Since Edinburgh Trams services started running on the extension to Newhaven there have been occasional issues with trams being held up by poorly parked vehicles. Although the situation has improved since the line initially opened it does remain an issue and the Council have now said they will review the parking bays supplied in some areas to see whether it could be improved any further.
In June and July 2023 there were a total of 22 incidents and then in the following four months until the end of November a further 14 were recorded. The incidents can be cleared quickly but the Edinburgh Evening News report that one recently saw a tram held up for around 20 minutes.
As part of improvements to reduce the incidents, Edinburgh Trams are able to contact the council’s parking enforcement contractor directly and the contractors are also able to travel by both tram and bus to continually monitor the situation. However, despite this the problem remains and the Council have now said that they may consider removing some parking bays as well as installing additional physical barriers.
Cllr Scott Arthur, Transport Convener on the City Council, commented: “We’re looking at whether or not we’ve got parking bays in the correct place. If people are routinely badly parking and blocking the tram track in a space that we’ve designated, perhaps the council has to take more responsibility and accept it’s not in the best place and think about removing it. These spots are there through consultations raised in some businesses, but if people are misusing them, then perhaps we need to revisit. But I would urge people who find these spaces useful to do their best to make sure that people accessing their business or visiting them or visiting residents are parking responsibly.”
A report to the Transport and Environment Committee also said that an added problem is that the vehicles used by the contractor to remove vehicles elsewhere across the city cannot be used in proximity to the tramlines and that when the contract comes up for renewal (September 2024) the council is considering whether to invest in a new truck which can be used.