In October 2015 Living streets Edinburgh responded to the local Councils request for comments on the future plans for George Street.
The full response can be found here
The briefing sets out the views of Living Streets Scotland and Living Streets Edinburgh (the local campaign group) on the future of George Street and the scope to restore it to its rightful place as one of the capital’s and Scotland’s finest streets. It summarises 10 principles that we believe will allow Edinburgh to match and compete with other similar north European capital cities, with principal streets that offer a high quality experience to visitors and residents.
Achieving the vision
- Recognize that George Street is an internationally important asset
- Redress the chronic lack of high-quality urban space in Edinburgh
- More people – not more parking – is the key to George Street’s future success
- Create fully pedestrianised European style spaces
- George Street is not a transport artery, so prioritise place over movement
- Quality materials are not enough to deliver a quality street
- Shared space must protect vulnerable users and restrain vehicle speeds
- George Street must be at the heart of a lively, sociable walkable New Town
- Proactively manage and regulate the new street from the outset
- Edinburgh must not fail again
The opportunity must be taken to demonstrate Edinburgh’s streetscape can match its world-class architecture.