Roadworks snarl city centre traffic

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Several busy streets in central Edinburgh have been plunged into turmoil in recent weeks with roadworks causing disrupting the city's transport infrastructure.

With the 19-week closure of Shandwick Place beginning Monday 3 March, as well significant road works taking place in other areas such as Leith Walk, Clerk Street, Slateford Road and the Grassmarket, the capital is currently undergoing one of the most expansive programs of road redevelopment in recent years.

Unsurprisingly, the bulk of the major construction is taking place in preparation for the new £545 million Edinburgh Airport-Newhaven tram line, set for completion in early 2011. However, work on the tramline itself is not scheduled to begin for at least another twelve months.

A spokesperson for Edinburgh City Council’s Transport division told The Journal: "The roadworks on Leith Walk and Shandwick Place are a precursor to the laying of the tram lines. We have to make sure that the tram routes are cleared of all utility pipes and cables before work commences on the tram lines themselves.

“It is essential that we move all gas, water and electricity mains from the tram routes at once. When tramlines were laid in Dublin, they neglected to do this and the route had to be dug up five times.

“All work will be suspended for the month of August during the Edinburgh festival and will continue in early September.

“Throughout the construction period, roadworks will commence on no more than seven sites throughout the city, so as to minimise disruption to traffic flow.”

Currently, the worst affected area is that immediately west of Princes Street, with all traffic heading away from the city centre being directed up Lothian Road and onto the Western Approach Road. A detour along Melville Street is currently redirecting cars and buses heading towards Princes Street from the Haymarket area.

Thirteen bus stops around Shandwick Place have been closed and replaced by twelve temporary stops along the new diversion routes. 136 designated parking areas, mostly along Melville Street, have also been temporarily removed in order to accommodate a greater flow of traffic heading east towards the city centre.

Changes to several major bus routes to the west of the city centre were implemented last Saturday, and delays were compounded by further work underway on Clerk Street and South Clerk Street. However, a spokesman from Lothian Buses told The Journal that despite the various re-routes that have taken place due to the closure of Shandwick Place, “it has not been looking too bad so far.”

The Edinburgh City Council’s Transport division spokesperson explained that “regular traffic surveys are being carried out between the council, Lothian Buses and the police, and weekly meetings will be taking place to discuss the traffic situation around Melville Street, Lothian Road, Western Approach Road, Queen Street and Charlotte Square.

"So far, the outcome has been very positive. Lothian Buses have not experienced any delays and police were on hand for the first few days making sure that everything was under control.

"The early indications have been extremely positive.”

This opinion was echoed by a Lothian and Borders Police spokesman who stated: “We had patrols over the weekend and there weren’t any problems. So far, things have gone well."

Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (TIE) construction director Graham Barclay claimed he was very happy with the outcome of the redirected traffic over the first few days.

He said: “TIE is constantly monitoring the traffic situation and we are pleased that the early stages are flowing as planned.

“We will continue to monitor the traffic as works continue but we do appreciate the ongoing patience and co-operation of drivers.”

However, local residents from the Shandwick Place area have expressed a degree of unhappiness with the disruption caused by the roadworks.

Nicholas Hodgson, 22, who lives on Manor Place off Shandwick Place and works on Melville Street, told The Journal: "The roadworks are a real pain. I was woken up at seven o’clock on Saturday morning by the sound of a pneumatic drill, and I often find it really hard to relax at home with so much noise. But it’s even worse at work; there is now so much noise on Melville Street that the people at the front of the office can barely hear themselves think.”

However, he added: “I am a supporter of the construction of the tram lines, and feel it is one of the best decisions the Scottish Government has made in recent years, so I suppose I can’t get too annoyed about the whole thing.”

Stretches of Leith Walk have also been experiencing major roadworks since development began on back in August, with work currently underway from Jameson Place to Brunswick Street and Balfour Street to the foot of the Walk. Utility work ahead of the construction of the tram line officially begun on 7 January is expected to last for 25 weeks, and further work is due to commence on Constitution Street in Late March, lasting an estimated 26 weeks.

Laurence Robertson, a businessman who works in Newhaven, told The Journal that he was far from happy at the state of Leith Walk, and that driving up and down it every day during rush hour is a nightmare.

He said: “Leith Walk is a joke. The congestion is ridiculous and they’ve opened and closed it at various points time and time again at the taxpayer’s expense."

Mr Robertson added: “People who use Leith Walk are getting to work late, which affects the economy, and there are also various green issues involved, such as the emissions let off by the cars of drivers stuck in traffic jams.”

Details of the remaining tram-related roadworks in the city centre, which are likely to involve a complete temporary closure of Princes Street, are due to be released in April, two months later than planned.

George Street is expected to bear the brunt of any traffic diverted away from Princes Street, which may involve the short-term removal of some of the street’s historic statues such as George VI and William Pitt.

The spokesperson from the council's Transport division informed The Journal that the laying of new gas mains is the reason for the major works currently underway, Clerk Street and South Clerk Street, and due to end on 1 June 2008.

Predictably, the series of roadworks throughout the capital has had negative repercussions for local trade, particularly among small businesses. Samir Aouane, owner of VIP’s, a barber shop on Lutton Place, off South Clerk Street, told The Journal: "Business has been much quieter since the roadworks began. Access to the shop is greatly restricted whenever construction takes place on the roads and people want to stay away from areas where roadworks are taking place.”

Numerous student drivers have been affected by the chaos on the capital's road in recent weeks.

Claudia Coates, a student at the University of Edinburgh said: “There doesn’t seem to be a road in Edinburgh where there isn’t some kind of work being done. It’s a massive bore.”

Sam Kirkness, also of the University of Edinburgh, added: “In my experience the traffic has always been bad in Edinburgh, but I’ve noticed high levels of congestion recently. The problems seem to be getting worse.”

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