After our success with the redesign of the Polwarth junction, the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) has invited Merchiston Districts Community Council (MDCC) to make proposals to improve the junction at the south end of Merchiston Avenue, where it meets Merchiston Place/ Rochester Terrace (see map location).
Success this year is not guaranteed; but if we make a convincing case, improvements at this junction might join the queue for construction at a later date.
We will propose a project under CEC’s ‘Local Traffic Improvement Programme’ where the emphasis is on road safety, pavement and carriageway quality, access for those with mobility issues, and active travel enhancement.
Anecdotally, we know that many people find this intersection difficult to navigate. We need to know why this is, what people have experienced – whether as drivers, pedestrians or cyclists (and at all ages and levels of mobility) – and what people think could be done to improve the junction in terms of road safety and neighbourhood amenity.
The issues
- This is a junction which is used heavily by cut-through traffic using the Dalry to Colinton rat-run. It is also increasingly used by traffic using Spylaw Road & Merchiston Crescent/ Place to connect to Bruntsfield and the city centre.
- Many parents with children at Bruntsfield Primary School cross at all four transfer points on a daily basis.
- CEC in their ‘Future Streets’ strategy (2024) designated Merchiston Place as a ‘low traffic, low speed’ street which should be developed for cyclists as a safer and less congested alternative to Bruntsfield Place & Colinton Road.
- Most drivers do not stop and give way to pedestrians waiting to cross.
- The road surface along the full length of Merchiston Avenue is very poor.
- Improvements at this intersection would complement the planned improvements at the north end of the Avenue, where junction tightening, a raised table and improved signage will be part of the Polwarth junction redesign.
CEC recently measured pedestrian flow at this location and, using a formula for the level of risk, found that the junction did not warrant a zebra crossing at any of the arms of the junction. Nevertheless, Councillors are on record as recommending a more demand-driven approach to the provision of zebra crossings. It would be useful to know the community’s views on safety issues and opportunities at this junction.
Share your views
If you use this junction – whether as a pedestrian, cyclist, driver or wheelchair user – please take a moment to fill out the short survey by 10 January 2026.
Any questions please get in touch with us at pavementproject@merchistoncc.org.uk
