Cowgate: Deputation by Living Streets Edinburgh Group to the Transport and Environment Committee 18 November 2024
We welcome the motion by Cllr Mowat and the subsequent report to committee following the dreadful incident on the Cowgate on 2 November. We record our condolences to Mr Leneghan’s family and friends.
While we don’t know the circumstances of this incident and wouldn’t wish to speculate on them, we do know that the Cowgate have long been recognised as a dangerous street owing to its unique features and uses. This is why the ban of traffic after 10pm was introduced more than 20 years ago.
The council also commissioned Living Streets to review the street in 2016. A participant in that review described the Cowgate as “the worst street in Edinburgh for pedestrians” bit.ly/2covj3Q. The report highlighted especially the significant problems of road safety and accessibility due to heavy fast traffic and inadequate pavements as well as recommending a number of practical, small-scale improvements.
Since 2016, there have been some welcome improvements – the introduction of a 20mph speed limit, installation of double yellow lines and the ban on pavement parking.
However, the fundamental problems of the street – too much traffic, inadequate pavements – remain. The carriageway was extensively resurfaced in 2020, but no improvements were made to the footways.
Options to improve safety could include major changes such as making the street one-way to traffic, removing through-traffic (using a “filter”) or banning traffic entirely (with appropriate access arrangements for key services). However it would be essential for such options to be considered in the context of wider traffic plans (’Future Streets’) for the city and the Old Town in particular. It is especially important that traffic isn’t driven onto the Canongate. Traffic and pedestrian comfort and safety is just as important on the Royal Mile with its primary school and high footfall, as on the Cowgate.
Another option (recommended in the 2016 report) would be to install chicanes under the Bridges on the Cowgate. This would reduce the carriageway to a single lane which traffic would use in alternating directions. It would permit the pavements to be significantly widened (and the big, inaccessible kerbs removed) and would also slow down traffic and remove its appeal as a through-route.
We welcome Police Scotland’s recommendation to bring forward the traffic ban to start earlier that 10.00pm. This would be a quick and cheap way to reduce some risks pedestrian-vehicle conflict. We have also long argued for much more stringent traffic restrictions in key Old Town streets including the Cowgate during the summer festivals when the mix of vehicles and pedestrians is often totally unsuitable.
A growing population and rising visitor numbers mean more traffic and busier streets in Edinburgh – but with a legacy of some hopelessly inadequate pedestrian facilities. We hope that the Council will seize this moment to act quickly to ensure that people can use Cowgate and other Old Town streets safely.
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