Last Thursday we repeated on Facebook and Twitter the question raised in September’s printed version of the Spurtle: Has Edinburgh reached saturation point?
Overwhelmingly, readers said: Yes.
Below, we’ve cut and pasted their replies to either us or to the Cockburn Association, which repeated our enquiry. If you’d like to add your tuppence-worth …
Contact us at spurtle@hotmail.co.uk and @theSpurtle and Facebook
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Scott Richards That particular bin is overworked outside of the festival season too. Its close proximity to four fish and chip shops might be part of the problem.
Dominic Berry In my view the solution would be to keep the International Festival and the Book Festival, but move the Fringe to Glasgow (or anywhere else that will take it). We'd still have plenty of tourists in August, but the city wouldn't descend into squalor, as it now does.
Colin McShane Ask Lesley Hinds. She thinks she's got the answers for everything else!
Lorraine Moore Maybe all the bin men go on holiday in August?!!
Gary McLean-Quin Not enough resources are put into keeping the place clean during the festival. I'm in Belfast at the moment and it's immaculate by comparison.
Martha Vail Barker Not enough resources are put into keeping the place clean any day of the year.
Alison Sharp Yes
Matthew Hunter I was saying that last week. People have to walk on the roads in town during the festival because there's no room on the pavements!
Alastair Wright August = Yes! Other 11 months = no
Holiday Flats Edinburgh's Ruin The problem is, perhaps, larger than we all realise. There is a constant flow of tourists occupying a ludicrous amount of our city's residential homes all year round. These commercial ventures are de-facto hotels and have no non domestic rates, no staff, little safety provisions, underinsured, no soundproofing and so on. How many? Well, today, on Airbnb alone, #Airdna says 6716 rentals. #Insideairbnb says 6272. There are many other sites offering properties all over and especially in the Old Town. Some residents are fed and leaving to get away from the "stranger anxiety" and unending noise and flow of wheeled suitcases. This highly lucrative borderline illegal activity is going to continue taking over until when?
Neil Mackay Probably when there's sadly no 'residents' left anywhere in Edinburgh city centre & the entire place is full of tourists & weekend hen/stag parties. It's chronic. Good luck bringing this to light with your FB page.
Holiday Flats Edinburgh's Ruin Neil Mackay Thank you. Please share the FB page and if anyone you know is affected negatively, please let The Cockburn Association and even us know. Every Edinburgh Citizen has to watch this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3ZVWt38nC4