Spurtle has received clarification on the Council’s consultation process regarding plans to semi-pedestrianise George Street, create a one-way system and two-way cycle path (Issue 227).
Public consultation will begin on 17 March and continue for 3 weeks. City Centre Programme Manager Iain MacPhail is keen to hear from as many locals as possible. Spurtle will publicise relevant contact details and hyperlinks nearer the time.
MacPhail is also keen to point out that the Council’s consultation extends only to the traffic management proposal and creation of space. How that newly pedestrianised space will be used – for example, erection of decking and marquees – will depend largely on private businesses. It is they who will seek permission for their proposals through Licensing or Planning applications in the normal way.
Members of the public will be able to comment on or object to the proposals at that stage. Spurtle will of course alert readers to any such applications as and when we become aware of them.
‘It’s been a really useful way of helping people to engage before the consultation even has begun,’ he tells us.
‘The ETRO (Experimental Traffic Regulation Order) is a process that will actually allow for direct involvement from all of these groups throughout the 12-month trial, as they can influence the information we seek and the questions we ask in the traffic research and passenger surveys [...] For example, we’ll have traffic counters on Heriot Row, Albany Street and elsewhere, so if there is an impact we’ll know right away, and local people will have a named contact (me) to come straight to'.
At Monday's NTBCC meeting, members returned to the subject of the George Street trial and once again expressed reservations. They were sceptical about the wisdom of running such an experiment so soon after the introduction of trams, and said they would prefer a year's grace for traffic in the city to settle down. There was also upset at the thought of cluttering and obscuring with street furniture what is arguably Edinburgh's finest Georgian thoroughfare.
If you have thoughts on any aspect of the George Street traffic trial, contact us by email spurtle@hotmail.co.uk Facebook Broughton Spurtle or Twitter @theSpurtle
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Neale Gilhooley Why because pedestrianisation has worked so well in so many bleak windswept squares in Edinburgh? What's wrong with the current balance of outdoor cafe seating and the rest of us who need to get around.