Footway and carriageway improvements – Waverley Bridge, Market Street, East Market Street

To complement the recent changes to vehicular access into Waverley Station made by Network Rail, the City of Edinburgh Council is to make major changes to the road and pavement layout on Waverley Bridge and Market Street. These changes will support an increase in pedestrian and traffic movements, as well as further enhancing the public realm and improving connectivity for pedestrians between Edinburgh’s Old and New Towns.

On 26 May the City of Edinburgh Council will begin construction of £1.2m worth of improvements around Waverley Station.

The project is due to be carried out in two stages:

·         Market Street – 26 May to 26 July

·         Waverley Bridge – 8 September to 1 December

The construction work includes: widening and resurfacing the footways in natural stone paving, installing new raised tables to improve pedestrian crossing points, installing a new zebra crossing, providing a new 10 bay taxi rank on Market Street, creating new loading areas, a new cycle lane, new street lighting, resurfacing the carriageway and reducing street clutter.

These improvement works have been carefully planned to minimise disruption to businesses and associated tourism, with programming purposely avoiding the summer festival period.

At certain stages of the project there will be a need for temporary traffic lights, lane width restriction and parking suspension, however access for pedestrians and deliveries will be maintained at all times and all shops and businesses will be open for business as usual.

We will continue to work with the local residents and businesses throughout the course of the project so that we can minimise disruption and inconvenience to all those affected by the works.

Should you wish to discuss any aspect of the work, or require any further information or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the City Centre and Leith Team on 0131 529 3535 or environment-ccl@edinburgh.gov.uk. Regular updates on the progress of the project will also be available from the CEC website.