Edinburgh road shake-up completed

The changes have led to confusion for some drivers

Work on a controversial £3m shake-up of central Edinburgh's traffic system has been completed.

For the last nine months the Scottish capital has seen roadworks designed to block some city centre routes.

However, both motorists and traders have complained that Edinburgh City Council has gone too far.

The local authority has already made parking concessions and promised to rethink a handful of junctions where confused drivers were ignoring signs.

The council said the changes were needed because a third of motorists going through the capital did not stop and contributed nothing other than traffic jams.

It expressed the belief that most of the changes would bed down in much the same way that motorists have grown used to the 10-year-old ban on cars travelling eastbound on Princes Street.

Councillor Andrew Burns said: "That resulted in a 48% reduction in accidents. There were lots of queries and worries about it at the time but in the longer term I don't find anybody asking me to reopen Princes Street eastbound.

"I suspect in six to 12 months' time nobody will be asking me to reopen Princes Street westbound either."