Community Fund – Greener Leith – May Update

One of the activities that Greener Leith has been particularly active in is campaigning to make Leith Walk a more friendly place for pedestrians and cyclists.  Anyone who cycles in Edinburgh may remember that Leith Walk was named as one of the ten worst roads to cycle in 2012 and that’s no exaggeration as the potholes and lack of lines delineating the cycle paths made for a treacherous mix of hazards.

Since that time Greener Leith has been has been campaigning for improvements of this much-loved shopping street.  Three years later – tram plans shelved once more – the new road is starting to emerge.  Although still very bare, the northern part of the road is now easily navigable for cyclists.  For pedestrians things have improved as well in that the footpaths have been overhauled and widened. Motorised traffic is being slowed down by speed-reducing road design and a 20-mph limit is now in place.  The public realm however is still rather bare.  Because of the many services underneath the road surface any significant tree planting will be a challenge.  Greener Leith however is determined to have an influence there as well.