THESE were the scenes greeting shoppers and business owners in Edinburgh at the weekend – and there will be many more months of them ahead.
The city's controversial, high-profile trams project got back into gear when all traffic was diverted from North St Andrew Street, St Andrew Square East and South St Andrew Street.
This will allow the square, one of the most picturesque parts of the city's New Town, to be prepared for a programme of tram works.
Shandwick Place will follow suit on Saturday, with diversions for traffic at both locations.
Edinburgh Trams said all shops and businesses in the square would remain open for business, though no on-street deliveries will be available throughout the worksite area. A logistical support team will provide a delivery support service to businesses on the affected streets.
The manager of one business on the square said yesterday: "I don't think the traffic diversion is going to have too much of a positive effect generally. But I don't think we'll be as hit as compared to businesses like Harvey Nicols, which has fences around the front door."
Businesses on St Andrew Square and at Shandwick Place are taking a philosophical approach. Graham Birse, deputy chief executive at the city's Chamber of Commerce, said: "We've known for a while that these closures were coming.
"Obviously, it is not great news, because it prevents customers from accessing property, but having had so many false alarms now with the trams project, the main issue now is to get the thing completed and out of the way. There's an agreement with the contractors and the city to do that."
Edinburgh Trams say the works are due to be completed by December 2012.
A spokesman for Edinburgh Trams said: "We would like to apologise for any disruption the works may cause while we build the tram system. We would like to assure business owners and residents that every effort will be made to minimise any inconvenience caused during the course of the works."
Mr Birse added: "The important point about St Andrew Square and Shandwick Place is that the closures don't make the city-centre a no-go zone. There are still plenty of opportunities to come in by rail or bus, or to come in by car and park."
The £776 million, eight-mile-long tram line between Edinburgh Airport and York Place, off St Andrew Square, is scheduled to be completed in 2014.
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