Pressure mounts on council to reopen roads closed to aid exercising

Conservative councillors are calling for Braid Road to be immediately reopened

The Conservatives are calling for the immediate reopening of Braid Road, Silverknowes Road, Links Gardens, Cammo Walk and Stanley/Hope Street.

Calls to re-open key Edinburgh roads shut amid the coronavirus lockdown have been made by angry residents who claim they are needed to get the Capital moving again.

Several key routes were closed to traffic by Edinburgh City Council, who believed blocking them off would help facilitate exercise.

Now, the council’s opposition Conservative group is backing demands for the roads to be re-opened.

Wide-ranging changes to streets across Edinburgh have been implemented under the council’s Spaces for People programme, a scheme aimed at increasing pedestrian and cycling provisions in the city.

In light of the coronavirus crisis and in order to facilitate social distancing, the Scottish government awarded the council £5 million to fund the programme and introduce measures including cycle segregation lanes, widened footpaths, parking bans on various hight streets and road closures.

Braid Road, Silverknowes Road, Links Gardens, Cammo Walk and Stanley/Hope Street have all been closed down to “create space for exercise”.

Conservative councillors are formally requesting they be immediately reopened.

Calls to reopen Braid Road in particular are being backed by Fairmilehead Community Council, who are frustrated by the impact the road closure is having on local traffic and pollution.

In an email to the council, Norman Tinlin, Fairmilehead Community Council Secretary, said: “It is understood why (Braid Road was closed) initially, even if using dubious reasons.

“At the time of the initial closure there were not many vehicles on the road and everybody was in lockdown. However, things have progressed since then – traffic has returned to near normal levels and the schools have returned…

“The closure of Braid Road has served its purpose and the closure should be rescinded.”

A Morningside resident said: “I really hope that this closure ends soon for the health and stress levels of so many people who live in this area of the city.

“Morningside is chaotic at the moment and that is not what is needed after the lockdown.

“I really hope that the SNP and Labour come to Comiston Road every day at peak times and suffer what us citizens and tax payers suffer for their inability of think further ahead about the implications of this closure.”

At a meeting tomorrow, members of the council’s Policy and Sustainability Committee will vote either to accept Conservative calls to reopen closed roads, or to continue closures for at least another two months.

Council planners have officially recommended keeping roads closed and as such it is likely that SNP and Labour councillors will vote that way.

Alongside reopening various roads, Conservative councillors are also calling for planned changes to 19 streets across the city to be immediately terminated.

The budget allocation for these roads total £924,000 and Conservative councillors are requesting this money be re-allocated to improve existing schemes and their limitations.

Conservative Group Chair, Cllr Jason Rust, said: “This SNP-Labour run council needs to start listening and reopen Braid Road forthwith.

“The closure of Braid Road was a democratic outrage and is now a massive practical inconvenience, not least with schools now having returned. It is causing mayhem on Comiston Road, where the traffic at 8am this morning was backed up from Greenbank all the way up past Buckstone shops.

“I have been inundated with residents angry about the absence of proper consultation about closure and the detrimental impact this has had on their day-to-day lives.

“The constant refrain is why is this council trying to make life so difficult and impractical for local people, simply creating congestion and safety concerns in the area.”

Transport and Environment Vice Convener, Cllr Karen Doran, said: “As was agreed by councillors in May when the Spaces for People programme was first introduced, we are keeping all TTROs under review to ensure they continue to support safe travel by foot, bike and wheelchair during the ongoing COVID crisis.

“We have several schemes already in place and underway, using £5m allocated by Transport Scotland, and we are continuing to introduce further measures to help people get around easily as restrictions are lifted.”