BackEdinburgh residents re-launch local group to help bring the city streets to life!
Living Streets, the national charity campaigning for safe, attractive, enjoyable streets, is getting a great boost in the capital with the launch of a local campaigning group on Thursday 10th December. If you care about creating great streets throughout Edinburgh and making sure the city is a treat to walk around, then come along and make your voice heard! We will also be awarding the prize for the UK-wide Living Streets 80th anniversary photo competition, won by Jemma Boyle of Armadale with an image of a Bathgate street.
Launch to take place at: Living Streets Scotland, 5 Rose Street, Edinburgh, Time: 1930, addressed by Robin Harper MSP
Living Streets has been operating in Scotland for the last four years - working with communities, local authorities, the government and professionals to campaign to improve the physical environment for people on foot.
But a local group has existed in Edinburgh since the 1950s. At Living Streets, we believe that no one knows their streets better than the people who use them every day. Local people can often see necessary changes much more clearly than those far removed in the planning world, but it can be hard to know how to get your voice heard. The Edinburgh Living Streets group will help change all that, campaigning for well designed, well maintained streets that will encourage local people to walk more short journeys around the city.
Their first priority will be to start a long running contest to identify the worst (and best) examples of what’s happening on our streets- from poorly thought out signposts, to precipitous pavements to ‘temporary’ traffic signs that have been around for years. Come along and help us shape the campaign which should help shape our streets in Edinburgh.
Creating safe, attractive and walkable streets plays a big part in encouraging people to get walking more, with benefits ranging from reducing obesity levels, lowering local congestion and pollution and helping people to know their neighbourhood better.
Keith Irving, Living Streets Scotland Manager, said:
“Living Streets is an important voice for people who realise that our streets are vital to the health of our communities – whether that’s encouraging walking to combat obesity, pollution and congestion, or making sure the places we live are not just traffic corridors.
“It’s fantastic that there are people in Edinburgh who want to get involved in making their local streets better. We want anyone with an interest in making Edinburgh streets better places to walk, to go along to this exciting first meeting.”
John Russell, a local campaigner from the Edinburgh group said:
“We are really excited to be launching a local Living Streets group in Edinburgh. One of the great things about this city is that it’s easy to walk to get to places. It would be fantastic to get more people involved so we can make a real difference in the city. We’re really keen to involve young and old so we can all move forward together”.
Notes to editors
Living Streets works to bring our streets to life, with more walking in people-friendly public spaces.
They were formed in 1929, as the Pedestrians Association, and have grown to include a network of 98 branches and affiliated groups, 40 local authority members and a growing number of corporate supporters. As well as working to influence policy on a national and local level, they also carry out a range of practical work to train professionals in good street design, and enable local communities to improve their own neighbourhoods. They also run high profile campaigns such as Walk to School and Walking Works, to encourage people to increase their walking levels and realise their vision of vibrant, living streets across the UK.
Living Streets work in Scotland is funded by the Scottish Government.
Published on: 10/12/2009
