The council wants to have vehicle free days in Edinburgh on the first Sunday of every month as part of a radical shake up of vehicles accessing our city centre.
In an effort to really make changes to transport in the city centre the council is working on three areas at once – the City Mobility Plan, Low Emission Zones and The Edinburgh City Centre Transformation.
They will seek the public’s views on all of this in one single consultation which will run for eight weeks from September. The report which will be considered by the Transport and Environment Committee next week is said to have the full support of all political parties.
The transport convener Councillor Lesley Macinnes is very positive about the new ideas and particularly the City Centre Transformation which is headed up by Deputy Director of Sustrans, Daisy Narayanan.
Councillor Macinnes told The Edinburgh Reporter : “We have already undertaken a lot of consultation and done an enormous amount of information gathering.
“There is a lot packed into all of this. The key stage is that we now want the public’s views. What is exciting is the vision that this represents, and there is a lot of context in the report which shows that the status quo is not enough for Edinburgh. Now it is all about the nature of the change, and there will be all sorts of possibilities opened up.
“People will get to understand the strains and challenges that the city faces during this consultation process. It’s very much about finding out how much of the vision people want and what we need to do to deliver that.
“The transformational approach would allow us to implement bigger actions with more impact. The project is a clear indicator of where this council administration wants to go to. This is an encapsulation of everything we as an administration have been talking about quite openly until now.”
EXCERPT FROM THE REPORT
“A transformational approach would involve a radical rethink of how the citymoves and operates.The City Centre would become a largely traffic free zone with controls in place to allow for essential traffic and with pedestrian priorityin the city, town, and local centres.
You would be able to go to, but not through the city centre. A series of hubs could be developed where buses would drop off and other forms of less impactful transport would take over.
Pavements would be significantly widened and public spaces improved. Keystreets would be pedestrianised.
There would be strategic walking routes and segregated cycle routes across thecity with a citywide way nding network to guide pedestrians around the city.
Public transport could be fully integrated with smart contactless payment for use across all public transport services. New park and ride interchanges could be provided at key points around the city with a series of new bus priority corridors linked to them.
Urban & regional consolidation centres would be created for freight rationalisation, and green onward travel with last mile delivery hubs served by electric cargo bikes or electric vans.”
There are fifteen ideas set out in the report which the council want to develop following consultation. These include making the city centre more walkable, encouraging the use of clean vehicles and controlling commuter parking.
You can read them all here :
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Following discussions with bodies known as stakeholders earlier this year the council now has a strategy to take to the public and will seek their views on what can be done to improve the way we all get about the city centre.
This report which landed in our inbox late this afternoon and which will be available on the council website shortly runs to 61 pages and is entitled Edinburgh : connecting our city, transforming our places.
The three projects will set out a framework within which a strategy for the way that our future transport networks is shaped and the way that the civic, cultural and economic vibrancy of the city centre is protected and improved.
The council wants to ensure that the city centre has cleaner, better transport and will work with The Scottish Government to ensure the the Low Emission Zone planned for Edinburgh is delivered.
The transformation of the city centre will hinge on active travel and an improved public realm. With a population which is growing all the time, and which will reach almost 600,000 by 2040, the way that people get around is crucial and the council says it will prioritise public transport over private car use.
The public will be asked about some ideas to reduce car dominance in the city and how to create integrated transport access for all areas of Edinburgh. Some of the ideas propose integrated ticketing and creation of new civic spaces.
To improve public health the council wants to promote clean fuels and vehicles, thus improving air quality. There will be an emphasis on active travel and electric vehicle charging points, with more walking and cycling networks proposed.
This is a bold new plan for an ancient city such as ours. We will peruse it in more detail and highlight more of the proposals when we can.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
