LTNs are making main roads hell - John McLellan

A friend who lives in Corstorphine implored me to write about the low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) Edinburgh Council has inflicted on the district, but I can’t do better than his words to describe what the authority’s ideologues have done.
John McLellan
By John McLellan
Published 18th Apr 2024, 07:00 BST
The Manse Road bus gate is one of the most controversial features of the Corstorphine low traffic neighbourhood.The Manse Road bus gate is one of the most controversial features of the Corstorphine low traffic neighbourhood.
The Manse Road bus gate is one of the most controversial features of the Corstorphine low traffic neighbourhood.

​“It's a quiet area with one busy road through it,” he wrote. “No one said we really need roads blocked and pavements widened.

“A survey asked us about clean air and walking. Of course, we were in favour but did not support restrictions.

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“Then suddenly the LTN appeared. We were horrified. Neighbours and friends discuss the LTN all the time. It has brought us together and hundreds met in the park to express outrage.

“I felt ignored and powerless, but our abhorrence and loss of respect for the council is massive.

“The few LTN advocates want to go further and permanently block roads. We know that will happen next.

“I rarely use the car, but journeys through the area have been shoehorned on to busy main roads.

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“A shopkeeper I know well at Manse Road asks what problem were the councillors trying to solve? It was never that busy, and now it's a deserted junction.

“Sitting in traffic jams, I can see the very quiet side roads that I used to use. They were quiet before and are even quieter now. But the main roads are hell. I hate some parts of where I live now.”

Making people hate where they live? Who knew Edinburgh’s democratically elected councillors have ceded control to a dictatorship of officers?

Related topics:Edinburgh CouncilJohn McLellanCorstorphineNeighboursEdinburgh