WELCOME

Welcome to the City of Edinburgh Council's (CEC) Local Transport Strategy page. Below you will find a brief summary of the strategy, which we invite you to read. This summary outlines the basics of our Local Transport Strategy (LTS) 2004-2007, which was approved by Council in January 2004. This Strategy is now Council policy. If you would like to view the entire document, there is a link at the end of this section along with details of where you can find copies at locations around the city.

BACKGROUND

The City of Edinburgh Council first published its LTS in 2000, a document approved by both Council and the Scottish Executive. This document has been council policy for the past 3 years. Hwever a number of reasons now necessitate an upgrade. These are as follows:

1. The Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 requires that any Authority seeking to implement a congestion charging scheme clearly identifies how this spending will contribute to the transport policies of the LTS.

2. The Scottish Executive has set a deadline of the end of 2004 for the submission of updated Local Transport Strategies.

3. It is also a general up to date statement of Council transport policies, for public information.

A draft LTS was prepared during the summer of 2003, and this went to consultation in October of that year. Following the submission of responses, the Council prepared the final LTS and submitted it to a Full Council meeting on 22 January 2004, where it was approved.

WHAT IS A LOCAL TRANSPORT STRATEGY?

The Local Transport Strategy is a formal document outlining Council's transport policies, plans and projects for Edinburgh Transport System. The document is our vision and strategy for how we should improve the city's transport system and outlines the Council's overall vision for transport for the next 20 years with detailed information for the first 3 years. It contains items such as our aims and objectives, our specific strategy with both long-term plans and short-term schemes that may or may not have already secured funding. The strategy also presents ways in which Council hopes to obtain funding and how that funding will be spent. The strategy is a requirement in order to bid for funds from the Scottish Executive for transport related schemes.

THE VISION FOR TRANSPORT IN EDINBURGH

The LTS is built around a vision for transport in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh aspires to be a city with a transport system that is accessible to all and serves all. Edinburgh's transport system should contribute to better health, safety and quality of life, particularly for children, and elderly and disabled people. The transport system should support a strong, sustainable local economy.

The Council will seek to maximise people's ability to meet their day to day needs within short distances that can easily be undertaken without the need to use a car. The city should develop and grow in a form that reduces the need to travel longer distances, especially by car. Choice should be available for all journeys within the city.

This vision is the core of a balanced transport strategy that strives to provide choices for all journeys to and within Edinburgh. The strategy seeks to enable cars to be used effectively for the many tasks they perform well. It also recognises that the choice to use a car is not available to all, and that an integrated public transport system is crucial in enabling people without access to a car to access work, shops and other opportunities.

It is absolutely crucial to maintaining the effectiveness of Edinburgh's transport system that congestion is kept under control. So Edinburgh's Local Transport Strategy focuses on:

• Ensuring that attractive alternatives to the car are available for the widest possible range of journeys;
• Putting in place measures to tackle congestion at times and in places where it is a problem.

UPDATING THE PREVIOUS POLICY

Edinburgh's first LTS was adopted in 2000. New legislation, new transport projects and new structures for delivering these projects made it necessary to update the strategy.An extensive public consultation was carried out in late 2003 and as a result of LTS 2004-7 has been produced. The aims of the strategy are to:

• Improve safety for all road and transport users;
• Reduce the environmental impacts of travel;
• Support the local economy;
• Promote better health and fitness; and
• Reduce social exclusion.

These aims illustrate the links between transport and other policies such as land-use planning, social exclusion, economic development, the environment, public health and safety.

The following objectives summarise the direction of transport policy in the city:

• To reduce congestion on all modes of transport;
• To increase the proportion of journeys made on foot, by cycle by powered two wheelers (PTW) and by public transport;
• To reduce the need to travel, especially by car;
• To reduce the adverse impacts of travel, including road accidents and environmental damage;
• To maximise the community role of streets, as places where people can meet, shop, and in appropriate circumstances, children can play;
• To improve the ability of people with low incomes or mobility impairments to use the transport system; and
• To ensure that the road, footway and cycle network are of a standard suitable for safe and comfortable movement.

WHAT PROGRESS HAVE WE MADE SINCE THE LAST LTS?

The list below shows the transport improvements the Council has completed since the adoption of the last LTS. The Council has also set targets for the proportion of residents using different forms of transport to get around the city. The following table shows a breakdown of the way we have travelled in recent years, and our targets for 2010.

NB Figures shown are percentages of all trips undertaken by Edinburgh residents; sourced from Scottish Household Survey.

Some of the main achievements over the period of the previous LTS are listed below.

Rail

• Crossrail – 3 new stations at Newcraighall, Brunstane and Edinburgh Park, with a half hourly rail service to Bathgate and Dunblane and 500 space Park and Ride at Newcraighall;
• Station carpark improvements at Dalmeny;

Network Management

• Major roundabouts replaced by signals – Barnton Junction, Cameron Toll and Lady Rd;
• 10 signalled junctions refurbished;
• 1.9% of total road network significantly resurfaced;
• Footway refurbishment throughout the city centre and on Lothian Road;
• Installation of new solar powered parking meters;
• Introduction of mPark - on street parking payments using mobile phones.

Bus Priority and Infrastructure

• Major new bus priority scheme on the A90 west of Barnton, with 4km of bus lane and two queue relocation schemes;
• 23 new sections of bus lane totalling over 8.5km in length on the A1, A90, Portland Place, Ocean Drive, York Place, South Gyle Access, Johnston Terrace, and Inglis Green Road;
• 90 bus shelters replaced or upgraded;
• Fife have implemented park and ride at Ferrytoll; its success in part due to bus priority measures on the A90, implemented by CEC;
• Refurbished New Edinburgh's Bus Station in St Andrews Square opened in January 2003;
• New bus lanes implemented on Quality Bus Corridor - Leith to Straiton/Ferniehill;
• Morningside Road Corridor - New bus lanes and other bus infrastructure along with new parking facilities.

Pedestrians, Cyclists and Road Safety

• Approval for Central Edinburgh Traffic Management Scheme
• Pedestrian friendly traffic improvements to George St and Princes St, scheduled for implementation 2005.
• New lit surfaced path from New Royal Infirmary to Craigmillar;
• Improved pedestrian access on Royal Mile due to new traffic restrictions;
• On and off road cycleways implemented in 21 locations across the city;
• 50 junctions with advanced cycle stop lines;
• Pedestrian stages added at 30 signalled junctions;

Road Safety

• Road Safety Strategy published;
• 16 Accident Investigation and Prevention (AIP) schemes completed;
• 19 Safer Routes to School projects successfully implemented;
• 18 20mph zones implemented to reduce traffic speeds outside schools;
• 7 Part time 20mph zones outside schools;
• 13 other 20mph zones implemented.

Travel Awareness and Behaviour Change

• Two successful Car Free Festivals organised and run;
• City Car Club - UK's largest car club, partially supported by Council, now expanding to new locations across the city;
• Car free housing development in Gorgie.

The LTS 2004-7 will build on this record of successful implementation.

OUR CURRENT STRATEGIES

One of the most serious transport problems facing the city is traffic congestion. Indeed, if traffic growth continues at the rate that it is growing at present and we continue with our transport developments as they are at the moment, forecasts show that traffic congestion will double by 2016. Unless we develop alternative transport option,s which require a dramatic increase in funding, this increase in congestion and the associated problems it creates, will just continue unabated.

The Council faces a key choice as to how in attempts to tackle these problems. Technical assessments have concluded that congestion charging is the only currently feasible means of both significantly reducing congestion, and providing the significant additional transport funding required. Some form of congestion charging was supported by a majority of Edinburgh respondents to consultations in 1999 and 2002. However the Council has not yet taken a decision to introduce congestion charging. Therefore the Local Transport Strategy 2004-7 presents two funding alternatives. The first is a Base Strategy, affordable with conventional funding sources, and the second, a Preferred Strategy, with congestion charging. These are described below.

The base strategy would see funding continue as it is at present i.e. from Council tax, Central Government grants and contributions from local developers. The list of schemes above shows what is possible with this sort of funding. This strategy involves expenditure of around £422 million between 2006 and 2026, within Edinburgh City limits and roughly £50 million for schemes in neighbouring council areas. The £422 million includes £375 million for the implementation of trams in the city funded by the Scottish Executive. With this level of funding, the objective would be to focus on relatively low cost schemes which would permit progress towards the Council’s objectives within the limited budget available.

This would allow some new transport investment, notably one or two tramlines, but other transport investment would be very limited. This would be mainly confined to some further bus priority development, new park and ride schemes and some limited progress towards a city cycle network and 20mph zones. Some road safety schemes would also be likely. Without congestion charging however, it is likely that traffic levels would continue to grow, especially in residential areas. Congestion and pollution would continue to increase.

The preferred strategy would see the introduction of some form of additional charges, most likely a congestion charge similar to that introduced in Central London in February 2003. The effect of this would be two fold, we would be generating additional revenue for improved transport and at the same time reducing traffic levels and delivering significant congestion reduction. The Scottish Executive requires that all of this money is used on transport schemes, and forecasts show that between 2006 and 2026 we would be able to spend an additional 740 million over and above the base strategy on transport improvements, both withing Edinburgh and neighbouring areas.

This is a dramatic increase in available money for transport schemes compared to the base strategy. If congestion charging were to proceed there would be balanced investment in bus, rail, road maintenance, environmental and safety improvements and a new tram scheme. There are many benefits to this strategy including:

• More choice for travel to and around Edinburgh;
• Less traffic, meaning less congestion and pollution;
• Fewer accidents, with residential and shopping streets in particular much safer;
• Better access to jobs, shops and leisure opportunities.

The preferred strategy would deliver a transport system fit to serve the city in the 21st century and would make a major contribution to maintaining and improving the quality of life for all of its citizens.

For more details of the Preferred Strategy, and the congestion charging scheme, visit the Integrated Transport Initiative web site .

WHAT SORT OF SCHEMES CAN BE UNDERTAKEN?

A table showing a summary of the proposed schemes is shown below and the proposed funding in milions under both strategies. This shows what Council would proceed with under each of the strategies.

Schemes to be completed under Base and Preferred Strategy options for Edinburgh

* Both of these schemes are National projects with funding likely to come from the Scottish Executive. A final decision on them has yet to be made.

Schemes to be completed under Base and Preferred Strategy options for Regional Projects

EDINBURGH’S CHOICE – WHERE TO FROM HERE?

The LTS 2004-7 setting out both base and prefered strategies has now been approved . There is still considerable work to be done however on progressing the congestion charging scheme. An approximate timetable for taking this forward is as follows:

To keep upto date with progress on the Congestion Charging Scheme visit Integrated Transport Initiative.

THE LOCAL TRANSPORT STRATEGY 2004-7 DOCUMENT

The Local Transport Strategy 2004 - 2007 (Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view this pdf document - Please visit the Adobe website to download Acrobat )

You can also view a copy of this document in libraries.