The City of Edinburgh Council is taking action to ensure the capital keeps moving during the closure of the Forth Road Bridge.

Plans are in place to minimise traffic impact and disruption resulting from the closure, which is scheduled to last until the New Year.

Council leaders have assembled a team of transport and resilience staff who are meeting daily to monitor the ongoing situation.

Under contingency plans, all major roadworks have been suspended to minimise disruption. The Council has also contacted utility companies to request they suspend all planned works except emergencies.

Waiting restrictions have been introduced where necessary to reduce congestion. The Council has recognised issues arising from commuters leaving cars in the vicinity of Dalmeny Rail Station, and has put parking suspensions in place in the surrounding roads and streets. Neighbourhood teams will continue to monitor the situation and will introduce parking attendants to assist. Those travelling north are being encouraged to consider alternative modes of transport, such as the Park and Ride service.

Council Leader, Councillor Andrew Burns, said: “The Council’s priority is to keep the city moving throughout this period and we have a number of measures in place to help achieve this, including the cancellation of roadworks and managing restrictions around busy public transport hubs.

“Existing infrastructure will also support our efforts, such as our Park and Ride system, and we would encourage commuters to make use of this. In addition, we will continue to work with partners to explore alternative means of transport and to minimise disruption.

“While we are making every effort to manage travel to and from Edinburgh, we would encourage commuters to allow extra journey time and to check regularly for travel updates online.

“As one of the city’s majors employers, the Council has committed to offering flexible working to staff while maintaining frontline services.”

The Council is working closely with public transport providers to assess demand and capacity, while the Traffic Signals team is currently monitoring the impact of changed traffic flows in the city, making dynamic improvements to signal timings where possible.

As part of the management of strategic routes in the west of the city, in order to minimise disruption, a number of additional measures have been put in place, including:

– Traffic signals on key arterial routes
– Waiting restrictions and parking management, particularly around the Dalmeny Station area
– Monitoring of waiting restrictions near other public transport hubs

As part of this commitment to frontline services, the Council’s Education department is liaising with Fife Council to explore ways in which teaching can be shared across both Councils, where teachers live on the opposite side of the bridge from their schools.

The Government has prepared a full travel plan for the duration of the closure – including further additional bus and rail services and a dedicated bus/HGV lane between Cairneyhill and Longannet.

Travellers should check Traffic Scotland for updates and follow @edintravel on Twitter for live traffic news for Edinburgh.