Plan to close busy Midlothian road to traffic for 18 months branded 'irrational'

Council chiefs have put forward proposals to shut the B7003 Roslin Glen Road to vehicles for 18 months under the Spaces for People programme.

But an online petition has been launched in a bid to halt the move, claiming the road is a key route for many locals and alternative ones are already congested.

The council is consulting on three road closures – Crawlees Road, Mayfield, and Oatslie Road, Roslin, as well as Roslin Glen Road – and residents have only until October 30 to respond.

But the petition focuses on the Roslin Glen Road proposal. It says: “The idea of this is completely irrational. The traffic levels on the road are very high and alternative routes are already extremely busy. This is due to Midlothian's rapid expansion with zero investment in our road networks.

“Many residents from Rosewell and Bonnyrigg use the B7003 for access to Straiton Retail Park, The Bush, The Edinburgh City Bypass and the park and ride facilities at Straiton to access the city centre."

The petition argues the council is “grossly overestimating” the benefits of closing the road because horse-riders use the surrounding old railway lines, footpaths are adequate for the level of pedestrian use and the level of physical fitness required to cycle Roslin Glen is likely to deter casual cyclists.

And it claims the impact on traffic has not been fully considered. “Traffic will most likely move to use Polton Road and Hillhead B704 and via Lasswade, which is already extremely congested due to a road network that is not fit for purpose.”

The petition attracted almost 1,900 signatures in less than 24 hours. One supporter said: “This vital link road needs to be improved rather than closed. The surrounding roads also need significant investment that should be coming from contributions from all the property development that is going on.”

The council said the proposal had come from suggestions by local people and community groups earlier in the pandemic.

A spokeswoman said: “No decisions or actions to implement the proposal have been taken to date. The project will only go ahead if local people are in favour of it and it is approved by elected members.”

People are being asked to email [email protected] clearly stating their support or opposition to the proposals.

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