The City of Edinburgh Council has launched a major consultation on travel options and public transport today [17 April 2023].
Together, the city’s Active Travel, Public Transport, Parking, Road Safety and Air Quality Action Plans were established to form a multi-layer programme to develop more sustainable and affordable transport options across the city. Other key aims for these strategies include cutting congestion and emissions in alignment with the council’s net zero 2030 goals, as well as boosting the economy.
The authority is now seeking feedback on all these plans collectively.
Residents can submit feedback via an online survey, public drop-ins, focus group and key stakeholder discussions and a toolkit to support community engagement.
The consultation will run until 9 July this year, with outcomes being reported to the Transport and Environment Committee later this year.
Cllr Scott Arthur, transport and environment convener, Edinburgh said: “Edinburgh is a growing, evolving capital, facing the same challenges as cities around the world – from climate change and poverty to traffic congestion and poor air quality.
“We want to transform the way people move around the city, which we hope will go some way to addressing this, and we’re looking at how we can create safer, sustainable and affordable transport options. This is also about working to support economic growth and building people-friendly spaces across the city, while helping to end poverty and isolation. We’ve put people, particularly those with a disability, at the heart of these plans.
“The draft action plans set out a range of actions to achieve this, and we want to collaborate with people and businesses in Edinburgh to shape how we deliver these plans. Combining all the plans into one big citywide conversation means we can really capture the interrelated issues and ensure actions are mutually supportive of each other.”
What’s more, the council suggests that communities and businesses, alongside data and technical evidence, will be critical to these decisions.
Some of the topics on which residents can submit their feedback include making streets more accessible, improving public transport and enhancing active travel networks.