Chronology

 

2.1 In 1998 the Council restricted the use of Carlton Terrace Brae to one way. However the residents objected strongly and, after six months, the road was reopened in both directions to maintain full access.

2.2 Regent Terrace was closed in 2001 due to security concerns for the American consulate after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

2.3 Early Discussions took place between the Council and the Residents Association on Traffic Calming Measures in Royal Terrace in 2005-2008. A 20 mile an hour speed restriction was asked for and rejected. Various calming methods were discussed i.e. speed bumps, front-on parking etc. At that time the area was deemed to be 108/150th in priority for consideration.

2.4 Proposals for road closure at the Blenheim Place/London Road junction were first presented by tie Ltd. and the Council in 2008 as part of the Tram Project.

2.5 In response to concerns of several residents a large-scale opinion gathering exercise took place in 2009. It became very obvious that an overwhelming majority of residents, as well as the church and local businesses, were extremely alarmed at the proposal. This led to the Keep Blenheim Place Open Group being established to keep Blenheim Place open.

2.6 The Group started a petition in 2009 as evidence of support for the right turn to remain open at Blenheim Place. In March 2010 there were over 300 names on the petition – all people who would be directly affected by closure. A copy of this petition was submitted to the Council during the objection window.

2.7 In November 2009, a delegation from the Keep Blenheim Place Open Group met with representatives from the Council and tie Ltd. and presented their arguments. The Group were then advised of the TRO process for lodging objections and what would happen afterwards.

2.8 The Group retained Goodson Cole Transportation, a consulting engineering company, to write a report on the London Road/Blenheim Place junction in December 2009.

2.9 The Consultation Window for Objections to be lodged for the TRO was Feb-March 2010. 246 people including several of our political representatives wrote letters to the Council objecting to the closure.

2.10 In September 2010 the City of Edinburgh Council officials issued two reports for the Transport, Infrastructure & Environment (TIE) Committee: "Edinburgh Tram - Traffic Regulation Orders" and "Edinburgh Tram - Traffic Regulation Order: TRO1 Review." In these reports they recommended that the London Road/Blenheim Place restriction in the TRO should be accepted but not implemented until such time as a trial of the junction, with the right-turn permitted, has evidenced that there is a need for the ban. In the interim they recommended a further review of the design to establish whether the junction can be configured in such a way as to retain the right turn.

2.11 The Group made a presentation at the November 2010 meeting of the TIE Committee. This was in support of the recommendations by the Council officials in the Edinburgh Tram TRO and Review reports to review the design of the Blenheim Place/London Road junction and promote a variation order (TRO2) if appropriate. TIE voted unanimously to accept the Tram TRO and Review reports.

2.12 The Group plans to continue with the campaign to keep the right hand turn into Blenheim Place during the Review and TRO2 procedures.

 

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