Covid fears as visitors flock to Cramond
Worried residents have demanded urgent measures to tackle bottleneck traffic on a main road in Edinburgh amid fears about large numbers heading to a local beauty spot.
They have complained that Cramond Glebe Road was “choked with traffic” on Saturday as groups of people made their way to the shore at Cramond.
This was despite the RNLI again warning people to avoid walking out to Cramond Island over the weekend, given the causeway will be unsafe to use due to rising tide times.
Police in Edinburgh also issued a plea this week for people to follow current lockdown rules following reports of people gathering in Portobello and the Pentland hills regional park.
Despite that residents reported huge crowds flocking to the area both on Saturday and yesterday. One Cramond resident said he feels “unsafe to go out the front door” due to the large numbers of people heading to the beauty spot.
He said: “The main road down to the Shore line was choked with traffic. Nobody can safely get past. There’s cars up on the pavement.
"Social distancing is impossible when it’s that packed. It’s chockablock. I don’t think people come out with the intention of breaking the rules but the sheer volume of people means people end up much closer than 2m. And there’s groups bigger than two.
"This is not a one-off. It’s like this many days. During the first lockdown the car park was closed and barricaded off. But now with the new deadly strain its allowed to stay open. It makes no sense. It’s causing pure bedlam.”
He added: "That road is also the main access point for the coastguard. If there’s a medical
emergency this could cost lives. I’ve seen ambulances not be able to get down that road before.”
Eddie Tait, owner of the Boardwalk Cafe, said: “Far too many cars are parked here
– but it’s safe once people get down the Shore.
"The problem is a lack of parking and access for cars.”
A police Scotland spokesperson said: "We received a call about traffic queues in the
area of Cramond Glebe Road around 2.15pm on Saturday. Officers attended to help with traffic management, but there were no issues on arrival."