No cars, by George!

Cars could be banned from George Street in Edinburgh as part of proposals revealed to transform the New Town into a “world-class space” for pedestrians. Somehow the words “masterplan” and “Edinburgh Council” don’t fill me up with the greatest of confidence. Expect going well over budget, extended deadlines and receiving a tiny proportion of what was originally promised. The good news is they might allow us to vote to name this “world-class space”. Let’s start a competition now. The Caledonia Crypt, the George Street Graveyard and the Waste of Space seem to be the frontrunners at this time.

Gary James And then . . . expect all the shops to slowly start to close. I have seen it happen in many cities.

Paula Murta Moreira Edinburgh Council is killing Edinburgh. It will be a tourist city only soon! It’s rubbish to shop in as it is and if they remove parking normal shoppers will desert it.

Lynne Clapperton We need some decent “worldclass” shops to go with it then. Get the rates etc reduced

and let in some local small individual businesses instead of the corporate rubbish.

Sam Mcintosh Seems I’m in the minority by saying this is a great idea. Walked in pedestrian zones in various cities across Europe and it’s a far better experience. Well done to the council for being bold. Not sure why anyone would want to bring their car into town anyway.

Robin Wallace

Is it really needed? You have Princes Street Gardens to enjoy without cars. You then have Rose Street, which is basically car-free, so why make the next street up the same? Is it to lease expensive plots for pop-up cafes? It will just push more people to outof-town retail parks.

Andrew Young

I’d pedestrianise the whole city centre apart from public transport, delivery vehicles and bicycles. It’s the implementation that concerns me.

Brian Morley