Bus lane on busy route bids to beat bottleneck

ONE of Edinburgh's busiest roads will have a section turned into a bus lane under plans being considered by transport chiefs.

Regional transport body The South East of Scotland Transport Partnership – SEStran – wants to turn over a northbound lane of Queensferry Road – between the Quality Street and Clermiston Road junctions – into a bus lane during the evening rush hour in a bid to keep buses to their timetables.

The road is one of the city's biggest bottlenecks after 4pm, with traffic heading north to the Forth Road Bridge and west towards the Gogar Roundabout.

The £700,000 plans would also see signals added at the Blackhall and Quality Street junctions to give buses priority.

Although the plans have won the backing of all the bus companies, it would mainly benefit the commuter services to Fife and beyond operated by Stagecoach. Council chiefs have backed the plans but motoring groups today hit back, saying they will create even more congestion.

Alex Macaulay, partnership director of SEStran, said: "We were approached by the bus operators, who have outlined serious problems they are having with congestion on that route.

"This would not be a major project, it is tweaking things and tackling a number of key pinch points where congestion is particularly poor. I don't think there will be any real detriment to the general traffic if this is done carefully.

"The trick is to get the buses past the queues without adding too much to the delays."

Another part of the Sestran plans would be to extend the existing evening rush hour bus lane on Telford Road to the exit of the Groathill Road North junction. But Bruce Young, Lothian and Borders co-ordinator of the Association of British Drivers, said: "This is an appalling idea. That road has always been busy and congested and will only get worse if they start putting in bus lanes in what is a really tight corridor.

"The road has got to support all of the traffic going towards the bridge and removing lanes will create more congestion, not take it away. They need to look at taking traffic off Queensferry Road with a bypass."

SEStran will consider the plans at a board meeting on Friday, but if approved the city council will be asked to take the measures forward to a detailed design stage and carry out a full consultation.

But city transport leader Councillor Phil Wheeler said: "The A90 is an important and strategic link between Edinburgh and outlying towns, as well as much of the west and north of Scotland.

"Making it easier for buses to travel along this corridor is an integral part of the council's ongoing plans to tackle congestion through quick and convenient transport options."