29 November 2010
Princes Street and the City Centre Public Space
Comment piece from John Webster, Transform Scotland
The City of Edinburgh Council organised a meeting on 29 November 2010, attended by a range of people from the CEC, campaigning groups, business and consultancy organisations. There was a good turnout despite the snowy weather and a forecast of more snow to come later in the day. John Webster attended on behalf of Transform Scotland and has written this brief review.
The presentation was given by David Sim from Gehl Architects of Copenhagen, who provided a candid assessment on the current state of the city centre then gave a vision of how it could look if bold decisions were taken and priorities refocused. Gehl Architects have an excellent track record of working with several cities, including New York and Melbourne.
In terms of current problems, David highlighted the fact that the city centre is dominated by vehicular traffic and asked the question as to whether Princes Street is a space for people or a bus station? Fine views of the castle and old town are frequently obstructed by buses (400/hour during the busy times!) and noise levels from traffic are high.
The city centre also suffers from a lot of street clutter and poor paving quality along with poor surface water drainage in places. Shop frontages are often unattractive and bland despite the fact that the city centre turnover is in the region of £1b per annum, so why so little priority for walkers and shoppers?
Unlike many city centres worldwide, there are no cycle lanes to allow safe access. Jaywalking is also a major problem, perhaps because priority is given to vehicular traffic rather than people on foot or cycle. A survey of the crossing at Frederick Street showed that 66% of people crossed when the lights were at red because they were fed up waiting. Yet, timed crossings could reduce this by giving a clear indication of when the lights are due to change in favour of walkers. One result of all these negative features seems to be that Edinburgh, although popular as a tourist attraction, receives few return visits from tourists, which suggests something is lacking.
David then considered how the centre could be improved by focussing on people and how they use places.
Strong management is needed to promote change and see it through over the longer term. For a start, there needs to be fresh thinking on traffic and ask why it is all funnelled through the main street? The introduction of the first phase of the tram network could allow Princes Street to be developed in favour of pedestrians and shoppers by taking advantage of the defined routes of the trams to promote walking and cycling. The aim should be to encourage mixed use with stalls, cafes and exhibitions in what could be a stunning setting.
George Street could also be enhanced by, for example, taking parking out of the street centre and developing this as an avenue with trees, seating and other features. Rose Street could also be enhanced by the addition of more greenery and wall art to brighten the area and raise the quality of the surroundings.
David’s presentation was supported with several artist impressions of what these people-friendly areas could look like and they were like a breath of fresh air. Certainly radical suggestions for Edinburgh but no more than is common in much of Europe and, increasingly, in the USA. Incremental change may be one way to overcome initial resistance with temporary projects undertaken to promote change. First steps could be to remove street clutter and introduce timed pedestrian crossings.
A large majority of attendees agreed with the proposals and felt that such developments would improve city centre business activity rather than reduce it. Experience shows that people flock to people-friendly areas because they are pleasant places to meet and linger. This in turn leads to higher turnover for shops and restaurants and, who knows, may increase Edinburgh’s return visits – a truly virtuous circle|