Police shoot down slower speed limit

PLANS for a huge 20mph zone across the south of the Capital have been thrown into doubt after police chiefs said they would not enforce it.

The 100,000 pilot scheme will see 25 miles of city roads stretching from Blackford Hill in the south to Holyrood Park hit with the new speed limit in a bid to cut accidents.

But there are now doubts over how the scheme will work after the police said they would be unwilling to enforce it in quieter residential streets.

The council had been relying on the police after rejecting the idea of installing traffic calming measures or speed cameras.

Meanwhile, Lothian Buses said a 20mph zone on main arterial routes would delay its services, forcing it to put on more buses at extra cost.

The complaints had already forced council officers to remove a series of main roads that they had hoped would be included in the scheme.

A police spokesman said: "We have made our position clear, in that our focus will remain on policing the main arterial routes where the highest proportion of collisions occur."

Edinburgh would become the first Scots city to attempt the introduction of such a large 20mph zone and one of the first in the UK. Council bosses hope the move will make streets safer, encouraging more people to cycle or walk as part of their long-term goal of reducing the number of cars on the roads.

Councillor Gordon Mackenzie, the city's transport convener, said roads including West Mains Road, Esslemont Road, Marchmont Road, Church Hill and Grange Road had been removed from the plans amid concerns from the police and the bus company.

He said: "The whole point of consultation is to gather the views of stakeholders.

"In this case, both the police and Lothian Buses raised concerns, which we took into account when developing our final proposals."

There are currently 20mph limits on parts of roughly half of Edinburgh's streets, although they rely on traffic calming measures.

Chris Hill, from online forum CityCyclingEdinburgh.info, said: "I am disappointed that the officials are recommending that the bus routes should remain as 30mph. I hope the councillors ignore this."

Ian Craig, managing director of Lothian Buses, added: "We have taken the opportunity to make our views known."

Councillors will discuss plans for the zone next Tuesday.

Cameras deployment sees 51% fall in accident statistics

THE number of people killed or seriously injured at accident blackspots in the Lothians and Borders has fallen by 51 per cent since speed cameras were introduced.

Figures released yesterday by the Scottish Government also showed the number of non-life-threatening accidents at safety camera sites in the region had fallen by 37 per cent during the same period.

Lothian and Borders Safety Camera Partnership manager Julie Roy said: "These figures show that Lothian and Borders Safety Camera Partnership is doing a good job.

"Our overarching aim is to reduce the amount of people being killed and injured on the roads, and I am delighted that by using safety cameras we have helped to reduce almost by half the amount of fatal and serious accidents on our roads at camera sites after enforcement."