🚲 edi.bike | 2nd Oct ‘23
rishi’s mad for a cheeky wee cycle but
🌆 Hello hello, welcome to the eighth edition of edi.bike weekly, a digest of various cycle-related happenings around Scotland’s capital. As always, if you spot something that would be good to include, fire it over to us via https://edi.bike :)
💫 News this Week
🦸🏼♀️ Saturday’s Critical Mass Edinburgh was well attended, including by several superheroes - with some nice shots from Cllr Finlay Mcfarlane and the infamous Cap’n Badbeard shared on TwiXtter;
📷 Another great photo - the inaugural Fairmilehead to Heriots school bike bus, which was a big success - and wondered whether they were potentially the longest bike bus route in the UK;
🔋 Porty Community Energy shared a great video of their recent 2023 Bikefest event, and also have good availability in their bike library at the moment;
💷 Local bike shop Laid Back Bikes have some ex-demo Urban Arrow Family passenger/cargo bikes for sale at a great price, and the wonderful Energy Saving Trust interest-free loans available to purchase an e-cargo bike now extend to second-hand bikes too;
🧰 Activism hub Bridgend Farmhouse are hiring for a bike mechanic;
📚 New to me, at least: Sustrans' “Traffic-Free Cycle Rides Guidebook” contains around 15 Scottish routes and plenty others;
😡 Sad to hear of a recently stolen Mycle longtail electric cargo bike from outside the Commonwealth Pool - joining our story from the last fortnight that The Wee Spoke Hub’s cargo bike has been stolen.
🛠 Edinburgh Tool Library are continuing to look for donations of unused bike tools – get in touch.
🛣 Road Closures and Route Issues
🔛 A ‘fun surprise’ on a recent ride: the end of the canal’s Union Path as it meets Fountainbridge Sq has fencing across it – by the looks of it, for cobble renewal – meaning passage by laden cargo bike required taking the wheelchair ramp just before it and following the right side of the rear courtyard round to a ramp at the other end having passed ‘behind’ Biketrax;
👷🏼♀️ New roadworks beginning today at Southfield Pl;
🚫 Gorgie Rd between Westfield and Balgreen has a bus lane closure due to Virgin Media work;
🚚 Ongoing roadworks at London Rd / Montrose Ter;
↔️ ‘Narrow lanes’ at Bernard St opp. Timber Bush while SGN sort a gas leak;
💧 This weekend 7th-8th Oct sees Lauriston Pl gain temporary lights at Lauriston St for Scottish water pipe renewal, closing Lauriston Gdns on those days;
🎁 Saturday 7th: North leg of George Sq (in its entirety), and Crichton Street both closed for Edinburgh University Open days;
👀 Also Sat 7th: several roads closed during the passing through of a Scottish Independence March from Holyrood Pk to the Meadows via George IV Br, resulting in rolling closures of Horse Wynd, Canongate, High St, George IV Bridge, Forrest Rd, Potterrow, and Teviot Place. March starts at 12.30pm.
Still ongoing…
⛏ Large-scale city centre resurfacing work on Regent Rd, Waterloo Pl and Princes St lasts another 4 weeks or so;
❌ Braidburn Terrace closed (dismount to pass via pavement) at the end of the Greenbank-Meadows Quiet Route while the new pedestrian and cycle realm enhancement works are underway, with overnight closures of Comiston Rd coming later in the project including bus diversions;
🙃 There are ongoing issues on Lanark Rd’s ‘segregated’ cycle lanes with car drivers ignoring mandatory (solid white line) markings, but double yellow lines are in the process of being reinstated;
🚥 Howden Hall Rd and Balmwell Ter - lanes narrowed and temporary pedestrian crossing during pedestrian crossing upgrade work ongoing until 3rd Oct;
🚌 Corstorphine Rd - between Murrayfield Rd and Ormidale Ter, a section of the citybound bus lane remains closed until 6th Oct for Scottish Power upgrades;
Ongoing updates on the Council’s Road reports page as the week unfolds and via @edintravel on “X” - A place as dire as its rebrand™
🌈 Infrastructure Progress & Consultations
🤫 Still ongoing is the (locally, unnecessarily) ‘contentious’ Greenbank to Meadows Quiet Route open consultation regarding potential changes in the coming year; please do respond if you ever cycle through the area;
🤬 A lot of furore on the internet’s favourite hellsite™ this week regarding Picardy Pl / Elm Row - where it’s now possible to ride from the end of the CCWEL at York Pl to the Leith Walk lanes, if you’re careful. It’s certainly not perfect, but perhaps naïvely we reckon it’s an improvement on cycling through the area previously… 🚀
📝 On a less positive note, Scottish Government ‘Ambassador for Active Travel’ Lee Craigie’s outgoing letter to Patrick Harvie invokes a familiar feeling – namely that we’re lacking momentum at a key moment for Active Travel and the future of Scottish cities;
🚴🏼♀️ Lothian Cycle Campaign Spokes have responded to ScotGov’s ‘Programme for Government 23-24’;
🌳 The recently opened consultation on the future of Holyrood Pk – informed in part by what appears to be key aims favouring active travel over vehicular access for vehicular traffic – is available for your input until 19th December.
📆 Events and Happenings
🍂 If you’re thinking about starting cycling this autumn, the team at Porty Community Energy are offering free cycle training with classes for absolute beginners, on-road riding and family cycling;
🏴 26th Oct is date for the Cycling Scotland Conference 2023 at Pollock Halls.
🌍 Globally…
🇫🇷 Toyota France will now be selling e-cargo bikes at thousands of their dealerships. Vive le vélo!
Thanks as always for reading, and ride safe! 🚲
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