Life in slow lane: 12mph top speed on busiest road

A FIVE-MILE stretch of Edinburgh road is the most congested in Scotland.

At peak times, cars on it travel at only 12mph and commuters spend 43 hours – almost two days – of their year stuck there.

City motorists will be all too familiar with the A8 between Princes St and Maybury Road – the busy route that links the city centre to the airport, as well as the M8 towards Glasgow.

But now their daily torture has been officially recognised, as the road has been given the title of the worst for traffic jams.

The figures were revealed in data from driving software company Inrix, which provides live congestion data for GPS devices.

The second most congested road is a three-mile stretch of the A739 in Glasgow, linking Anniesland Cross and the Clyde Tunnel.

Drivers there spend an average of 18 hours a year in jams, travelling at a painstakingly slow 18mph during peak hours.

The third worst was the City Bypass between Musselburgh services and Wester Hailes, also Edinburgh.

Motorists on the ten-mile section are delayed for an average of 17 hours a year, even though their average speed during rush hour is 40mph.

Commenting on the A8 in Edinburgh, AA spokesman Luke Bosdet said: ‘What you are looking at is the problem which is hitting all cities throughout the UK, which is that to find affordable housing you have either got to go to the outskirts or further. They have to drive into work.’

But he added: ‘It could well be that it’s like many cities in the UK – there isn’t joined-up thinking into how to get people out of their cars and into public transport.’

City of Edinburgh Council transport convener Lesley Hinds said: ‘We appreciate traffic delays are frustrating for all road users which is why the council strives to minimise congestion as far as we can.

‘Our control room monitors traffic and congestion in the city and enables regular amendments to signal timings at peak times to help traffic flow.

‘In addition, we work closely with public utility companies to ensure non-emergency roadworks are planned and coordinated as carefully as possible.’ A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: ‘The A739 Crow Road from Anniesland Cross to the Clyde Tunnel is a major route, one of the busiest in Glasgow.

‘It copes with a considerable traffic demand on a daily basis, the majority of which is travelling to destinations outwith the city. We are monitoring the route and investigating traffic signal improvements to reduce delays.’

However, as reported in yesterday’s Scottish Daily Mail, overall congestion on Scotland’s roads is easing – bucking the trend in the rest of the UK.

A total of 14 out of 18 cities in the UK have reported worsening jams, with London drivers now wasting 101 hours in traffic every year.

Despite a record number of cars on Scotland’s roads, overall hours that commuters lose to traffic in our cities have remained stable or fallen.

‘Frustrating for all road users’