Green councillor, Chas Booth, has called for the next meeting of the Transport and Environment Committee (TEC) to reconsider an earlier decision on the Greenbank to Meadows Quiet Route.
The decision has been called into question after a ruling by the Standards Commission against two members of the TEC in March 2024, finding them in breach of the Councillors Code of Conduct.
Cllr Booth had first made the demand last week at the full council meeting but Edinburgh’s Lord Provost rejected the emergency motion by the Green Group.
This is despite the fact that, without a decision, the council could be forced to rip out traffic barriers without any plans to instal cycle lanes along the route.
Cllr Booth wants the members of TEC to be briefed by council officers on what options are available, and if possible for the quasi judicial Traffic Regulation Orders Sub-Committee to meet – extraordinarily – before 15 June to “regularise the situation”. He also asks that nothing on the route is ripped out until the decision is made in a “procedurally correct re-run”.
TEC decision in 2024
The council voted in March 2024 to dismantle traffic filters on Morningside’s Braid Estate, originally part of a Covid active travel scheme paid for by UK Government funding, and install segregated cycle lanes. This is part of the larger Morningside to Greenbank “Quiet Route”.
That decision was thrown into uncertainty after it was revealed that two of the councillors who voted on the motion failed to declare the fact that they live near the Braid Estate. They have since been censured by the Standards Commission.
The restriction were initially placed on the Braid estate as a Covid-19 safety measure. Photo: Martin P. McAdam
Conservative Councillor Marie-Clair Munro and Liberal Democrat Councillor Neil Ross were both censured for breaching the Councillors’ Code of Conduct.
The city’s Transport Convener, Stephen Jenkinson, has said that the vote will have to be retaken, and pointed out that the current traffic order expiring in June.
Work to remove the filters from Braid Avenue and Hermitage Drive was due to start in January, but Cllr Jenkinson decided to delay these works until after the decision.
After the Covid measures were put in place they were retained with experimental traffic orders (ETROs) and as the order affecting this route will expire on 15 June, time is running out for a decision to be made.
Without a fresh decision, the council may be forced to dismantle the “modal filters” without putting in any new segregated cycle lanes.
Chas Booth, tabled an emergency motion at last week’s meeting of the full council to have a briefing for councillors and an urgent report setting out options prepared for the Transport and Environment Committee on 2 April.
But this motion was shot down by Edinburgh’s Lord Provost who deemed the motion “not urgent”.
Following the Lord Provost’s decision, Cllr Booth asked: “Please can I ask for the reasons that the emergency motion on the Standards Commission implications is ruled not urgent – in particular given that, if there is no decision of the Council before the 15th of June, the quiet route will be ripped out?
Aldridge responded: “My understanding is that we are in a legally competent position.
“The Transport and Environment Committee took a decision on how to proceed on this while the inquiry was underway and that there is therefore no legal reason why we need to proceed as a matter of emergency at this stage, but I’m sure the Convener of Transport and Environment Committee has heard what you have said today and that the matter will be dealt with at the next TEC committee, which will happen I think quite shortly in April.”
Cllr Booth said the uncertainty surrounding the ETRO and quiet route was “not acceptable” and urged to council to take “firm and decisive” action.
The Greens have described the current quiet route as “much-loved” but the restriction have generated controversy and furore since their installation ©2021 The Edinburgh Reporter
He said: “The Standards Commission ruling means the original decision of committee in March 2024 is no longer legally sound and must be revisited.
“However, I am extremely concerned that because the legal permission for the current situation expires on 15 June, unless the council makes a decision soon, that deadline may pass and the council may be forced to rip out the protections for vulnerable road users.
“Given that local residents have already seen considerable uncertainty around the future safety of their streets, this would not be an acceptable situation.
“It’s therefore essential that the council ensures the current road safety measures can stay in place while the committee decision of March 2024 is revisited.”
Cllr Jenkinson told the Edinburgh Evening News it is “clear” that “the original vote will need to be retaken in some form”
He also added that he has been “innundated” correspondence from people “both for and against the implementation of these measures”
The original vote on what to do with the filters was close run, with six councillors voting to reopen the roads with cycle lanes, and five voting against the measure.
Cllr Booth continued: “The prime focus here should be on the safety of children, young people and other vulnerable road users on these streets.
“The council must take firm and decisive action to prioritise kids’ lives. Anything less would be totally unforgiveable.”
It’s understood the Green Group favour maintenance of the current quiet route, arguing that the ETRO measures have made life easier and safer for people walking, wheeling, or cycling in Morningside.
The Transport and Environment Committee will meet on 2 April at 10am.
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