North-south tram line - your views online

North-south tram line

An ambitious decade-long transport plan for Edinburgh - designed to fight climate change, air pollution, congestion and inequality in the city – has been unveiled by council chiefs

Jon Clark

Congestion costs the average driver in Edinburgh £795 a year extra, because of sitting in traffic, so why has this council used their emergency powers to deliberately create congestion on virtually every arterial route to the city with their ridiculous Spaces for People scheme? They have even declined to reopen closed roads after their colleagues voted for reopening - what is going on? Empty cycle lanes, empty widened pavements, empty bus lanes and vehicles compressed into single lanes while the rest of the road remains empty. It’s entirely insane.

Allen Murray

I drove into Edinburgh twice last week for hospital appointments, from the bypass to the Western - shocking, potholes everywhere, try repairing them first before you even think about something like extending trams. Edinburgh council and cars, definitely a love/hate relationship, they love to hate motorists.

Henry Campbell Gillan

Most potholes are caused by the sheer load of traffic now hammering our roads. The average weight of cars seems to have increased dramatically over the last ten years or so. Introduce proper rapid transit systems, better walking and cycling facilities - that will attract people away from car use, leading to less wear and tear on our roads. At last central government appears to be coming on board in supporting these measures, not just in Edinburgh but in other cities too.

Alastair Moir

To construct a modern tramway over the North and South Bridges without damaging the historic infrastructure will be an interesting project.

Alan Brown

Typical lack of ambition from our councillors. Forget the ERI, let's build a tram to the moon!

Graham Mitchell

It is a useless tram and goes nowhere. In most other European cities the tram goes past the tourist destinations. Does it not go near the Botanics, Dynamic Earth, etc.

John Monaghan

There’s no money! And you can fix the roads and paths long before a waste of money vanity project.

Emma Williamson

Everything Edinburgh council does is about hating cars and that's fine, but take a look at the city centre. It's been struggling for ages now and I'm willing to bet that a large part of that is down to people not wanting to use public transport and the hassle of getting into town and back. I'd rather go to another city altogether to shop than attempt to navigate to Princes Street.

Brian Christie

What are the risks of catching Covid when crammed in a tram with hundreds of other people at rush hour?

Ian MacLachlan

But when will the council be ordering the lifting of the tram lines for a second time? Years of pneumatic drills, as from 1956-1963?

Robert Howlieson

Time they where sectioned.. The council’s traffic management causes most of the congestion.

Jon Sakura

Edinburgh has the worst roads in the entire word. Sorry, universe.

Ian Rendall

Send the tram down to Silverknowes and Cramond.

Christopher Boe

Brilliant news.

Gary Cameron

Extend over to Fife as well.

Alex Weir

The council intends to destroy 862 trees, an entire woodland, to put in the unnecessary Roseburn Active Travel Route. That’s an act of environmental vandalism. This council has utterly lost the plot.

Stephen Flynn

What could possibly go wrong?

Allison Brown

Why not use the money to fix the roads and potholes first? Better idea than a tram system that only a few folk can use.

Mark English

When I think of all these billions I can’t help but visualise all those families using food bank and parents that had to rely on donations at Christmas to give their children presents. Such a warped concept of what is an acceptable waste of money from those at the top. Every pound spent on this could have been going where it is truly needed.

Neil Peel

Can they not just stop throwing good money after bad? It's verging on obsession with the trams. There are trains from West Lothian. If trains don't have sufficient capacity, surely putting more trains on is cheaper!