BUS users have hit out at a series of road closures brought in to prevent 'rat-running' around a revamp at one of the city's busiest roundabouts.
A £1.7 million project to replace the roundabout which links Seafield Road, Portobello Road and King's Road with traffic lights got under way last month.
Council chiefs have closed off 22 roads on the approaches to the roundabout in a bid to preve
nt drivers rat-running.
But this has left residents in Craigentinny Road and Wakefield Avenue facing a 500-metre walk to the nearest bus stops on Craigentinny Avenue or Portobello Road.
Residents today said this had left many elderly people struggling to get to the bus stops and called for the roads to be reopened for buses only.
Council chiefs said they had closed so many roads following the experiences of roadworks at Milton Link last year when there was serious problems.
Julia McEwan, 49, a checkout assistant, who lives on Craigentinny Road, said: "It just seems so over the top to close off our road just in case a few drivers try and take a shortcut.
"My family and a lot of people around here rely on public transport and although we're all fairly mobile, there are plenty of people who live here who are not and are having to go quite a distance to the other bus stops.
"I don't see why they can not have kept the road open for buses but banned other traffic.
"We are endlessly encouraged to take public transport and my family spend in excess of £120 pounds per month on Ridacards so I don't see why the service should be interrupted for the sake of a few drivers."
The work at Seafield is expected to last until November and will see the roundabout turned into a junction with new traffic lights and bus lanes.
Councillor Ewan Aitken, Labour councillor for Craigentinny, said he had been contacted by a number of residents, including many elderly people, who were upset about the road closures.
He said: "In attempting to stop rat-running, the administration solution has been driven by the bad choices a few drivers take instead of beginning with the principle of what would be best for all residents.
"Who is in charge here? Those who use the bus are denied that choice because the few who abuse the option of using a car run the show. This is unfair and unjust but it is not too late too change the decision and I hope that the administration change their minds."
A council spokeswoman said: "Rat-running became a problem for residents living close to the Milton Link roadworks last year, raising concerns about safety due to a large increase in traffic volume in their streets.
"This was despite the use of advisory signs, so it was decided to temporarily close non-residential access to certain streets close to the King's Road roundabout during the work. This was done in close consultation between the council, the police and bus operators.
"We are aware that some bus users are faced with a slightly longer walk to stops because of this, but the overall feedback from residents is that they support these traffic calming methods."
The full article contains 546 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
