fantastic work undertaken by Robert and his team at Wee Dog media.

“By working with local resident Robert and his Wee Dog Media colleague Aga, we have been able to put years of planning and canvassing of the local population into a visual format for the local community to enjoy for the first time. 

“Given the impact of Covid-19 on how we work and interact, there has never been a more important time to prioritise people by creating spaces that are safer and greener and cater to the needs of the whole community.”

The Causey Development Trust is a charity committed to putting people back at the heart of The Causey, a street in Edinburgh’s Southside, by transforming it into a space that everyone can enjoy.

Currently dominated by vehicles and a redundant, unsightly traffic island, The Causey has the potential to be a fine civic space and plans to make it such submitted in 2018 are currently awaiting the final green light from the Department of Environmental Assessment.

By reconfiguring The Causey, reducing the volume of vehicles passing through the street and creating two way cycling, CDT will promote safer everyday walking and cycling while giving local people, visitors and students an attractive and practical public space that they can use for community-inspired events, neighbourliness, resting, socialising and simply soaking up the historic surrounds – and maybe even some sun!