Travelling to Edinburgh Office Locations - Forth Street

Pedestrians and Cyclists
Pedestrian access to the site is good from all directions.  The centre of Edinburgh has good pavements and street lighting and well phased pedestrian crossings. A very busy junction between Leith Walk, Broughton Street and York Place separates the Business Centre from the City Centre to the South but well phased pedestrian crossings and traffic islands provide pedestrians and cyclists with safe and reasonably convenient crossing points.

There are no designated cycle lanes on the streets immediately around the Business Centre; however, a number of junctions have advanced stop lines to accommodate cyclists, and cyclists can take advantage of the Greenways and bus lanes on key routes in Edinburgh as these are usable by buses, taxis and cyclists. Greenways therefore have the effect of segregating cyclists from some other road users and providing priority starts at junctions.  Edinburgh City Council has produced a series of 7 detailed cycling maps for Edinburgh which may be useful for tenants planning to access the Business Centre by bike, including the East Edinburgh and the North Edinburgh Path network.
For further information go to: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/transport/walking_and_cycling/CEC_cycling_around_edinburgh

Shower facilities are now available at 16 Forth Street for use by cyclists and walkers/joggers alike, to make alternative methods of travelling to work more practical.

Buses
16-26 Forth Street is served by an excellent bus network operated by Lothian Buses.  The site is conveniently located within a few minutes’ walk from bus stops on Broughton Road, which are served by the Lothian Bus number 8 and on Leith Walk served by the Lothian Buses 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 22, 25 and 49. Most of these stops are equipped with shelters and provide users with real-time bus information.

In addition to these services, the close proximity of 16-26 Forth Street to Edinburgh City Centre means it is also very well located to take advantage of all the many bus travelling between the city centre and other parts of Edinburgh and the Lothians and other settlements throughout Scotland, including:

Services operated by Lothian Buses within Edinburgh and between Edinburgh and the Lothians: http://www.lothianbuses.co.uk/
First Bus services linking Edinburgh city centre and other parts of the city and settlements such as Bathgate, Livingston and North Berwick: http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/scotland/sescot/home/

Medium to long distance bus services operating beyond Edinburgh to destinations in Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom arriving and departing from Edinburgh Bus Station on Elder Street: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/transport/public_transport/buses/CEC_edinburgh_bus_station

Citylink, National Express and MegaBus and a number of other operators services operating between towns and cities throughout Scotland and the UK, some of which depart from the Elder Street Bus Station:

Citylink:  http://www.citylink.co.uk/
National Express http://www.nationalexpress.com/
MegaBus http://www.megabus.com/uk/

All Lothian bus services in Edinburgh cost £1.20 flat fare, regardless of the distance travelled, with no change given on the buses.  An adult day ticket costs £3.00 and allows unlimited travel on any standard Lothian Bus service throughout the day. 
Lothian Buses also offers an electronic advanced purchase ‘Ridacard’ payable weekly, monthly or annually and offering a significant discount on normal fares. A monthly ticket offering unlimited travel on all Lothian bus services for trips costs £37.  Ridacards are available from any Lothian Bus Service Centre and can be topped up in the same way as a ‘pay-as-you-go’ mobile phone at any PayPoint machine.  For further information go to: http://www.lothianbuses.co.uk/tickets.shtml.

The Figure 1 below identifies some of the key transport locations in the centre of Edinburgh and within easy walking distance of 16-26 Forth Street.

Trains
16-26 Forth Street is located within easy walking distance from Edinburgh Waverley Station on Princes Street and the rail services linking Edinburgh to other parts of Scotland and the UK.  For further information on rail service routes, times and ticket information and to book tickets go to:

The National Rail Enquiries journey planner website: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Alternatively information is available on the individual operators’ websites:

First Scotrail website: http://www.firstgroup.com/scotrail/
GNER website: http://www.gner.co.uk/GNER
Virgin trains website: http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/default.aspx

Personal Vehicles
16-26 Forth Street is located on a Georgian terrace with Union Street to the East and Broughton Street to the north. It is just off Leith Walk / the A900 and the site is within close proximity to Edinburgh City Centre, key A roads running through Edinburgh and transport corridors linking Edinburgh to the Lothians and the rest of Scotland and the UK. For example, these corridors include:
The A199 which runs east and north through Leith and connects to the A902 to the north and the A1 and A720/The City of Edinburgh Bypass to the south.
The A902 runs through the north of Edinburgh and connects A720/The City of Edinburgh Bypass and A90.
The A1 runs south of Edinburgh to Berwick-upon-tweed and to Newcastle Upon Tyne.
A720/The City of Edinburgh Bypass circles the city and connects with key distributor roads including the A68, A702, A71, A90 and the M8 and M9.
A one way system is in operation on the streets around 16-26 Forth Street with car traffic moving east down Forth Street and north up Union Street and Hart Street. Access is also complicated by the busy junction between Leith Walk, Broughton Street and York Place.  See Figure 2 below for further details.
16-26 Forth Street is just inside Edinburgh’s Extended Controlled Parking Zone (N1). There is limited on-street parking available in the streets surrounding the Business Centre, with residents provided with parking permits and shared use and pay and display parking in effect from Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.30pm.   High demand for spaces means that it may sometimes be difficult to find a space in this area after 8.30am.
For further details go to: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/internet/Transport/Parking/Parking%20in%20Edinburgh/Parking_zones/CEC_controlled_parking_zone_extension

The limited availability of on-street parking in the vicinity of the Business Centre can cause problems for those accessing the business centre by car as there are no dedicated visitor spaces.  Both clients and visitors can be made late for appointments due to the time required to search for a parking space.

Figure 2 – The one way system around 16-26 Forth Street