May 2026 news from Councillor Neil Ross
Road Safety in Greenbank
Local residents have raised concerns with me about vehicles mounting the pavements in Greenbank Lane during the morning and afternoon rush hours when children are going to and from school. This well-known traffic short cut had a chicane installed many years ago, after a prolonged road safety campaign.
Following visits by police and council officers to witness road safety issues at busy times, local residents applied to the Council’s Local Traffic Improvement programme with a view to enhancing road safety in the Lane for walking, wheeling and cycling and to improve driver behaviours when using the Lane. The Council has included Greenbank Lane in its 2027/28 programme with funding for pavement build outs and raised crossings at junctions. This is listed at the end of appendix 8 to Transport Capital Investment report 7.1 here.
Residents have also raised speeding concerns on Greenbank Road, so I have asked the Council to work with local residents to look at ways to improve pedestrian safety and to reduce vehicle speeds across the wider Greenbank area.
Update on Greenbank/Meadows & Comiston Road cycle routes
Further to the update in my April e-newsletter, a decision on the traffic order for the Greenbank/Meadows cycle route is now expected on 12 May, as the next meeting of the TRO Sub Committee has been re-scheduled. This meeting will also consider traffic orders for Braid Road and Comiston Road. The report recommends making all three traffic orders permanent but with the removal of the modal filters on Braid Avenue, Hermitage Gardens and Braid Road, as drafting errors have been discovered. The report is at item 4.1 on the agenda here.
Zebra crossings for Morningside Drive, Craiglea Drive & Tipperlinn Road
Unfortunately, there have been delays to the installation of zebra crossings at the Comiston Road ends of Morningside Drive and Craiglea Drive. Discussions with Lothian Buses around the impact on the bus stop on Morningside Drive have yet to be resolved but installation is now planned for the summer. At least a start has been made for the Craiglea crossing, with the non-slip paving now in place.
The traffic order for the zebra crossing outside George Watson’s College on Tipperlinn Road is in progress and the crossing is still expected sometime in 2026/27.
Bin Hubs update
Further to the update in my April e-newsletter, the Council has now published the reasons given for declining to move or remove each of the 244 bin hubs listed in the January report. The rationale for why they were not changed can be accessed here. Changes to 22 bin hubs are to be taken forward, as explained in the Communal Bin report and appendix 4 at item 8.1 here.
New cycle hangers for secure bike parking
The Council has announced new cycle hangers are to be installed in Forbes Road, Polwarth Gardens, Temple Park Crescent and Warrender Park Crescent. The traffic order creating spaces for the new cycle hangers is TRO/25/57 and is available for viewing and comments until 22 May here. To see the TRO, click on ‘Proposals in consultation’ and select the TRO. To provide comments, click on ‘Respond to Consultation’.