Tram Chaos, published in Student 13/1/09.

THE LONG-AWAITED laying of Edinburgh's tram tracks has yet again been postponed.

Tram bosses admitted that the £512 million project, which was to commence on Leith Walk at the end of January, will now begin at the heart of the city centre in April.

According to an Edinburgh Trams’ spokesperson, Princes Street is going to be closed off to all traffic, again, starting "from late February until early December 2009 with a planned break in work during the Festival period".

Edinburgh Trams have acknowledged that some festival activities may under go some "alteration" during the construction work, while Transport Chiefs have already begun consultations into the continuation of the Tram works throughout August if the project runs behind schedule.

Edinburgh City Council remains optimistic that the trams will be in full operation by July 2011.

In the meantime, high street and independent businesses are continuing to suffer with prospective consumers being put off hitting the shop not only because of the credit crunch, but also because of the traffic problems and the unsightly setting created by the tram construction.

Richard Dowsett, owner of Leith Cycle Co on Leith Walk, has been badly affected by the tram works that have been going on right outside his independent business for the past 14 months. He stated, "I’m absolutely fuming. We’ve had to put up with over a year of carnage and it is still dragging on.
"It has affected all of the businesses really badly, with the current economic climate and the lowest consumer confidence for 30 years; the trams just remove any feel good factor."

According to Dowsett, the Leith Traders’ Association does "not care enough" and the financial support for businesses that are affected by the tram construction is negligible to the overall loss.

The closure of Princes Street was a disaster when first attempted in October 2008, with traffic divergences onto George Street that caused bus route and traffic chaos.

University of Edinburgh student, Rhona Kennedy, does not look forward to the second attempt at the closing of Princes Street. She remarked that "The tram work so far has been nothing but disruptive. It remains to be seen whether the trams are worth it, but from a personal point of view, the planned route isn't at all necessary as it's covered already by the buses."