Leith Central Community Council has sought to calm the storm over Leith Walk renovations which blew up before Christmas.
In a Hogmanay blog post on its website, an unnamed Minutes Secretary acknowledges the vehemence with which some members expressed their displeasure about the Improvement Programme's slow progress at the LCCC 16 December meeting (reported here in Breaking news, 17.12.13).
The blog post also contextualises the local petition against a reduction in parking on Leith Walk (reported here in Breaking news, 22.12.13, and robustly dismantled by Greener Leith on 23 December).
Key points in the LCCC blog post include:
- Businesses on Leith Walk are suffering, pedestrians and cyclists are dodging potholes. It is evident that the current state of the road prevents the local economy from thriving and deters tourists from venturing beyond Elm Row.
- A perceived lack of clarity concerning the coming roadworks is central to the current unrest, and should be rectified by better preparation and advanced distribution of agendas, audio recordings of meetings, and published minutes.
- Leith Walk renovations must start as soon as possible.
LCCC's approach is perhaps a little more diplomatic than Greener Leith's, describing those who started the recent petition as merely 'an unknown number of local traders'.
However, like Greener Leith, it clearly reiterates what it regards as the positive planning decisions made to reorient Leith Walk from a joyless traffic thoroughfare to a community-focused public space appropriate also to the needs of pedestrians and cyclists.
Contrary to the wilder claims of some locals in correspondence with councillors, it asserts that everyone involved (within and outwith the Council, both traders and local residents) wants the project to be successful and to finish as soon as possible.
It concludes that 'the only way forward is to keep soldiering on.'
Spurtle thinks these contributions by Greener Leith and now Leith Central Community Council have been necessary and helpful.
We also continue to believe that further irruptions of public frustration will only be avoided if Transport Convener Cllr Lesley Hinds redoubles Council efforts to win hearts and minds through clearer communication.