RESIDENTS and drivers in the capital are to be given more say over which potholed roads and broken pavements should be fixed first.
Edinburgh's 12 neighbourhood partnerships will help decide how to spend £100,000 a year – or a total of £3.6 million over the next three years.
The partnerships include councillors and other community representatives, along with police and health
-service members.
The spending will form part of £20 million a year earmarked for roads and pavements maintenance.
The move was welcomed by some motoring and business groups, but others said far more must be done to make a difference.
Council officials have identified 119 pavements and 108 roads for priority repairs this year, with provisional lists being drawn up for the next two years. They believe the partnerships should have some influence over when such schemes go ahead over the three years.
Next week councillors will be asked to approve the scheme – the road and footway investment, prioritisation of works and programme.
They will also be asked to switch an extra £2.5 million into improving quieter roads and pavements, taken from a budget which was traditionally focused on busier main roads.
Robert Aldridge, the deputy transport convener, said: "Including local groups in deciding some of the roads and pavements to be improved will really help us to target the areas which matter most to them. After all, they are well placed when it comes to identifying problems in their neighbourhoods because they probably walk past them every day."
However, Bruce Young, the Lothian and Borders co-ordinator of the Association of British Drivers, said residents must have more influence over the budget.
He said: "I am disappointed that only £100,000 is being committed to this out of a £20 million funding. This is scarcely enough to repair poor footpaths which are responsible for injuries, particularly to the elderly and infirm who are less able to recover their footing."
Norman Tinlin, the secretary of Fairmilehead Community Council and a member of the Pentlands neighbourhood partnership, said: "If all the roads and pavements are as bad as they are in this area then the £100,000 a year will not go very far."
Ron Hewitt, the chief executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: "It's imperative for the progress of the city to achieve buy-in from ordinary citizens who are, after all, in the best position to comment on their locality. It is those people who walk, cycle or drive on a section of road daily who know where the work needs to be done."
Neil Greig, the Scotland director of the Institute of Advanced Motorists' Motoring Trust, said: "This is welcome news for Edinburgh drivers. They know where the worst potholes and surfaces are and they have been waiting years for the opportunity to direct the council's money to get things fixed quicker."
The full article contains 485 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
