Plan for Edinburgh busways
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SPECIAL busways along the middle of several main roads in Edinburgh have been suggested as part of an idea to provide miles of urban clearway to speed up bus services.
Other traffic would be forced into using the inside lane, and right-hand turns would be banned for long stretches of main roads in and out of the city.
Details of the scheme — drawn up by the city's public transport officials — are contained in an internal memorandum from Charles Evans, director of transport, to Lothian Region's director of highways, Peter Mason.
Special light-controlled pedestrian crossings — activated by the approaching bus — would allow passengers to reach central loading points from the pavement.
The plan has been put forward to create better bus services in the Corstorphine corridor — between Maybury and the Haymarket. This is part of the general blueprint for traffic management on the west side of the city if the Western Relief Road is built.
It could be applied to several of the main radial roads where buses are daily held up in rushhour traffic. Edinburgh already has special bus lanes operating at peak hours on the main approaches into and through the city centre. At off peak times these sections of the road are available to other traffic.
If the plan is accepted, it will mean that more stringent regulations will be enforced, and buses need not pull in and out of stopping areas — the main holdup at present.