Council Officers continue to work through the errors on the Spaces for People (now Travelling Safely) paperwork – the problem the current Transport and Environment Committee inherited is proving to be complex, but progress is being made. In addition to the funding received via Sustrans, Transport Scotland recently provided a further £50k for the work.

It is important to note that in June 2023 all political parties agreed that the Spaces for People schemes show be progressed via the ETRO process, with the exception of three schemes where Labour, Lib-Dems and Tories asked for more work to be done to take on board the views of local residents:

1. Braid Road and the Greenbank to Meadows Quiet Route.
2. Comiston Road.
3. Silverknowes Road North and Silverknowes Road South.

An update on these three projects was tabled in November 2023, and the results of a local consultation on the Braid Road and the Greenbank to Meadows Quiet Route will be considered in March 2024.

With regard to all other schemes, the City Centre Area ETRO was advertised on Friday 9 February and the Order will come into effect on 19 February. Following this, there will be a 6-month period during which anyone can raise comments or objections relating to the restrictions and prohibitions included in the ETRO. The Order will be made available to view on the Traffic Orders page of the Council website at the start of the 6-month period.

Any feedback received already, during the previous 6-month period that ran between November 2022 and May 2023, has been retained and will be considered as part of the final assessment of whether or not to retain or modify the measures. There is therefore no need for people to submit feedback again, if they have already done so through the previous consultation, although they can if they wish.

The currently anticipated programme for advertising the other replacement Travelling Safely ETROs is as follows:

1. East Area – 8 March 2024
2. West Area – 5 April 2024
3. North Area – 3 May 2024
4. South Area – 17 May 2024