After a bit of pestering, the Council are about to start a mini-consultation on the future of the Comiston and Braid Road Spaces for People schemes. They have also agreed to my request to consider this as one interconnected transport corridor rather than repeating the mistake of viewing it as two independent schemes. Just like the Lanrak Road mini-consultation, the methodology will comprise a meeting with Community Councils which will inform the development of an engagement process with the local community (I have asked about what area this will cover). Below is the statement issued to Community Councils.

Notification of further engagement on Braid Road/Comiston Road Spaces for People Measures
As you will be aware we recently completed a consultation exercise on the potential retention of Spaces for People measures. This was followed by the publication of the report on keeping these measures, which was considered at the meeting of the city’s Transport and Environment Committee on 17 June. The decision to retain or remove measures was based on consultation results, independent market research, a review by technical officers and consideration of how well such changes fit with the Council’s long-term transport policy objectives.

At this meeting it was agreed that a final decision on moving forward with the schemes should be made at the 24 June meeting of the City of Edinburgh Council

Council motion
The Council voted to approve the report, with requests from Councillors to consider further options for:

• Reopening Braid Road in both directions
• Improving transport connectivity on Comiston Road and reduce impacts on local residents

You can read the full motion here.

Invitation to meeting on Wednesday 25 August
Council officers are now developing options to address concerns that have been raised regarding these roads.  We are keen to discuss these proposals with you and would like to invite two representatives from the community council to attend an online discussion forum.

Next steps
Following engagement with the community, we would like to reconvene with you to take you through the feedback and outline officers’ proposals prior to submitting the report to the Transport and Environment Committee on 14 October. We will circulate an invite nearer the time.