Edinburgh’s Sheriffhall Junction: Why SNP is wrong to delay improvements – Miles Briggs

As a Lothian MSP, I am contacted on a weekly basis by frustrated constituents and business people who face frequent delays when using the bypass to commute to work or transport goods, especially but not exclusively at peak times or when there is an accident on the route. Improving the Edinburgh City Bypass is an issue that I have been pressing the Scottish Government on since my election in 2016 and I will continue to do so. For motorists, bus users and cyclists.

The recent budget horse-trading in parliament between the SNP and Green parties has resulted in the planned improvement works at the Sheriffhall Junction being put on hold and an announcement that proposals will be reassessed. To date, following a number of question I have asked SNP ministers at Holyrood, no answer has been forthcoming as to what this will mean and any additional delay this will create.

The junction has become one of Scotland’s most notorious traffic bottlenecks – therefore the development of a £120 million flyover roundabout at the junction which was announced as far back as 2017 by the Scottish Government as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal needs to progress as quickly as possible.

Thousands more vehicles a day

Edinburgh and the Lothians are the fastest growing regions in Scotland and the bypass has been over capacity for many years now.

Transport Scotland’s Transport Model for Scotland uses 2014 as a base year for the total number of vehicles per day using our trunk roads and it indicated 78,000 vehicles every day used the city bypass in 2014.

It predicts this will grow by an extra 10,000 vehicles to 88,000 each day by 2022 and by a further 10,000 vehicles by 2032.

Having drivers stuck in traffic for hours on end in tailbacks and traffic jams becoming more and more regular will do nothing to help the environment or the economy.

Indeed, some drivers tell me they are choosing to drive through the city centre itself rather than risk being stuck at the Sheriffhall Junction, something that is adding to the pressure within the City itself.

The current proposals for the development of the junction also includes provisions for cyclists and pedestrians, to promote environmentally friendly travel, something we should all welcome and encourage.

With the growth of motorists and local transport using lower emission vehicles, as well as more electric cars, we should see a move towards less carbon emissions.

Lack of real vision

The Edinburgh City Bypass holds strategic importance for growing the economy in Edinburgh and the South East of Scotland. Good infrastructure is crucial for developing businesses and attracting investment. Congestion on the bypass will cost the economy significantly more than what it will cost to make the necessary improvements, with estimates of congestion costing up to £2.8 billion by 2025.

SNP minister are showing their lack of a real long-term vision for Edinburgh’s economy.

SNP ministers committed to making improvements to the Sheriffhall Junction at the earliest opportunity, but their actions during behind-closed-doors budget deals with the Greens suggest otherwise. We need to see urgent investment at Sheriffhall Junction to make the necessary developments to reduce congestion for motorists and improve road user safety.

We’ve waited a long time already for a commitment to the improvements needed at the Sheriffhall Junction to be agreed. It’s time they were delivered.

Miles Briggs is a Conservative MSP for Lothian region