A new video from Edinburgh city centre reveals what locals fear is a potentially dangerous continuous street crossing where drivers and pedestrians frequently come into conflict.
The video, originally posted on Twitter, shows car after car passing directly in front of unaware pedestrians who pull back from the street. Another related video shows a crowd of pedestrians stopping short at the Brunswick Street and Leith Walk crossing as cars drive around the corner.
One potentially dangerous interaction shows a car driving through the intersection at the same time an elderly woman is crossing.
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“I once saw a young child walking ahead of their parents on the pavement who started to cross Brunswick Street and nearly walked in front of a vehicle,” said local resident Martin McDonnell.
“There’s a really dangerous combination of vehicle traffic, a lack of temporary signage, and traffic which comes from behind pedestrians.”
The continuous footways around Edinburgh are part of the council’s final design and they were requested by the active travel team as part of the consultation process in 2018.
Councillor Scott Arthur, Transport and Environment Convener, said: “Continuous footways have been included in the Leith Walk design to prioritise pedestrians and cyclists, as the pavement clearly signifies, and drivers are expected to follow the Highway Code to ensure this.
“Notwithstanding that the use of a continuous footway accords with the existing priority at junctions, officers will be installing temporary signage to highlight the new road layout to motorists. As Leith Walk works are completed and alternative routes reopen we also expect to see levels of traffic in this area reduced.”
McDonnell acknowledged that continuous footpaths are used elsewhere in the city with better results, but said the amount of traffic and a lack of signage is what creates the dangerous conditions at Brunswick Street.
“There’s an increasing emphasis on drivers giving way to cyclists and pedestrians, but when new things are put in place, it’s important to make everyone aware of what the changes are,” said McDonnell. Tell drivers to give way and warn pedestrians and cyclists of turning vehicles until things change.”
McDonnell suspects that road work on nearby London Road has caused a lot of traffic to turn down Brunswick Street instead. He said drivers must be warned of the crossing, and he suggested that police presence and enforcement may help as well.
“I don’t want anyone to get in trouble from the videos, but I want to raise education and awareness about pedestrian and cyclist priority,” he said.
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