Safety improvements made to Edinburgh junction where schoolboy killed by bin lorry

Road improvement works put in place on a busy Edinburgh road where an 11-year-old on a bike was struck and killed by a bin lorry have now been implemented, according to the council.

Thomas Wong died in August 2024 at the exit to a golf club in Cramond after being hit by a bin lorry driven by then 28-year-old Ross Wallace.

Papers going before next week’s transport committee state improvements to the junction have now been finished, but more options to make the area safer are being explored.

Transport convener and Labour councillor Stephen Jenkinson said the crash was “tragic”, but he was glad improvements could be made in the area.

He added that the effectiveness of the modifications would be monitored, and more action would be taken if needed.

The crash occurred at an exit onto Whitehouse Road from the Royal Burgess Golfing Society’s car park.

A prominent white bar and text reading ‘STOP’ has been painted on the ground at the exit, as well as a yellow box on the junction.

Additionally, shrubbery around the exit has been trimmed back, opening sight lines from the golf club to the street, and illuminated stop signs have been added.

Bollards, kerb build-outs and tactile paving have also been added around the exit, with the build-outs shortening the distance required to cross the exit.

The council papers state the interventions have been effective so far, but add that other works are being proposed.

Among these are a possible reduction of the speed limit on Whitehouse Road from 30 miles per hour to 20, and a dedicated cycle route along the road.

Wong was cycling on the pavement when he was struck by the lorry, which was turning left out of the exit from the golf club.

Wallace pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention in July 2025 and, in August, was given 133 hours of unpaid work and banned from driving for a year.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard that Wallace had used his mobile phone while driving the lorry several times earlier in the day, but that it had no impact on the collision.

Cllr Jenkinson said: “It’s tragic that it’s taken an incident for it to actually happen, but it’s positive that we’ve recognised that there was some work that we needed to do there.

“We will now monitor the effectiveness and the success of these measures, and if anything else needs to be done, it will be done as appropriate.”