Tag: Princes Street

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Second Open Letter to the City of Edinburgh Council: Next Steps for Edinburgh’s Public Transport Recovery Post-Debenham Fire

Dear Councillors and Council Officials

One month after the Debenham fire, Edinburgh’s public transport network continues to face unprecedented challenges due to the ongoing Princes Street disruption.

In your response to our first open letter on 13 July, you stated your three primary objectives:

  • Ensuring public safety
  • Protecting important built heritage impacted by the fire
  • Keeping the city moving during its busiest period

We recognise the enormous resources required to achieve these objectives and fully support them, provided they are pursued in parallel.

Everyone will be grateful that public safety has been maintained over the last five weeks and it is welcome news that building stabilisation is expected to be achieved roughly nine weeks post-fire.

Continue reading “Second Open Letter to the City of Edinburgh Council: Next Steps for Edinburgh’s Public Transport Recovery Post-Debenham Fire”

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An Open Letter to the City of Edinburgh Council: Urgent Temporary Bus Priority Needed Following Princes Street Fire

The recent devastating fire at the former Debenhams building on Princes Street has presented Edinburgh with an unprecedented transport challenge. With the Princes Street public transport corridor disrupted by a complete closure to all vehicle traffic between Frederick Street and Castle Street—possibly lasting for some time—public transport in the city centre is under severe strain.

While Edinburgh Trams are terminating at the West End, the overwhelming burden of moving residents, workers, and visitors has fallen back onto our bus network. Tens of thousands of passengers are being diverted daily via George Street and surrounding First New Town corridors.

The Edinburgh Bus Users’ Group (EBUG) is calling on the City of Edinburgh Council to implement immediate, temporary bus priority measures in the First New Town to prevent total gridlock.

Gridlock on Diversion Routes and the Summertime Streets Impact

George Street and the surrounding New Town grid are already busy corridors. Forcing hundreds of diverted bus services into a standard traffic layout without intervention will lead to severe network delays and bus bunching. Continue reading “An Open Letter to the City of Edinburgh Council: Urgent Temporary Bus Priority Needed Following Princes Street Fire”