A proposal to create a new cycle route in Edinburgh while removing a bus lane as well as withdrawing or relocating bus stops has been criticised by a local campaign group.
Edinburgh Bus Users Group (EBUG) says changes introduced via phase three of the Leith Connections project will increase congestion on a stretch of road in the north east of the city and could lower bus patronage.
Sally Millar, EBUG committee member and elected representative for Leith Links Community Council, says: “They will be narrowing the road to single lanes.
“For the first part of the route, that means that buses going along there and stopping at stops will be holding up the entire flow of traffic behind them.
“For the other part of the route, where there is an existing bus lane, which is approximately half the route, they’re taking that away. They are proposing to remove at least one bus stop…
“It’s going to drive people off buses into cars, which is the opposite of what the city council actually says it wants.”
EBUG has proposed an alternative cycle route to the south through a park and an area already designated as a low-traffic neighbourhood.