Plans to make major Edinburgh street ‘car free’ backed by councillors

Plans to make a major Edinburgh street “car free” have been backed by city councillors.

A revised plan for the Scottish capital’s George Street will now move forward to the next stage after members of the the city’s transport and environment committee voted to support the proposals.

The original revamp wanted to see parking down the centre of George Street removed, a new cycle lane added, and most traffic banned.

The latest “reduced design” plans have cuts costs from an estimated £35 million to £20 million, by reducing excavation and therefore utility diversions, replacing natural stone cobbles on the road surface with asphalt, and making changes to the access control system.

Trees will be retained on the street, following Thursday’s vote by councillors.

Crucially, cars will still be banned once the project is completed – with access restricted primarily to taxis, essential deliveries, and blue badge holders.

However, the council has said that proposed layout and carriageway could accommodate emergency two-way bus movement at slow speeds if required.

The council said the updated plans have taken into account the impact of the Princes Street fire on July 9, which took hold at the site of an old Debenhams store.

No-one was injured in the fire, but it caused extensive damage to the disused B-listed building and led to disruption during Edinburgh’s festival season.

Trams were unable to run their full route and buses faced diversions for weeks while the City of Edinburgh Council worked to make the building safe again.

A council committee report from Thursday said the fire emphasised the “importance of strengthening Edinburgh’s transport network and resilience”.

Transport and environment committee councillors also agreed to allocate Visitor Levy funding to George Street alongside improvement projects on Princes Street and Market Street/East Market Street.

Councillor Stephen Jenkinson, transport and environment convener, said: “Our goal is to adapt Edinburgh’s historic city centre to create a safer, more welcoming and accessible environment, while retaining the area’s unique heritage.

“We have several ambitious projects in the pipeline which will deliver the kind of change needed to achieve this, as well as maintaining the Capital’s public transport network. Recent events on Princes Street highlighted how important this is.”

Mr Jenkinson said George Street and First New Town are “central” to these plans.

“I’m pleased that we’re now able to progress the scheme alongside other major improvements across the city centre,” he added.