Latest news with #CityMobilityPlan
Scotsman
28-07-2025
- Automotive
- Scotsman
Edinburgh is going nowhere under Labour
Conservative councillor Neil Cuthbert Aberdeen just hosted the Tall Ships race, welcoming 400,000 visitors to Scotland's biggest tourism event this year. The major Union Square shopping centre broke footfall records with over 140,000 visitors during the weekend. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Did these massive crowds cause traffic chaos? Actually, no. Traffic Scotland reported drivers were 'getting a good run on the A90, A96 and the AWPR this afternoon' on Sunday. This contrasts sharply with Edinburgh, where large-scale events like Murrayfield concerts regularly cause bypass gridlock. The difference is simple: the north east has invested in proper trunk road infrastructure, particularly the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR). The results speak for themselves. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon noted in 2019 that the AWPR shifted vehicles away from nose-to-tail traffic, reducing emissions and improving air quality for around 75,000 homes while creating better conditions for pedestrians and cyclists. You might expect Edinburgh's politicians to learn from this success. Think again. An artist's impression of the proposed Sheriffhall roundabout flyover At June's Transport Committee, I proposed a comprehensive motion requesting traffic impact assessment for the City Mobility Plan's proposed road closures. The A720 bypass already handles over 120,000 vehicles daily beyond capacity, with frequent congestion at key junctions. Recently both East Lothian and Midlothian councils have written to the Scottish Government expressing frustration over delays to the Sheriffhall roundabout improvements. My motion sought proper analysis of how city centre road closures planned by the council might worsen A720 congestion, especially during major events. Recent examples like Robbie Williams' concert at Murrayfield in May demonstrated the bypass's vulnerability to traffic displacement. I requested investigation of mitigation measures, enhanced public transport options and coordination with the Scottish Government on this trunk road responsibility. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The response? Labour's Convener moved to simply ignore the mounting evidence, with the Liberal Democrats, SNP and Greens ganging up to pretend these road problems don't exist. No evidence-based assessment. No consideration of network resilience. No coordination with neighbouring councils. Just 'do nothing'. This coalition of inaction leaves Edinburgh commuters facing daily chaos with no hope of improvement. While Aberdeen demonstrates how proper road investment creates benefits for everyone – drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists alike – Edinburgh's politicians prefer ideological posturing over practical solutions. Labour has run out of ideas for Edinburgh. Their approach of ignoring problems while they worsen shows complete indifference to residents' daily struggles. When these parties next seek your vote, perhaps the response should be 'No Action' in return.
Hindustan Times
11-07-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
LMC bets on CMP to decongest city roads
After multiple initiatives failed to yield results in the city which struggles with daily traffic chaos, the Lucknow Municipal Corporation has now come up with another plan to decongest roads. Traffic congestion caused by unplanned stoppages of buses and unregulated e-rickshaw movement has long been a recurring problem at several busy intersections of Lucknow. (File photo) LMC officials on Thursday reviewed a detailed presentation of its proposed City Mobility Plan (CMP) for the first time. The plan is aimed at regulating public transport, managing traffic flow, and improving overall urban mobility under a long-term vision. The proposal is part of a comprehensive mobility plan, also referred to as a sustainable urban mobility plan, to streamline movement of people and goods while integrating land use and infrastructure planning. A senior LMC official said the CMP focuses on building a safer, more efficient, and sustainable transport system for the city, which has been grappling with growing traffic pressure due to unregulated e-rickshaws and buses. Traffic congestion caused by unplanned stoppages of buses and unregulated e-rickshaw movement has long been a recurring problem at several busy intersections of Lucknow. 'We receive regular complaints from commuters who suffer long delays due to buses stopping on the wrong side or e-rickshaws blocking crossings. This plan addresses those issues directly,' the official said. An LMC official said that earlier, the municipal corporation drives were limited to removing encroachment, one of the major reasons behind road congestion. The presentation being prepared by a private consultancy based in Delhi was on Thursday shown to municipal commissioner Gaurav Kumar, who confirmed that the plan would be integrated into the city's Master Plan 2045. 'This is a forward-looking initiative. It takes into account mobility needs of the next 20 years and will help in improving the quality of life for city residents,' Kumar said. The plan will next be placed before the divisional commissioner Roshan Jacob. Upon her approval, it will be forwarded to the state government for final clearance, he added. Officials said that a city-wide traffic survey will be conducted to map congestion-prone zones and identify areas for immediate intervention. The plan also proposes digital solutions and the inclusion of AI-driven monitoring systems to manage traffic more efficiently. Currently, the city has a fleet of 32 CNG buses and 140 electric buses operated by Lucknow City Transport Services Limited (LCTSL). LMC officials said that the involvement of the traffic police and district administration would be crucial for the successful implementation of the CMP. Earlier, during the tenure of the former municipal commissioner, a similar idea was floated but it did not move forward. This time, however, officials said they were confident that the proposal would get the necessary approvals. CMP presentation: Key proposals - Construction of elevated roads and new flyovers to ease congestion at choke points - Improvement of existing road infrastructure and junctions - Creation of dedicated parking zones to reduce roadside vehicle halts - Regulation of e-rickshaw movement -- permitting them only in inner lanes and prohibiting their operation on main roads. - Streamlining city bus routes and ensuring buses stop only at designated points to prevent traffic bottlenecks
Edinburgh Live
17-06-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Live
Ambitious £35m redevelopment of Edinburgh George Street set to go before councillors
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info An ambitious £35 million redevelopment of George Street is set to go before city councillors for approval. The project was confirmed to still be going ahead at a meeting last month, when it was included in the City Mobility Plan. Now, councillors will be asked to ditch consideration of two 'do minimum' options for the future of the project, and instead endorse the most ambitious version of it. And they'll be asked to sign off on work to get permission to close off streets and other works prepared. Transport Convener and Labour councillor Stephen Jenkinson said: 'I think it's a unique kind of opportunity to do something quite forward thinking. 'Something quite modern and progressive in the centre of a World Heritage Site, in what I would argue is one of the most important streets, not only in Edinburgh but for Scotland as well. 'What we're proposing to do is start the promotion of the statutory process. So this would be doing the behind the scenes work with regards to TROs and the statutory process. 'At the appropriate time, we are able to kick off that process and not delay it further down the line. Under the full version of the plan, George Street would be transformed, with new setts, planters and seating spaces added and eight trees planted. Also, 'hostile vehicle mitigation' – anti-vehicle barriers to stop terror attacks – would be installed, which would be raised and lowered daily to cut off the street from traffic. It has been costed at just over £35 million, with reduced utility relocation costs meaning it can step down from the previously reported £39 million price tag. Funding for the project has not yet been secured, but the bulk of it is expected to come from external grants from the Scottish Government and other bodies. Some could also come from the city's Transient Visitor Levy. Council officers also presented three 'value-engineered' options for the scheme, which could see the trees, some drainage and anti-terrorism barriers removed, as well as the elimination of future-proofing for the street. These versions of the scheme would cost between £13 million and £20 million. However, in a report they will present to councillors next Thursday, officers say that these options could put more financial risk on the council, as they would mean the city could get less external funding. In addition, they say it could cost the city more long-term, both due to the direct cost of installing parts of the project later and due to the impact on businesses of a second closure. Cllr Jenkinson continued: 'George Street is, obviously, a public realm project, it's an active travel project, but it's also, from my perspective, an economic development project as well. 'I think for a project to deliver on all those objectives, I think it ticks many boxes for me as an exciting project to deliver for the city over the next few years.' At next Thursday's Transport and Environment Committee meeting, councillors will also be asked to discard any consideration of two 'do minimum' options previously considered. One of these options was a £10.3 million investment in maintenance on the street, avoiding other changes. Officers said this would not comply with the city's street design guidelines, frustrate local stakeholders who have been invested in the project, and possibly cost the city more than in the other options due to the lack of available external funding. The other option would be a permanent ban on parking throughout George Street, mirroring a trial carried out in 2014. While it would contribute towards the city's emissions reduction targets, and be 'minimal cost', officers said that there was not strong local support for such a move. Cllr Jenkinson said that the project could be scaled back from the full version to one of the 'value engineered' ones if external funding is not as readily available as expected. And, the report says that councillors will be able to reconsider the 'Do Minimum' options at a later date if drawing in funds proves difficult. Councillors will make a decision on the project at the next meeting of the Transport and Environment Committee on Thursday, 26 June, which you can view here.
Scotsman
06-06-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
City building its way to serious financial trouble
The changes to George Street will see the current parking down the centre of the street removed, buses rerouted, the pavement widened and the carriageway become a 'cycle street' In the city that is home to the Royal Bank of Scotland we don't have to look too far for a cautionary tale of a large institution allowing debt to become a survival problem. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Yet it may be a surprise to some that media reports this week have highlighted that Edinburgh City Council's debt mountain has reached £1.7 billion. A report back in January highlighted an even higher figure of £1.9bn, which included council housing borrowing, and showed that Edinburgh has the fourth highest borrowing of all UK local authorities. This is bad company to be in. The three councils with more debt than Edinburgh are all in serious financial trouble. Both Birmingham and Woking effectively declared themselves bankrupt in 2023 and Leeds has discussed the possibility. Edinburgh's debt is higher than the annual spend on services of £1.3bn and has risen by £310 million since 2019. Worse, it is predicted to keep rising to £2.9bn by 2030. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The debt already costs taxpayers about £100m a year on interest and repayments rather than teachers, social care or street cleaners. Coincidentally it is the same amount the council predicts it will have to cut in 2030 to balance the books. That follows predictions of increasing cuts every year until then. Normally you would expect an organisation in this kind of trouble to stop building things but no, the grand vanity projects wish list grows longer every month. In recent times the phalanx of left-wing parties in the City Chambers has backed plans for developments such as more tram lines costing at least £2bn, their City Mobility Plan (it is really about immobility as it closes roads to traffic) at up to £1.4bn and the finance of council-run heat networks at a guesstimate of £1bn. All with no idea where the funds will come from. This doesn't even account for plans for 'normal' building of new schools and housing. These are now built in the most expensive way possible because of the 2030 Net Zero target and all the costs are increasing due to construction inflation. The prime example of inflation is the grand plan for George Street which started out at £30m but has now reached at least £40m with one council paper giving a range up to £100m. The usual suspects are calling for higher taxes and more funding from a Scottish Government that is also taxing and spending at levels beyond sensible. The truth is we need to stop building new things we can't afford. We might then be able to balance the books while still providing the day-to-day services residents need most and maintain the streets and buildings we already own. Iain Whyte is Conservative group leader on Edinburgh City Council
Edinburgh Reporter
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Edinburgh Reporter
City mobility plan passed despite concerns
A new scheme to prioritise Edinburgh infrastructure projects has been approved by councillors, despite some of them holding concerns over several issues. The new City Mobility Plan aims to determine which projects the city will prioritise working on in the next decade. Officers recommended that councillors accept a priority list which saw 73 projects approved to go ahead, and 61 others paused – with most either not having been started yet or having already been paused before the plan's release. Labour councillor Stephen Jenkinson, who convenes the Transport and Environment Committee, heralded the plan, saying the time to take action was now, and that it is a 'a necessary piece of work.' But some councillors raised concerns over the priority list, questioning the system used to select projects to carry out or pause and the geographic distribution of projects. Infrastructure projects were scored on a matrix which judged elements of each, such as cost effectiveness and benefit for public transport – but some projects with higher scores were paused, while others with lower scores were approved. Liberal Democrat councillor Kevin Lang said: 'Coming into this committee meeting, I feel like I had two fundamental issues with this report. Now I feel like I'll leave with three. 'The first is around what has been quite a complex scoring matrix. I don't think it's an unreasonable question to ask, [why do] you get a project scoring 20 paused when a project with 10 is proceeding? 'My second worry is around deliverability. I completely admire and respect the optimism that exists. Let's be frank, this is a council that can take three years to change a speed limit and six years to put in a speedbump.' Lang's third concern was about developers' compliance with section 75 orders, which involve developer contributions to infrastructure projects. Earlier in the meeting, a council officer said that most projects were continued or paused based on their score, but that some broke from this pattern due to extenuating circumstances, such as projects being eligible for certain bespoke funding. The Liberal Democrat group had lodged an amendment calling on the report to be paused, giving councillors and officers more time to look at it. Meanwhile, the Conservative group put forward their own list of projects to be continued and paused, using different scoring criteria. Conservative councillor Neil Cuthbert, representing Colinton/Fairmilehead, asked officers: 'It does feel like a report for lovers of spreadsheets. Just looking at the different projects, I don't think it's any surprise that the ward with the most projects is the city centre. 'The wards with the second and third most projects are Forth and Almond. I don't want to go through the list, but Colinton/Fairmile is at the bottom of the list. There's two [projects]. 'I wondered if there's any comments about why there does appear to be quite a disparity in a lot of different areas?' Council officer Sheila Paton said: 'This is a long legacy and history of projects that have come forward over the years. We haven't deliberately tried to exclude any geographical areas, as I'm sure you can imagine. 'In terms of the focus on the city centre, we have a sense of how much of the proposed ten year programme would potentially be dedicated to the city centre. 'And we feel like it's in proportion with how complicated the city centre is, how important it is.' Interim Executive Director of Place Gareth Barwell added: 'This list here hasn't added new schemes. This is officers broadly trawling through the commitments of this committee. 'A lot of these are actions we've inherited due to growth and development.' The SNP group put forward an amendment adding three projects to the 'proceed' list, while the Green group wanted to see council officers begin looking at a congestion charge in the capital as a possible infrastructure funding source. At a vote, seven councillors supported a joint Labour, SNP and Green position, while two supported the Conservative position and two supported the Liberal Democrat position. Cllr Jenkinson said: 'I'm really pleased that we've agreed this bold programme for our city. Prioritisation allows us to work smarter with the resources we have available – making sure we have a clear and achievable path to achieving our objectives. 'This programme follows the successes of major infrastructure projects such as Trams to Newhaven and active travel projects including the City Centre West to East Link (CCWEL), Roseburn to Union Canal and Leith Connections. 'This is an extensive piece of work which allows the City Mobility Plan to be agile, and able to adapt in the future as necessary.' Three projects were added to the list after amendments by political groups, and a fourth was added pending further work on how to fund it. Among these was the Causey project, which seeks to turn the traffic island at the junction of West Crosscauseway and Buccleuch Street into a public events space. The project, which campaigners have spent over a decade seeking funding for, was added to the priority list as a result of an SNP amendment. The group also got the Portobello Town Centre project, which seeks to widen footways and reduce road traffic in the area, and a new cycle link over the bypass near Heriot Watt, over the line. An amendment by the city's Labour administration, meanwhile, got approval for the funding of more toilets for bus drivers at the ends of routes, pending finding a funding source. Cllr Jenkinson said: 'The project which I've identified as part of my amendment is a very particular project. It is currently marked for pause, but just for this financial year. 'The topic itself of provision of bus driver toilets at key locations, which are predominantly the terminuses for buses, is a very important one. 'Personally, and I hope the committee will agree, that it's a project that, once the uncertainty around funding is clarified, is unpaused.' Graeme Smith, an industrial officer for Unite, which covers Lothian Buses, said: 'Access to a toilet at work is a basic right so it is important that the Council gets this right for our members in passenger transport. 'This is a matter of health and safety. It is also an equalities issue, more acutely impacting workers who are older, pregnant or have a health condition.' By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
