‘Do we need to disrupt our lives like this?’

ANYONE who knows Edinburgh will tell you that Waverley Bridge on a cold, wet and windy night can be a pretty unwelcoming place.

There is no way of avoiding it. Moving the taxi rank out of the shelter of the railway station and on to the surrounding streets is going to seriously inconvenience travellers.

No more stepping off the train and straight to the taxi queue. Instead it will be hauling luggage up a hill to face the elements.

At least Waverley now has an escalator – when it works – and work is being done elsewhere to improve access for elderly and disabled passengers.

The question that will be on many lips, though, is a simple one: is this all really necessary?

Do we need to disrupt our daily lives like this in order to protect ourselves against a largely theoretical risk of terrorist attack?

After all, taxis and cars have been ferrying passengers in and out of the station for years without any serious problems.

The widespread frustration is understandable, but the answer is equally simple.

We need look no further than the 2007 terrorist attack on Glasgow Airport to realise that the threat – even if it is a slim one – is very real.

It is a sad sign of the times that we do have to act in this way to protect ourselves.

The big challenge for the city authorities is making sure the inconvenience to passengers is kept to a minimum.

That will mean major changes inside the station and to the road layout outside.

And if anyone wants to know how not to handle the changes, they can look back at the taxi rank chaos created last time there were major works at Waverley.

Holy war

Sometimes, everyone needs a bit of time for reflection. Indeed, it should be positively encouraged before you decide on, say, spending hundreds of millions of pounds on a tram project.

Which is why we hope the growing campaign to outlaw traditional council prayers does not invade Edinburgh’s city chambers.

We can see the arguments in an increasingly diverse and secular society, but the furore that put tiny Bideford Town Council on the map in the last few days does not apply to Scotland’s capital.

Edinburgh already makes an effort to include other religious and humanist groups in the traditional prayer spot. We see no reason to call a halt. After all, our city councillors need as much divine intervention as possible.