Edinburgh must put pedestrians and cyclists first, road safetycampaigners warn

QUOTE:
Edinburgh risks being left behind by comparable European cities who put pedestrians and cyclists first, a local road campaigner has told Edinburgh Live.

Following a string of tragic accidents in the city , a new grassroots campaign has been supported by a number of locals for rapid action to improve road safety in Edinburgh.

Tweeting as @urbancyclist, Edinburgh local Anthony has pointed to other European cities which have "pedestrian boulevards, cleaner air, space to move and live" and said Edinburgh could risk being left behind.

Speaking to Edinburgh Live, Anthony said the city could use this summer to try out different approaches to improve the experience of pedestrians and non-motor vehicle road users such as cyclist.

With traffic likely to be reduced due to the coronavirus crisis over the summer, Anthony pointed to St John's Road which is usually one of the city's most congested roads.

"There's no magic bullet to fix everything, it's a combination of things. It does take, and would need, a lot of thought and consultation," Anothony said.

He said that we could use the experience of lockdown to demonstrate how things could be better.

"Right at the start, when it was the full lockdown, the roads were incredibly quiet in comparison to normal. You had roads like St John's Road, which I think is one of the most polluted roads in the country, and families were seen walking and cycling along it.

"That just wouldn't have happened in the past.

"Often, people will say when their (SIC) is discussion on new cycle lanes people will say 'well there aren't any cyclists there', which completely misses the logic.

"The lockdown and the reduction in traffic has just proved that if its safe to do, if the option is there for people, they will use it.

https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news...lists-18556122