Friday November 14th 2025
Transport and Environment Convener for the Edinburgh Council, Councillor Stephen Jenkinson, speaking to protestors outside the City Chambers
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Campaign group, Critical Mass, held a protest outside Edinburgh’s City Chambers during a Transport and Environment Committee meeting yesterday, the first meeting since the anniversary of the tragic death on The Cowgate one year ago.
Calling for safer roads in Edinburgh, the group aimed to ‘hold the council to account over its lack of progress on active travel and the City Mobility Plan’. Staging the protest at 8:30am, they aimed to catch the councillors who sit on the committee as they went into the chambers, leading to Councillor Stephen Jenkinson taking time to speak to the small group.
The protest was held following the one year anniversary of the traffic accident on The Cowgate where a man lost his life, with Critical Mass claiming that the council promised that it would make infrastructure improvements on the road but failed to do so, aiming to hold Councillors accountable for the lack of progress.
During the protest, a member of Critical Mass, Craig Robertson, explained:
“We are here protesting for safer infrastructure for walkers, wheelers and cyclists, and especially around the Cowgate area of Edinburgh.
“There was a tragic accident just over a year ago, and the council promised that it would make infrastructure improvements there, but they’ve not done so. So we’re trying to hold them to account.”
The Cowgate was due to have a bus-gate trialled in 2024 but this never went ahead with Critical Mass explaining that they think this should still go ahead, not just for road safety but it would also make The Cowgate a ‘beautiful space for pedestrians’.
This proposal was later revised leading to a plan for one-way traffic through The Cowgate and other city centre roads but hit delays and eventually was unsuccessful due to funding issues.
Whilst speaking to Councillor Stephen Jenkinson, the Transport and Environment Convener for the Edinburgh Council, the protestors explained that there is a huge potential to create beautiful spaces in Edinburgh by reducing cars in the city centre.
Critical Mass protest outside the City Chambers
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