Edinburgh SNP has announced plans for improving Edinburgh’s roads and pavements.

In their plans for this election on 4 May 2017  the SNP outline eleven top priorities, including pledging to invest £100m in the city’s roads and pavements over the next five years and take action to reduce road works in the capital.

In the last five years the SNP says it has reformed the way Edinburgh repairs its roads, intervening earlier to prevent further deterioration in road condition meaning repairs are quicker.

They say that this allows council funding to go further and fix more roads year-on-year. Now Edinburgh SNP are committing to a £100m road investment programme to accelerate improvements in the city’s roads network. 

A key element of the plans set out is not only to invest more in roads and pavements but to clamp down on unnecessary road works.

An SNP administration promises to explore the introduction of a daily charge to utility companies looking to dig up roads in Edinburgh.

This is to encourage utility firms to shorten the amount of time roadworks take and ideally coordinate their works better with other firms to stop the same piece of road being dug up multiple times over a short period. Any surplus revenue from this scheme’s introduction can then be used to invest even more in the City’s road network.

 SNP Transport spokesperson Adam McVey said: “The quality of Edinburgh’s roads and pavements isn’t yet hitting the standard we expect of the Capital City of Scotland. In the last two years we have delivered a game-changing approach to how we repair roads but we need to back this up with investment. 

Our proposed £100m investment programme is a credible way of winning the war against potholes and cracked pavements. If we’re to be a genuinely accessible city, road and pavement condition has to be suitable for all pedestrians and road users. 

Some Utility companies are improving their operations but many are still causing issues in the Capital like leaving road barriers up after work has been completed and failing to properly coordinate their works. We’re determined to explore every policy lever at our disposal to improve this situation and believe that a lane charge for utility companies looking to carry out works will be an effective measure.“

SNP candidate for the Forth Ward Ellie Bird added: “The quality of our roads and pavements is a key issues for all of us in the City, especially those in North Edinburgh. Drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and people taking public transport have all raised this with me on the doorstep. Potholes are frustrating for motorists and do cause damage to vehicles but are even more serious for cyclists who can be dismounted by craters on roads.

Roadworks can also be very frustrating for people traveling along key routes like Ferry Road. I’m proud to stand on a platform of tackling these everyday problems which will make a positive difference to how people travel around Edinburgh.”

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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.