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CAR NUMBERS RISE DESPITE 'EXPENSIVE' LOW TRAFFIC SCHEME

11 September 2024
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Angie Brown
BBC Scotland, Edinburgh and East reporter
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Peter Roberts
Peter Roberts said the pilot scheme in Corstorphine had increased traffic

Campaigners are calling for an £800,000 traffic-reducing scheme to be scrapped
after the number of cars in their Edinburgh suburb increased after it launched.

Peter Roberts, the vice-chairman of Accessible Corstorphine for Everyone, said
the low traffic neighbourhood had been an "expensive failure" that had also
created safety hazards.

City of Edinburgh Council confirmed traffic had increased by 6.5% since the
pilot started in Corstorphine in May 2023.

However, it said there had been a 9.2% fall in traffic on streets around the
local primary school, which had been its aim.


Peter Roberts
Peter believes the widened pavements don't give pedestrians much more room
because large bollards have been attached

Mr Roberts, 57, said the streets around the school were home to only 300 of the
22,000 people living in the neighbourhood.

He said: "It's talking about reduced traffic on a tiny number of streets and
assuming all children live on those streets, which clearly they don't - they
walk from much further afield."

The pilot scheme involves traffic restrictions, a bus gate, wider pavements and
more seating and planting.

Councillors are due to vote on whether to make it permanent at a committee
meeting on 24 September.

Mr Roberts, a father of two who has lived in Corstorphine for 32 years, said the
wider pavements now had more clutter and bollards on them, and that this
defeated the purpose of the scheme.

"It's an absolute shambles and needs to be scrapped," he said.

"The street clutter that now blights the area is dangerous and there have been
multiple incidents of pedestrians tripping and falling.

"It has not made Corstorphine safer, it has made it less accessible and
hazardous."


Peter Roberts
Peter says signs and bollards have created a safety hazard

The monitoring carried out by the council said there had been a fall in traffic
speeds in the area, as well as a 3.6% increase in cycling and a 2.2% increase in
walking.

It also found an overall increase in the number of children using active travel
to go to and from primary schools in the area. A rise of 3% means that 71% of
pupils now walk or cycle to school.

But Mr Roberts said: "The reduction in the few streets that they have managed to
improve has come at the cost of displaced traffic and further congestion on all
of the surrounding streets.

"So nobody is actually enjoying any net benefit unless they live literally right
at the back of the primary school."

He added that the increase in traffic in the low traffic neighbourhood was 0.5%
higher than the average rise in the whole of western Edinburgh.


City of Edinburgh Council
The boundary of the low traffic neighbourhood in Corstorphine

He also said he believed the survey of 312 people by a market research company
was too small.

"They have used what we believe is a biased survey to get the latest set of
public opinion," said Mr Roberts.

He said the research had only asked for the views of pedestrians, but excluded
motorists, business owners and those who rely on visits from carers.

"They have only taken opinion from people who are likely to see benefit and a
lot of the questions were leading questions.

"Even then they have barely managed to get 50% of people saying it's a good
idea.

"We believe the council's view of public opinion is highly skewed by the nature
of the way it has taken those opinions."


Peter Roberts
Peter said they had reporters of several people falling on sections of the
street

Stephen Jenkinson, City of Edinburgh Council's transport and environment
convener, said the project was about making Corstorphine's streets and outdoor
spaces safer and better to spend time in.

"It's good to see that there has been a decrease in traffic on streets around
the local primary school," he said.

"I'm pleased parents now say they feel happy letting their children walk or
cycle to school. This shows that some of the changes made around the area have
made a positive difference."

He said council officials had done "a huge amount of work" on the project over
the last year.

"It is important to listen to the views of local residents and I'm looking
forward to discussing the results of this trial a committee," he added.

City of Edinburgh Council
Edinburgh

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