How lockdown could end up improving our health – Angus Robertson

Look out this week for welcome changes to Edinburgh’s streets which are aimed at changing the way people move around the Capital. Improvements include cycle lanes for key workers and service users at the Royal Infirmary and Western General Hospital.

A special £5 million fund from the Scottish Government has paid for a series of schemes across Edinburgh which will ease travel for pedestrians and cyclists.

Edinburgh Council has put the funding to good use with a package of measures including pop-up cycle lanes to prioritise “active travel” such as walking or cycling, pavement widening, pedestrianising streets and changes to pedestrian crossings.

The changes come as Edinburgh’s most polluted streets have enjoyed massive improvements in air quality. Nitrogen dioxide levels have dropped by around two thirds in St John’s Road, Corstorphine, Nicolson Street and Queensferry Road when compared with average readings taken before the pandemic.

Other busy Edinburgh roads have seen big drops including a 55 per cent fall at St Leonard’s, 54 per cent on Glasgow Road, 49 per cent on Gorgie Road, 31 per cent in Currie and 21 per cent in Salamander Street.

Hopefully, one positive thing that can come from our coronavirus experience is the increased use of bicycles and walking, and a decreased reliance on cars.

With more dedicated cycle routes and improved conditions for pedestrians in Edinburgh, we can enjoy the long-term environmental and health benefits longer than the lockdown.

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