Action on tour buses and heavy goods vehicles passing through a neighbourhood due to a road closure has been asked for by Edinburgh councillors.<\/p>\n
In July, a stretch of Craighall Road adjacent to Trinity Academy was closed to road traffic with little prior notice for three years to enable rebuilding works on the school.<\/p>\n
Now, local councillors have said that the closure has led to heavy goods vehicles and tour buses making their way into previously quiet roads, especially the cobbled Whale Brae.<\/p>\n
After a vote at Thursday\u2019s Transport and Environment Committee meeting, council officers will brief local councillors on options to tackle the impact of the closure.<\/p>\n
They have been asked for measures to be proposed on closing Whale Brae and Stanley Road to tour buses, and placing signs on Whale Brae saying it is not suitable for HGVs.<\/p>\n
Labour councillor Cammy Day put together a motion at the committee asking for action to be taken on the difficulties the closure had caused.<\/p>\n
It marked Cllr Day\u2019s first time in a council committee since his resignation in December as council leader over allegedly sexually harassing Ukrainian refugees.<\/p>\n
After jogging down to the deputation stand from the public gallery, he told councillors: \u201cPut simply, this shouldn\u2019t have happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cMyself and my local colleagues, this was done with no consultation with us, with local community groups. But that, however, is in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe likely three year closure at Craighall Road needs properly thought through, and we now have HGVs and tour buses going down a small cobbled street.\u201d<\/p>\n
Green councillor Kayleigh Kinross-O\u2019Neill said: \u201cWe all came together with very similar approaches to the motion.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has three themes \u2013 the closure\u2019s impact on safety and active travel, the engagement piece in terms of communication, and this problem with Whale Brae.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liberal Democrat councillor Kevin Lang added: \u201cPut bluntly, the communications around this were terrible.<\/p>\n
\u201cWard councillors were not properly informed, residents were not properly given advance notice. For works like this, you\u2019re never going to have consultation.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut just because you\u2019re not consulting with a community doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t give them proper notice. That information was sadly lacking at the beginning of this project.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that if communications had been better, especially with ward councillors, some of the issues currently being faced could have been avoided.<\/p>\n
Committee convener and Labour councillor Stephen Jenkinson said: \u201c\u201cI appreciate this closure will be disruptive for local residents and businesses \u2013 they have my thanks for their patience and understanding.<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout the project our primary concern is for the safety of residents, particularly young people attending school.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll continue to engage with local stakeholders and make traffic management improvements as the work progresses.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, the complex refurbishment and expansion of Trinity Academy will bring positive benefits for the whole community, but this will take time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Councillors also asked for traffic surveys to be carried out on Newhaven Road and Stanley Road \u2018as soon as possible\u2019.<\/p>\n
They further noted that no formal modelling or impact assessment about diversion routes had been conducted before the closure.<\/p>\n
By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter<\/p>\n