Traffic Scotland has reported that the M8, Scotland’s busiest motorway, currently remains closed in both directions at Harthill (J4A westbound, J5 eastbound) after a serious accident in the early hours of this morning.
There are long delays – motorists are advised to use an alternate route at this time and should allow extra time for their journey.
Charges for on-street pay and display parking will be resumed in Edinburgh from Monday, 22 June.
The city council suspended the enforcement of pay and display parking spaces in March to protect workers and the public from the risk of coronavirus, while helping key workers to make essential journeys.
In line with the Scottish Government’s phased approach to lifting lockdown measures, the reintroduction of pay and display parking enforcement will ‘support the city’s economic recovery by encouraging the turnover of parking spaces and therefore visitors to shops, cafes and restaurants when they reopen’.
The council says it will also be central to a package of measures facilitating safer walking, cycling and wheeling as restrictions are eased, by limiting congestion and obstructions on the road.
This week the council will issue warning flyers, notifying customers on ticketing machines and updating social media to remind drivers that charges will be coming into place in the week leading up to their return.
Council Leader Adam McVey said: “This has been an extremely challenging period, and as we begin to emerge from it, we need to adapt the way we manage the city.
“We’re already seeing an increase in traffic on the roads so it’s essential that we respond to this. As businesses begin to reopen, and footfall to certain streets rises, parking enforcement is crucial, not only to encourage a turnover of visitors to shops, restaurants and other businesses, but also to create a safer, more welcoming environment for the many people travelling by foot, bike or wheelchair.”
Depute Leader Cammy Day said: “We want to make it as easy as possible for people to walk, cycle or travel by public transport while maintaining physical distancing.
“By reintroducing pay and display parking charges we will be able to ensure our streets are obstruction free while also managing demand on some of our busier thoroughfares.”
Dispensation for residents who have a valid residents’ parking permit to park in pay and display parking places in their own zone will continue, helping people who need to work from home.
Drivers will be encouraged to pay for pay and display parking using RingGo and contactless payments to limit the use of cash, though coins will still be accepted by ticket machines.
A series of interventions encouraging people to travel around the city on foot, bike or public transport as restrictions are eased is already underway across the Capital. Changes include temporary segregated cycleways, widened pavements and bus gates and are being delivered using £5m funding from the Scottish Government’s Spaces for People programme, via Sustrans.
The next phase of improvements will focus on the city centre and other town centres across Edinburgh, helping people to visit these areas while maintaining physical distancing, without having to resort to private car use.
Find out more about service changes on the Council website.
Council to close more streets to car traffic
An action plan has been drawn up for creating safe and accessible spaces for walking and cycling in Edinburgh during the coronavirus outbreak, and when the city emerges from the crisis.
On Thursday (14 May), members of the Policy and Sustainability Committee will consider a report setting out criteria for temporary walking and cycling infrastructure, as well as a package of short and long-term measures to establish safer routes for cyclists and pedestrians.
We have already begun implementing changes to help those making essential journeys and taking daily exercise by foot or bike to stay 2m apart, with road closures in Greenbank, Leith and Silverknowes.
Additional improvements are proposed for other ‘pinch points’ across the city, such as road closures, the introduction of bus gates and temporary cycle lanes. As restrictions are eased and traffic increases, further changes to facilitate safe movement are likely to include pedestrian priority at signalised road crossings, extended bus lane hours, widened pavements and a review of speed limits.
To provide extra space in the city centre, and as residents return to a ‘new normal’, it is also intended that key proposals from the Edinburgh City Centre Transformation plan are brought forward to prioritise pedestrians and cyclists.
In particular, Bank Street, East Market Street and East Princes Street would be closed to car traffic while on Victoria Street and Cockburn Street through traffic would be eliminated and parking provision reduced.
Council Leader Adam McVey said: “We’re leading the way with our approach to safer, more accessible streets and we’ve received a huge amount of support for our plans to create more room for pedestrians and cyclists. It’s clear that people want and need to make essential journeys and take daily exercise by foot or bike safely and we need to give them the space to do so.
“It’s no secret that we face many months of upheaval as we work to emerge from this crisis, and this will no doubt impact on the way we move around the city. As we return to a ‘new normal’, our citywide strategy will support people to make journeys by foot, bike or public transport while continuing to observe physical distancing.
“We’ve been working closely with the Scottish Government and Sustrans to make improvements such as these easier in the long term. By bringing forward more permanent plans to prioritise these modes of transport, we’re also looking to a cleaner, greener and more sustainable future for Edinburgh.”
Depute Leader Cammy Day said: “We’re already seeing the benefits in areas where we’ve implemented changes and we’re working to introduce improvements to other pinch points across the city, helping people to reach nearby open spaces, essential services and to get to and from work safely. We’ve already identified several streets but we’d also welcome any suggestions from the public.
“It’s crucial that these measures work for everyone living on or near the streets concerned. We’ve been engaging closely with local communities to make sure access is maintained for deliveries, those with mobility issues and emergency services, and these conversations will help us as we continue to roll out changes.”
David Hunter, from the Living Streets Edinburgh Group, said: “With the need for physical distancing continuing, and more people walking and cycling, it’s vital there are safe ways for people to get around. Walking should be the top option for people to get around their local community.
“Living Streets Scotland and the Living Streets Edinburgh Group welcome the council’s intent to help people walk and cycle safely. We’re especially keen to see practical measures which give adequate space to pedestrians in congested streets.”
Since the implementation of restrictions in March, it is estimated that cycling and walking has increased by 15 to 20%, while travel by car and public transport has dropped. During this time, we have seen a rise in reports of congestion on pedestrian and cycling routes, with people finding it difficult to maintain physical distancing.
As we plan for Edinburgh’s recovery, we are expecting to see a change in the way people move around the city. By facilitating a growth in walking, cycling and public transport use, we want to sustain improvements to air quality seen during recent months as well as contributing to meeting the Capital’s target to be carbon neutral by 2030.
On Thursday (14 May), councillors on the Policy and Sustainability Committee will be asked to approve the submission of an application for funding from the Scottish Government’s £10m ‘Spaces for People’ scheme supporting local authorities to deliver temporary improvements for walking and cycling.
Our own criteria for making improvements would be in line with the Spaces for People objectives and measures would seek to:
We are currently reviewing our existing active travel programme to identify routes which could be brought forward to support these objectives. We have been working with key stakeholders and Police Scotland to highlight other streets which are not part of the programme but where changes would improve the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.
These include:
Measures would be subject to a detailed design and risk assessment process, which may result in an alternative approach. Officers will consult with local ward members and other public services to prioritise routes and changes for implementation.
Full details of proposals are available in the report, Creating Safe Spaces for Walking and Cycling, which can be downloaded from the Council website.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is expected to encourage active travel when he gives the UK Government’s coronavirus media briefing later today
Since the lockdown on 23rd March, car leasing firm Leasing Options have been monitoring the traffic in UK and ROI cities.
https://www.leasingoptions.co.uk/news/blog/uk-roi-traffic-before-after-the-covid-19-lockdown/6266
Using TomToms’ live traffic data, they have worked out the average percentage decrease in traffic for each city, at weekday 8am in April (last week) versus the same time in 2019. Here are the results:
| City | % Decrease in Traffic |
| London | 77.61% |
| Birmingham | 81.03% |
| Liverpool | 74.07% |
| Dublin | 83.16% |
| Edinburgh | 77.27% |
| Cardiff | 83.07% |
| Manchester | 82.60% |
| Belfast | 83.52% |
| Newcastle | 80.36% |
Edinburgh remains one of the busiest cities in the UK, with even London seeing a bigger reduction.
Using Google Maps, they have also compared the traffic pre- and post-lockdown to see how we have responded to the new restrictions on travel.
They recorded the post lock-down traffic at around 8.30am on a weekday in April, (peak travel time for many commuters) and compared this to Google’s historical traffic data from before the lockdown.
Here is how Edinburgh looks, for example:
According to the Department for Transport, 1.96 billion vehicles travel through the City of Edinburgh in a single year.
But as the Scottish capital respects the announcement of our PM and Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National Party, you can see that road traffic has significantly reduced, post-lockdown. Statistics from TomTom show that traffic has dropped by as much as 64% in April, when compared to the 2019 average.
You can find the data for Greater London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Dublin, Cardiff, Manchester, Belfast, and Newcastle on Leasing Options blog here: https://www.leasingoptions.co.uk/news/blog/uk-roi-traffic-before-after-the-covid-19-lockdown/6266
A new report (see below) showing that Edinburgh is ranked alongside London as the UK’s slowest city must act as a wakeup call for city chiefs, says Scottish Greens Parliamentary Co-Leader Alison Johnstone MSP.
The INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard shows that drivers lost an average of 98 hours in the capital city in 2019, with last mile speeds of just 10mph on an average journey, costing the city’s economy £177million.
Lothian MSP Alison Johnstone said: “Edinburgh’s ranking as the UK’s slowest city won’t come as a huge shock to many in the city, but it must come as a wakeup call to city chiefs who have for far too long prioritised getting cars into the city centre rather than investing in improving public transport, tackling congestion, and making it safer for people to walk and cycle.
“Lothian buses is a well liked service but buses are all too often delayed by the appalling congestion in the city. It’s time buses and trams were given priority over cars.
“The current consultation on the City’s Mobility Plan will help decide the future of the City. We need a bold and visionary approach that doesn’t consider issues in isolation, and we need funding to bring about the change. We need too to stop wasting money on the dinosaur transport projects of a bygone era.
“In light of this report the city/region deal partners must now listen to my calls to scrap the proposed £120million flyover at Sheriffhall, a new road that will only make congestion worse, and instead invest those funds in congestion busting public transport across the region.
“Investment in safe walking and cycling routes in and around the city has been sorely lacking. We know that lots of people would cycle to work, or let their children cycle to school, if there was safe segregated infrastructure but all too often this isn’t the case.
“The budget deal secured by the Scottish Greens recently ensured that the Scottish Government’s cycling budget hit £100million for the first time. I know that Scottish Greens Councillors on City of Edinburgh Council will be lobbying hard to ensure the city gets its fair share of that funding too.”
More local traffic disruption is inevitable next week when Cityfibre undertakes cable connection work in Davidsons Mains, Silverknowes and Cramond.
Commuters have been warned to expect long delays when work starts on 3rd February – and the work is not scheduled to complete until 1st March.
Among the anticipated delights are a temporary one-way traffic system on Quality Street at some times during the works.
Can hardly wait …
Around 2,500 objections have been lodged to a proposed £120m development of Sheriffhall roundabout on the Edinburgh City bypass, with a week still to go on the Transport Scotland consultation.
Lothians Scottish Green MSP Alison Johnstone, who launched the campaign last week, said the objections must be considered by the Scottish Government when planning all future road expansion projects.
This follows a report by the Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Commission this week which advised ministers there should be “a presumption in favour of future-proofing and maintaining our existing road network, rather than building new capacity”, because of the climate emergency.
Responding, Alison Johnstone said: “I’m delighted but not surprised by the interest in my campaign. We’ve known since the 1960s that building more roads increases traffic, yet it’s a model the Scottish Government seems determined to repeat again and again. They told us the Queensferry Crossing would make more people use public transport, yet we’ve seen a million more car journeys over the Forth.
“Even the written proposal for Sheriffhall admits the development will increase congestion in and out of Edinburgh. It’s time we started building the sustainable neighbourhoods of the future instead of repeating the mistakes of the past, especially considering the urgency of the climate emergency.
“Instead of roundabouts and ringroads, the Scottish Government must listen to their own advisers and reduce the cost of public transport, increase its capacity and reach, and make our journeys by cycling and walking as pleasant and safe as possible.”
To allow utility works to take place, Deanhaugh Street will be closed in both directions from 0900 hrs today for approximately EIGHT weeks.
Lothian has the following bus diversions in place:
Services 24 29 X29 – between Comely Bank Road and Frederick Street, buses will be diverted via Comely Bank Avenue, Dean Bridge, Randolph Crescent, Albyn Place, Queen Street, North Castle Street and George Street in both directions.
Service 36 – between Hamilton Place and Lothian Road, buses will be diverted via Kerr Street, Howe Street, Frederick Street, George Street and South Charlotte Street in both directions.
Service 42 – between Comely Bank Road and George Street, buses will be diverted via Comely Bank Avenue, Dean Bridge, Randolph Crescent, Albyn Place, Queen Street, North Castle Street and George Street in both directions.
Apart from that, everything’s just fine and dandy …
Telford to become a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ)
Councillors have approved recommendations to progress proposals addressing parking pressures across Edinburgh, following the publication of findings from a citywide strategic review of parking.
The decision will see 25 new Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs) created across the city and a host of Priority Parking Areas will also be introduced.
Continue reading City parking proposals ‘respond to community concerns’
Between 28 July and 1 September 2019, temporary changes will be in place on streets in the Old Town. The changes will help to make our busy streets easier and safer to walk around. Continue reading Starting today: Summertime Streets in city centre
