Cost of transport to keep the waterfront moving hits £50m

Published on Wednesday 17 September 2008 09:50

NEARLY £50 million worth of transport improvements are needed to support plans to regenerate Edinburgh's waterfront, according to a new study by council chiefs.

City leaders have drawn up a transport action plan to help reduce the congestion created by the thousands of people expected to move into the north of the Capital over the next 30 years.

The measures being proposed for North Edinburgh include:

&#149 A requirement that all new developments must be within 250 metres of a defined public transport service.

&#149 Introducing a controlled parking zone in the Leith Docks area.

&#149 Improving roads and the reorganisation of 52 key junctions in the area to give priority to public transport.

&#149 New cycle lanes, including a route to connect the Water of Leith and Ocean Terminal.

&#149 Improving bus services between Leith and Granton.

The economic slowdown has cast a shadow over much of the waterfront developments in recent weeks, but city leaders today argued it was important to plan for the future.

The proposals would involve an investment of just under 50m, the majority of which would be provided by developer contributions, with Forth Ports soaking up the most of that.

However, the money, as with the transport improvements, is likely to be drip-fed in as the area is developed over the coming decades. Forth Ports has already committed to a 29m contribution for the city's tram line if its masterplan for Leith Docks gets the go-ahead.

Local politicians today said these transport improvements will make or break the chance of new developments being a success.

Councillor Gordon Munro, who represents the Leith ward, said today: "Putting in these measures is essential if we are to make the waterfront developments work.

"Half of the people in my ward don't have a car because the public transport links are so good, but we really need to improve on this.

"There are key parts of this which will have to be in place or there will be gridlock, but the rest will be a gradual process and one we have to get right."

Council officials have also recommended that residential parking in Leith Docks is "de-coupled" from housing and sold separately.

Other initiatives planned for the docks include a major expansion of the City Car Club in the area.

Councillor Phil Wheeler, the city's transport convener, said: "The exciting waterfront projects will revitalise derelict sites and create thousands of homes and workplaces.

"It is therefore extremely important to ensure that both sufficient and sustainable transport links are put in place to support this.

"There is a national need to tackle climate change and to face up to growing traffic levels on the roads. It is clear that providing easy access to public transport such as trams and buses will help to address these issues.

"The development will take place over a very long time, but we felt that it was vital to have a plan of action ready in order to tackle the transport impacts set in place."

The North Edinburgh Transport Action Plan will be considered by the council's transport committee on September 23.