In spite of a particularly rainy Summer and the credit crunch, pedestrians were out in force in Edinburgh's city centre over the summer with footfall figures increasing by 17 percent on the previous quarter according to a new report from Edinburgh City Council.
The average weekly pedestrian count across Edinburgh was 126,669 for June, July and August compared to 105,136 for April, May and June.
Saturday 23 August was the busiest day across all locations during
this period with a total of 542,251 hits on the strategically placed
footfall counters.
The increase in pedestrian traffic is in large part due to the influx of people for Edinburgh's Festivals in July and August. The High Street for example saw a 34 per cent increase and George Street footfall increased by between 20 and 25 per cent on the previous quarter.
Shandwick Place and the Grassmarket showed
rises in the region of 40 per cent, in part due to the end of tram
utility diversion works and the temporary suspension of public realm
improvements respectively.
Princes Street pavements remained the most pounded by pedestrians
with an average weekly count of 345,764 and a peak daily flow at the
busiest location (M&S, Princes Street) of 90,655.
Cllr Tom Buchanan, Economic Development Convener at the City of
Edinburgh Council, said: "These figures show that despite the economic
downturn, Edinburgh continued to do well over the summer period and
that our city centre is still seen as a vibrant place to visit and shop
in.
"However we're not complacent about this and we continue to work to
encourage people to come into the city centre, including expanding our
Christmas parking promotion to cover November. We're also still
committed to delivering the String of pearls concept which will see the
potential of Princes Street as a mixed use retail, business and leisure
destination maximised."
Edinburgh also maintained its improved position of seventh out of the 13 key competitor cities also using the "Springboard" automated counting devices.
Ron Hewitt, Chief Executive, of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: "A thriving city centre is key to Edinburgh's self image and the face we show to the world. Good footfall figures reflect a healthy economy, not just from the retailers who benefit but for the hospitality and entertainment sectors also, and the feel good factor which keeps Edinburgh a desirable place to live and work."
Average Footfall by Location - Quarter 3 (Two Way Flows)
Princes St. at Marks & Spencer
345,764 - 16.7%
High St.at Bella Italia
95,244 - 17.1%
Princes St. at Carphone Warehouse
249,203 - 20.7%
Shandwick Place at Specsavers
91,259 - 18.2%
Princes St. at Next
2 42,589 - 14.8%
Shandwick Place at Lothian Buses
78,853 - 38.5%
Princes St. at Frasers
211,970 - 22.5%
George St. at the Dome
73,127 - 19.1%
High Street at Radisson Hotel
139,602 - 33.9%
Grassmarket at Costume HaHa
70,637 - 40.5%
St Andrew Sq. at Harvey Nichols
124,342 - 13.6%
George St. at Whistles
60,869 - 25.8%
South Bridge at Offbeat Clothing
123,898 - 29.7%
Lothian Rd. at Pasta Hut
59,210 - 4.8%
South Bridge at Latest News
114,537 - 25.4%
George St. at Rohan
53,942 - 7.9%
Rose Street at Black & Lizars
114,402 - 13.5%
Lothian Rd. at Black & Lizars
30,602 - -21.4%
The Footfall counter system
The footfall counter system is comprised of 18 fully automated counters which count pedestrian movement 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The network is being supplied by Springboard, an industry leader in people counting technology.
It is intended that the data from the counters will be used for a number of purposes including:
- Monitoring short, medium and long-term trends in city centre performance.
- Promoting Edinburgh as a potential location for new retail development.
- Acting as an 'early warning' system to alert the Council to performance issues within the city centre.
- Monitoring the performance of the proposed Edinburgh City Centre Business Improvement District.
- Monitoring the impact of city centre improvements.
- Evaluating the success of various city centre events and initiatives.