COMMUNITY COUNCIL’S CONSIDERED VIEW
Local resident and former MP Mark Lazarowicz first publicised proposals to improve Broughton Street for pedestrians and cyclists here.
Those suggestions were later refined following discussion (see Update 21.6.20), and additional observations and tweaks from a variety of interested parties appeared on the Spaces for People online consultation.
All these inputs have now informed another considered response from the New Town & Broughton Community Council.
In summary, NTBCC welcomes Lazarowicz’s contribution, but thinks Broughton Street is too narrow to accommodate every one of his suggestions. Whilst accepting that further discussion is necessary, not least with local businesses, NTBCC makes the following recommendations:
- Traffic should be reduced to two lanes (except at the junction with Picardy Place heading south).
- Cycles should be encouraged to use the much safer Dublin Street, which also provides a direct link with the North St Andrew Street cycle lane and is the designated NCN 75 route. Implementation of the long-awaited crossing at the London Street/Drummond Place junction should be expedited to further improve this.
- ‘Dwelling’ should be encouraged in the expanded footway, to attract trade for local business and improve the ambience for pedestrians.
- Pavements should be extended along much of the street on both sides, removing the 13 Pay & Display spaces (retaining an appropriate number of Blue Badge spaces) and, following consultation with local businesses, remove some of the loading bays (from the current 13 on Broughton Street) to, for example, 4 on the east and 3 on the west. Another option would be to consider time windows for deliveries – similar to proposals elsewhere.
- The pavement could be widened on the eastern, sunnier side to encourage ‘dwelling’. Footway extension should try to avoid obtrusive and unsightly plastic ‘wands’, which can be hazardous when repositioned by drivers or wind.
- In the longer term, low bollards as deployed on George IV Bridge should be used to prevent vehicles encroaching on pavements. All bus stops should be retained.
- The roadway should be made safer for cycling with physical traffic calming measures in both directions to enforce the 20mph limit.
NTBCC’s suggestions are set within a wider call for an urgent reduction in the number of private car journeys in Edinburgh’s city centre.
You can read the full set of suggestions here.
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Email from Eileen Dickie: Mark Lazarowicz will remember that the last (I think) time locals tried to improve the pedestrian experience on Broughton Street was at least 20+ years ago. Instead of widening the pavement as asked, the Council introduced parking along the east side (Crombie’s, Barony etc. etc.) on the grounds that parked cars would separate pedestrians from the traffic!
