Better connected neighbourhoods
Our neighbourhoods are at the heart of everyone’s local lives, and we want everyone to have the opportunity to benefit from and be a part of their community, which can
- support wellbeing
- help to end poverty and isolation in the city
The 2023 Walking and Cycling Index found 68% of Edinburgh residents thought widening pavements would help them walk or wheel more, while 71% agreed on nicer places along streets to stop and rest, like more benches, trees and shelters.
These changes help to make our streets and neighbourhoods
- safe
- welcoming
- comfortable for everyone
We want to prioritise space in the city’s neighbourhoods so that everyone can
- enjoy spending time in them
- easily get around
- travel to other parts of the city.
How we plan to better connect neighbourhoods
We will use our Streetspace Allocation Framework (SAF) when designing projects to improve Edinburgh’s neighbourhood streets, making them more
- connected
- accessible
- welcoming for everyone.
In our local town centres, where there are alternative routes, such as in
- Portobello
- Gorgie and Dalry
we are exploring options to re-route general traffic so we can create better street environments, while retaining vehicle access for everyone.
We know that people still need to be able to use their cars to get around the city, but according to representative market research 62% agreed with restrictions to reduce the speed and volume of traffic in their neighbourhoods.
The Our Future Streets approach is designed to provide travel networks that allow everyone to move around with less congestion using clear, safe and easy routes.
This includes public transport where our representative market research showed 60% thought it was important to give bus priorities at junctions and 69% thought improving bus shelters would make travelling by bus more accessible and attractive.
As well as using these guidelines to help us create new communities, such as at Granton and West Edinburgh, we are proposing a package of measures in line with our 20-minute neighbourhood strategy to help people live well in their own neighbourhoods with good access to
- essential local services
- facilities
- open spaces.
We will continue to listen to local communities
While we plan to be bold and ambitious in the way we improve communities we will make sure that we listen to and respond to what local communities want.
As part of this, we are proposing a programme of area-wide ‘Liveable Neighbourhood’ initiatives, which will focus on simple measures like
- dropping kerbs
- narrowing side roads
- better pavements around local shops
- new crossings
- more safe travel to school routes
- clearer routes to bus stops.
When we carried out representative market research, we found that:
- 63% agreed with reducing parking on main roads to provide more space for everyone to walk, wheel, cycling and move around on public transport
- 65% agree with reducing parking on our shopping streets to provide a vibrant environment for everyone while still providing essential access for deliveries and people with mobility difficulties.
Every project will involve local engagement and consultation so that our work serves the needs of each individual street and local community, and contributes positively to the overall integrated networks across the whole city.
