Firms 'must have say on Princes St'

Published on Thursday 3 March 2011 10:04

AN organisation that promotes Edinburgh's city centre has urged businesses to contribute to a consultation on a radical revamp of Princes Street and the surrounding areas.

Essential Edinburgh said that the proposals from Gehl Architects were a "fantastic starting point" for the city to agree a co-ordinated approach to the improvement of its main shopping streets and consideration of issues such as parking, transport, events, pedestrianisation and accessibility.

Liz McAreavey, interim chief executive of Essential Edinburgh, said: "It is of vital importance that there is a full consultation with stakeholders.

"Essential Edinburgh would like to begin the discussion and welcomes all feedback and comments relating to the development of the city centre and we will be looking to the sector-specific groups to discuss this study and other projects."

In its assessment of Princes Street, Rose Street and George Street, Gehl has recommended that the city addresses the challenges of traffic-dominated streets, improves the quality of the pedestrian experience and tries to achieve a better mix of uses in the city centre.