TRAMspotting, Crewe Toll, Edinburgh

Tram line 1 runs along the former railway line between Roseburn and West Granton. Tramstop 18 is on the site of the former Crew junction at Ferry Road, some 100 yards west of Crewe Toll roundabout.

At the moment this area is a sea of tarmac; a place built for cars and hostile to pedestrians. The tram is part of a new idea about creating a ‘walking city’ and the tramstop 18 offers an opportunity to transform this place into a place for people.

As the journey to Princes Street will only take 10.7 minutes, this new place will be connected to the city as a whole, as well as being important for the local community.

Our proposal is to form a new urban space similar in density and intensity to other places along Ferry Road, such as Goldenacre. We have created a glass-roofed wedge-shaped pedestrian piazza that slopes up gently from Ferry Road southwards to link with a new linear park along the tramline. The piazza is lined with four and five storey mixed-use buildings and is a lively space with cafes and markets as well as a venue for special events.

Ferry Road itself is transformed into a boulevard like the Ramblas in Barcelona, with a wide tree-lined pavement in the centre making it more pleasant for pedestrians.