Edinburgh plans ‘car-free boulevard’
Cars are set to be banned from Edinburgh’s George Street as part of radical transformation plans to open up the space for pedestrians, bikes, and outdoor seating areas.
The historic street, which can become severely gridlocked with drivers trying to find on-street car parking spaces, will be given a “European boulevard feel” to better accentuate the A-listed buildings that line it.
Bus stops will be located at either end and car parking will remain only for blue badge holders and for loading access for businesses.
The plans form part of Edinburgh City Council’s ten-year transformation project, which will see the city centre become largely car-free by 2030.
Convener of the council’s transport committee Lesley Macinnes, said: “George Street has essentially become a car park. And we have this phenomenal street, of immense beauty, that has become obscured.
“Why, as a city, would we not want to showcase that beautiful street?
"It fits very well within the city centre transformation plan, and is one of the key building blocks of the overall feel of the city centre we’re moving towards.
“The plans fit very well within our overall feel for turning the city centre into a much more people-friendly setting, where people arrive in the city centre in a very different way, with much more reliance on public transport or walking or cycling.”edinburgh City Council first agreed to increase pedestrian space in the city centre in 2013 and beginning in 2014 a new layout was trialled for 18 months on George Street.
Since then design principles have been developed and the project was widened to
include the interconnecting Castle, Frederick and Hanover Streets and the junctions with Charlotte and St Andrew Squares.
Further consultation with key stakeholders is set to take
place over the next month, the outcome of which will inform a final design proposal, set to be brought before the council’s transport and environment committee in April.
The required statutory processes
would then begin in the summer.
Councillor Macinnes added: “It very much feeds into that European boulevard feel.”