Edinburgh "Low Traffic Neighbourhood" Scheme Results in Higher than Average Traffic
More than half of the sites impacted by the controversial 'Corstorphine Connections' have experienced an increase in vehicle numbers.
Last updated 6th Sep 2023
Corstorphine's controversial "low traffic neighbourhood" scheme has seen an increase in traffic since it was implemented.
That's according to early data from Edinburgh Council, which shows nine out of the fifteen "Corstorphine Connections" sites experiencing higher than average vehicle numbers - despite the introduction of bus gates, speed bumps and general traffic restrictions.
Edinburgh City Council published a first round of traffic counts, suggesting the weekday average number of vehicles using the routes had actually increased in 9 out of 15 of the sites, including Station Road, Broomhall Crescent, Broomhouse Drive, Dovecot Road, Ladywell Road, Featherhall Avenue, Manse Street and Saughton Road North.
“When we’re introducing schemes that are actively contributing to the problems they’re supposed to solve, we need to go back to the drawing board"
Euan Davidson is a Lib Dem Councillor for Corstorphine, he says the scheme isn't working:
“It’s not delivering on the objectives that we were told it would do, and in fact I think it’s undermining trust in other efforts to improve traffic flow in Corstorphine and improve pedestrian and cycle safety.”
“There’s a complete lack of signage, there’s completely confusing road markings which is catching people out and it’s losing good faith.”
“Lots of people in Corstorphine want to see less traffic, they want to see improved safety for our kids going to school, but this scheme just isn’t delivering that”
“When we’re introducing schemes that are actively contributing to the problems they’re supposed to solve, we need to go back to the drawing board.”
Councillor Scott Arthur, Transport and Environment Convener, said “this is only an initial indication – we would expect it to take some time before consistent traffic patterns are established. There are no plans to draw any firm conclusions right now and we’ll be carrying out further traffic counts in a few months’ time, as well as monitoring pedestrian and cycling numbers, school travel patterns, air quality data and feedback surveys.”
“Throughout this process we have worked with the Community Council and consulted residents – as part of the development of the designs for this project the Council carried out a significant amount of engagement with the local community, many of whom highlighted concerns about the volume and speed of traffic cutting through the area. We’ve also modified the measures and proposals that residents were most concerned about, for example removing a proposed ‘bus gate’ on Corstorphine High Street. We want to continue this dialogue as the project progresses.
“It’s worth remembering that all of these road safety improvements have been introduced on a trial basis, meaning they are not necessarily permanent. I still want to hear residents’ views and I look forward to receiving feedback as part of the ETRO process. This, and the wealth of data officers are collecting through traffic monitoring and other surveys, will eventually help inform the future of the scheme, once the trial has ended.”