New Town residents demand main route reopened to clear air

RESIDENTS of Edinburgh New Town will today call for the re-opening of a key city centre artery to lorries to reduce pollution and noise from traffic diverted past their homes.

• For now only buses and taxis are allowed to use Shandwick Place, but residents of nearby streets are complaining of heavy traffic — and pollution. Picture: Jane Barlow

They claimed the closure of Shandwick Place, just west of Princes Street, to make way for trams had caused a "massive" increase in vehicles on nearby streets, threatening residents' health.

The plea comes as councillors are expected to agree to consider temporarily reopening the street to cars and lorries pending the resumption of tram line construction, which has been halted by a dispute.

City centre Liberal Democrat councillor Charles Dundas, who proposed the move, said extra traffic was using Randolph Crescent, Great Stuart Street, Ainslie Place and St Colme Street because of the closure.

Ashley Lloyd, a spokesman for the residents, who will today address the council's transport committee, claimed the local authority risked breaking European pollution limits.

He said: "We feel the council simply have not had sufficient information to properly consider vibration and worst of all, traffic pollutants like the particulates PM2.5, PM10 and the toxic gas nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

"Residents across Edinburgh face massive increases in exposure to traffic pollutants all of which are known to damage health. The European Union certainly take these traffic pollutants seriously and have powers to fine countries consistently breaking the acceptable level.

"In Great Stuart Street, the levels of NO2 monitored by the council in December ranked it as the second most polluted street in Edinburgh, with more than twice the EU statutory limit for an annual average. This compares with ten years ago, when it was one of the least polluted streets measured by the council."

Allan Alstead, another resident, feared basement properties were most at risk because NO2 settles at low levels, being heavier than air.

He said: "We are not against a tram system as such, but it cannot be right that it is being implemented in such a way that pollution is being increased.

"At night, when large diesel- engined lorries are passing through to make deliveries, NO2 levels can even be higher than those recorded during the day."

Robert Aldridge, the council's environment leader, said: "We are aware of Mr Lloyd's claims about pollution. However, the methods he has used to collect and collate his data are not in line with (UK] government-approved methodology.

"We have monitored this site for the past 11 months, using the approved methodology, and have found the NO2 levels are within the accepted EU limits.

"We have also spoken to experts at Edinburgh University's atmospheric chemistry department, who say it is unlikely that NO2 levels would be much higher in basement areas."

The transport committee is expected to consider a temporary lifting of the Shandwick Place traffic ban. This follows the lifting of other restrictions, such as at Haymarket, while tram line construction on streets remains halted by the dispute being developers TIE and the builders.

A council spokeswoman said: "We are happy to look at the issue of HGVs in and around the city centre as part of the next stage of consultation. However, reinstating HGVs along Shandwick Place would impact on the trams' ability to meet their business case, so that would have to be carefully considered."