Edinburgh Old Town Community Council declares a ban on various large vehicles which is being expected to bring the city at par with other World Heritage Sites.Published on : Thursday, April 5, 2018
Edinburgh Old Town Community Council declares a ban on various large vehicles which is being expected to bring the city at par with other World Heritage Sites.
Recently, the group has written a report on the “absolute chaos” in the historic area.
Simultaneously it questioned whether it was essential to “sacrifice everything” in order to draw more visitors to the capital.
To quote the report, “we are perpetually told that it is necessary to sacrifice everything, including our architectural integrity, to attract ever more tourists to our city and that this is necessary because they bring vast amounts of money into the city. Meanwhile we are told the city cannot afford to undertake basic maintenance let alone upgrade anything.”
Bill Cowan, the community council’s planning and transport secretary informed BBC Scotland that tour buses and lorries were obstructing the Grassmarket and the adjoining areas.
To quote Bill, “The tour buses sit idling at the bus stop in the Grassmarket, which holds up the traffic, even in rush hour.”
“There is also a solid procession of them, often with not a soul on board, and coaches park anywhere while there are about five or six different waste disposal companies that come up and down with enormous lorries. There needs to be a ban on large vehicles like there is in most World Heritage sites across the world.”
He further added by saying that in cities like Barcelona, buses are not permitted to drive through the World Heritage Site. Therefore, tourists are dropped off and have to walk to their hotels.
Tags: Edinburgh Old Town Community