Edinburgh residents asked if Spaces For People Covid scheme should be permanent

Sections of road were temporarily cordoned off or closed for walkers and cyclists

A public consultation into whether social distancing measures during the Covid-19 pandemic should be made permanent has been launched in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh City Council is considering whether to keep the controversial Spaces for People measures.

Sections of road were temporarily cordoned off or closed for walkers and cyclists.

Now the council wants to find out if residents want to keep the measures.

The scheme has been controversial with businesses complaining it has left their customers with no parking spaces outside their shops.

Motorists also said closing Braid Road, one of the main routes leading commuters into the city from the Edinburgh city bypass, had caused traffic jams on Comiston Road.

While residents in the city's East Craigs and North Gyle said road closures in their area would create "Europe's largest cul-de-sac".

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However the council said making the temporary measures permanent would help it achieve its long-term objectives to meet its net carbon-free targets.

Lesley Macinnes, transport and environment convener, said: "We're working toward a more sustainable, inclusive and connected future and we want to see if we can deliver longer-term benefits by extending the life of Spaces for People projects, whether through trial schemes or by retaining projects in place more permanently."