🚲 edi.bike | issue 104 | 4th Aug ‘25
your weekly edinburgh cycling digest
📰 News this Week
⏳ A ‘Meadows to Union Canal’ Link Update
Eagle-eyed Harry Williams spotted an update to the website for ‘Meadows to Union Canal’, an infrastructure link project that’s suffered more than its fair share of delays in the last decade or so of its existence (a very ‘Edinburgh’ project timeline, even discounting the delays due to the Covid pandemic). The project now seems very closely tied in with the ongoing works to renovate the King’s Theatre, but this at least is joined-up in terms of not carrying out abortive work and taking into account public realm improvements at the Theatre’s entrance.
The second page of the site has a full bullet-list of changes coming to surrounding streets, which sadly doesn’t seem to include any improvements to the tiny ~1.5m shared footpath between Leven Terrace and the A700/Melville Drive, leading from the end of Valleyfield St to the Toucan Crossing onto North Meadow Walk’s cycleway.
💡 Princes St, Reimagined
An interesting piece of work in recent weeks by Spokes and Richard Murphy Architects, on the future of Princes St and the lack of imagination in the Council’s recent ‘placemaking’ and transport plans for the space;
Think again, Edinburgh!
Even the Council's own report says it could be "more aspirational"
New Richard Murphy plans show how Council could reduce vehicle dominance and cater for Walking, Wheeling, Cycling and Public Transport as per the Sustainable Transport Hierarchy and other European cities — paraphrased from this Bluesky post
Spokes’ article on the matter explains the designs - which suffer a little for being presented in the form of technical drawings making them a bit harder to parse - and are certainly thought-provoking in terms of whether the city’s aspirations for such a major street and transport hub are really up to scratch.
🚋 North-South Tram Route Consultation Dates Announced
From the City of Edinburgh Council:
The Trams Granton to the Edinburgh BioQuarter and Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and Beyond consultation for the expansion of the tram network will begin later this month.
The City of Edinburgh Council will be seeking views on the proposed new tram routes from Granton in the north of the city to Edinburgh BioQuarter and Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and beyond into the region.
The consultation will start on Monday 25 August 2025 and run for 12 weeks, finishing on Monday 17 November 2025. It will be hosted on the Council’s Consultation Hub.
This consultation will inform the development of a Strategic Business Case (SBC) for the expansion which will then be presented to the Transport and Environment Committee in 2026.
Further information, including details of public events, will be issued in due course.
Not much to say at this point other than - that project title is an awful bundle, having grown arms and legs and seemingly scuttled away to eventually name itself.
I am available for future project naming gigs. ‘2 Trams 2 Furious’ was right there; you know where to find me.
🏰 Local Bits
🚀 A few more details on the impending cycle hire scheme’s launch — following the Evening News piece we linked to last issue — were shared by The Edinburgh Reporter this week:
- Cycles should be on the ground the week of August 18th;
- The “cycle hire scheme will see Edinburgh Council collect any cycle hire bikes parked inappropriately, and charge the company running it to get them back” - which is great news, giving the Council the ability to stay on top of any issues that having ‘dockless’ parking presents.
We covered the companies in the running and general themes back in Issue 82 when the cycles were demonstrated for Councillors.
⛔ A few photos from SW20 on Bluesky of the new mechanical (rising / lowering) bollards to control access to Lawnmarket, just in time for the new trial project to restrict vehicle access;
🛰️ Some excellent images in this update from edi.bike contributor Robbie:
An update to Google Maps 3D data for Edinburgh reveals some nice aerial views of the cycle infrastructure finished over the past 2 years. — @robbieainsworth.bsky.social
To try for yourself; in Google Maps in your web browser, click ‘Layers’ > ‘More’ > tick ‘Globe View’ - the regular satellite imagery is not yet updated.
🚲 Help needed: Dion (see below) is looking for experienced mass ride marshals to help facilitate a mass fringe artists ride on the 11th August;
Cycling advocate and comedian Dion Owen has been running his ‘Cyclopath Fringe Artist Bike Share program’, building and giving away bikes for fringe artists to get around the city during the festival, with help from The Pear Tree and The Bike Station. Check out the brief video about the program published to Youtube last year;
🧭 North Edinburgh Arts now have a Bike Library:
Need a bike? Borrow one from the NEA Lending Bike Library! 🚲
We’ve got standard bikes in all sizes, available for up to 1 week hire.
Plus e-bikes & an e-trike, available for 1-day hire.
FREE HIRE for NEA Members!
📞 Contact us: 07493 876130
📧 Email: bikes@northedinburgharts.co.uk
Huge thanks to The City of Edinburgh Council Active Travel Group and Cycling UK in Scotland for funding the bikes for the library.
More details over at Deadline News »
🎭 It’s the time of year when some of the city’s worst failings at dealing with traffic and transport are amplified by the hordes of tourists with us for the Festival. SW20 take us on a tour of some of the worst bits in this Bluesky thread »
🛠️ The Bike Station have a t-shirt / long-sleeve / sweatshirt design — with garment colours choices too — up on Everpress to raise funds towards their operations - there are 8 days left until the orders go to print, so don’t delay - grab one today »
Plus, a new request for help from the team:
The Bike Station is recruiting new volunteers! 🚲
After the successful move into our new Tollcross shop, we are seeking the support of new volunteers to help us do the brilliant work of getting more people on bikes. The priority roles that we are seeking help with include:
🛒 Shop volunteers: Helping with customer service and support, with the role focussed on offering advice up to your comfort level and building up to assist with sales. In busy times this is invaluable support to try and allow our refurbishment mechanics to continue getting bikes ready for sale; while in quieter times it allows for extra help across the general retail duties of the shop. Currently we are desiring support in Tollcross (Gorgie is also available) with a commitment of 3-6 hours a week across our current opening days of Thursday-Saturday.
📦 Cargo Bike Riders: Have you ever fancied being a courier? Those with experience riding cargo bikes, or with the willingness to get fully trained up - this role is great for independent, confident cyclists keen to ride bikes in all weathers. With two busy sites in Edinburgh, we are hoping to have regular support in moving goods between Gorgie and Tollcross via cargo bike, reducing our reliance on our electric van and further embodying the benefits of the bike. The desired commitment is 4-7 hours a week, with time between runs being spent helping out in a variety of ways.
🛠️ Fix Your Own Bike: With our public facing sessions back up and running on Wednesday and Friday evenings (5-8pm) where people can pay £6/hour to utilise a stand and full toolkit, we are looking for volunteers to help provide advice to those attending these sessions. Those best fit for the role would have a lot of experience with bike maintenance and also be good at calmly communicating advice to participants.
✅ Benefits of volunteering:
- Become part of a team of volunteers and staff who are all passionate about bikes and keen to create a change in Edinburgh, which you too can directly contribute to.
- After 6 months of volunteering you can access heavily discounted Velotech bike maintenance courses to develop your skills and have evidence of your skills.
- Volunteers are included in the pool of internal recruitment for new jobs within the organisation so it can be a great opportunity to see the available roles as and when they arise.
- For volunteers able to offer long term commitments, parts both new and used as well as an annual service can be accessed at a discounted rate.
- Joining social rides, activities and parties to meet fellow members of the team and celebrate the important work we do.
If you are interested in any of the above roles, or would like to know how else you may be able to get involved, please email jamie.henderson@thebikestation.org.uk
🧡 There’s a range of adult cycle training and much more being offered by The Wee Spoke Hub during August - check out their full list of events here »
✊ Get more involved with Edinburgh Critical Mass:
Join us for the post-ride meeting on Saturday the 9th of August at 1pm in 📍 Edinburgh University George Square Library*. Room 1.10 on the first floor.
If you don't have a library card, you can talk to reception (on the right as you go in) and let them know you are looking for us and they will let you through.*
🌾 Another lovely bikey missive from Bridgend Farmhouse this week, with photos on Facebook:
Our community cycling programme with A Wee Pedal 🚴 is thriving and today we had our monthly bike maintenance class with 6 riders learning from the talented Dara. Delighted it was useful to each of you!
And our weekly led ride was a lot of fun visiting Hermitage of Braid with a few new faces!
🚲 A call for help [IG] from Bikes for Refugees:
We Need Your Bikes 🧡
We are running low on bikes in Glasgow & need your help! We can take donations from across the central belt & sometimes further afield if we can arrange collection. Please consider donating a bike today!Complete the donate a bike form on our website »
📰 An update from the Council on Smokey Brae, Marionville Rd/Ave and Restalrig Avenue:
As part of the consultation process for the proposed changes to Marionville Road we are hosting an engagement event to ask for your views on the proposals. You can meet the team to discuss the proposals for Marionville Road and the wider plans for Smokey Brae, Marionville Avenue and Restalrig Avenue.
The engagement event will take place on Wednesday 20 August 2025 at 📍 Craigentinny Community Centre (9 Loaning Road, Edinburgh, EH7 6JE) from 17:30 to 19:30. The format will be an open drop-in session between 17:30 and 18:30, followed by a presentation and Q&A session between 18:30 and 19:30.
In order to ensure that people who attend the engagement event have time to consider the details and discussions prior to submitting feedback, we have extended the end date for the Marionville Road consultation to Sunday 31 August 2025.
🅿️ News (and a photo) of covered cycle parking at the new Lidl store on Seafield Road, courtesy of Wingpig on Bluesky;
🛠️ The Bike Station are offering Velotech Awards maintenance courses (Silver, 2 days) at their Gorgie branch on 12th & 13th August;
🛒 New owner takes over long-established Haddington bike shop ‘Mike’s Bikes’ - at the East Lothian Courier »
📺 Local musician, composer and cycling campaigner Dan Abrahams is continuing the crowdfunding campaign for a new music video for ‘Amsterdam’ - see [his message on Youtube] and back it on Indiegogo »
🏆 Spokes are running their annual competition with a range of excellent prizes - entries welcome on the theme of ‘My favourite bike ride’. Details and lots of local Edinburgh cycling news can also be found in their most recent Action Update [PDF]
🇬🇧 National
⛰️ Via Edinburgh Festival of Cycling:
Mountain biker completes epic bid to ride down all 282 Munros: Sean Green, 36, from Angus, believes he is only the second person in history to have taken a bike to the summit of all the mountains measuring 3,000ft (914m) and over — article at BBC News »
🌍 Elsewhere
👩🏻⚖️ Via irishcycle.com: Ontario court strikes down Ford government's plan to remove Toronto bike lanes:
"Evidence shows that restoring lanes for cars will not result in less congestion, as it will induce more people to use cars and therefore any reduction in driving time will be short-lived, if at all, and will lead to more congestion," said the Judge who also said it would make roads more dangerous. — article at CBC News »
🛣 Route Closures and Issues
📋 Survey: If you used and appreciated the cycleway ‘bypass’ round the works on CCWEL at Rosebery Crescent put in after pressure by Spokes, it would be great to respond to this Scottish Water survey about the closure and give them positive feedback for providing it - there’s a clear need across the city for bodies like this to hold their contractors to providing space or diversions for cycles, and while not perfect this was a great example of ensuring minimal disruption to cycle users during works;
ℹ️ Encountered unexpected road issues? Find out how to report them with this guide from Spokes. The team at Edinburgh Travel News are also keen to hear about cycle path alerts and can be contacted on Threads or Facebook.
🦋 On Bluesky? Follow the #EdTravCyc feed - anyone can use the #EdTravCyc hashtag to share route issues they encounter;
📪 The week’s road closure info - many thanks to regular contributor Robbie for collating and preparing these:
⚡ Marchmont Road: Closed southbound between Marchmont Cres and Strathearn Rd for Scottish Power works, affecting the old faint on-street cycle lanes. Greenbank – Meadows QuietRoute may offer an alternate route but be aware of works on Whitehouse Loan.
🏡 Whitehouse Loan: Section of Greenbank-Meadows QuietRoute expected to be obstructed by footway resurfacing works from 18th August until end Sep. Update 2nd August: Road no longer expected to be closed during works and it’s been queried whether any modal filter planters will be temporarily removed.
🎤 Murrayfield: Oasis concerts this Friday 8th Aug, Saturday 9th Aug and Tuesday 12th Aug. Various Road closures from 5:30pm. Exercise caution and consider dismounting if possible on CCWEL to Water of Leith Path around 4pm-8pm and 10pm-12am. Roseburn Path to Union Canal open throughout.
🏗️ Edinburgh Park Station: Quietroute 8 cycle path between Hermiston Gait and the Gyle Centre closed for works in preparation of the Edinburgh Arena development. It’s only possible to go around by carrying your bike up roughly 20 steps. It’s been queried whether the cycle path will reopen or remain closed long term.
🏫 Dalkeith Road: Works to make permanent the footway widening outside Preston Street Primary School. The eastbound cycle lane on East Preston St may also be obstructed. Works expected to finish this Friday 8th August.
🚧 Cargil Terrace: Closed at Wardie Primary School for SGN works 28th July to 21st August. Part of Wardie Road may also be closed. If you’re travelling between Wardie and Trinity, Darnell Rd or the Ferry Road Path may be alternatives.
🚧 Leamington Terrace: Closed in sections for resurfacing until 12th September. If you’re travelling between Union Canal and Merchiston, Viewforth may be an alternate route.
Festival Closures:
🎪 Summertime Streets: Expanded closures for the August festivals this year. High St closed from 10:30am daily. Lawnmarket closed and Cowgate closed daily from 3pm, however access will be maintained for loading. Cycle access on Cockburn Street Between North Bridge and Waverley Bridge expected to be retained. Exercise caution and consider dismounting if you can on High Street.
🎪 George Street: Usual annual closure between Hanover St and Frederick St for Fringe venues, with temporary cycle path. Note that non-permeable barriers are expected to be erected in the cycle path, requiring cycles to go around them.
🎪 Hill Square: Fringe Festival will close Hill Place westbound from 14th July until end Aug but cycle access will be maintained. Be aware of temporary road signage in the contraflow cycle lane westbound and an increase in pedestrians. Nearby Roxburgh Place will also be closed, which may create a pleasant low traffic area.
Longer Term Closures:
🚂 Waverley Bridge – Issues with cycle access following the road being temporarily re-opened to airport buses. A new temporary arrangement has been installed for the festival period. Officers are looking to install similar long-term arrangements in September.
⛰️ Duddingston Low Road in Holyrood Park: Ongoing inspection works have identified a risk of rockfall, resulting in a closure until further notice. Dismounting to pass is not currently possible. The footway was expected to re-open at the end of July, requiring dismounting to pass, however works seem to have overrun.
🌉 Harrison Road: two bridges closed due to structural concerns with micro-cracking in the original cast iron beams. Access to cycles is being restricted:
- The north-west bridge over a small path is having its deck rebuilt and will be closed to pedestrians and cycles for rebuilding until November. Update 2nd August: Work delayed and paths remain open for now.
- The south-east bridge over the Union Canal has been closed for investigations, with fencing placed across the bridge and a gap for cycles. The bridge is expected to re-open to vehicles August 15th.
🚧 Stenhouse Drive: road between shared use path along tramline and Water of Leith Path closed at Gorgie Road for SGN works until 8th August. Stenhouse Ave may offer an alternative route.
🌉 South Gyle Road: Bridge between modal filter and Quiet Route 9 expected to close for repairs until April 2026. When asked about cycle access, a spokesperson for Network Rail Scotland said: "Plans for South Gyle station bridge are still at an early stage, with work expected to begin late summer. We understand the importance of this route for cyclists and are developing proposals for a temporary bridge to maintain access throughout the work. Further details will be shared with the community as planning progresses". It is expected to be required to dismount and use a temporary bridge during the works.
🏗️ Port Hamilton Cyclepath: Shared use path between Union Canal and West End closed until 2026/27 for building works. A diversion is advised via Gardeners Crescent and Semple Street.
🏗️ Craighall Road: Closed until May 2028 for the Refurbishment of Trinity Academy. Access to the Victoria Path is expected to be maintained. A diversion will be signed along Newhaven Road, however the removal of parking for improved traffic flow may lead to this being a wider and faster road, less suitable for cycles.
⚡ Ongoing: The questionable Network Rail ban on ebike parking at Waverley Station - best to make alternative parking plans if travelling from this station at present;
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🎉 Events and Happenings
📆 Upcoming / Ongoing
☀️ Some lovely summer Sunday family rides coming up with Porty Community Energy:
Why not join us for one of our led family picnic rides every Sunday from 10th August.
Learn some good, family friendly local cycle routes and enjoy a picnic (🤞🏽for☀️).
Borrow a cargo bike for you and your family for the ride if you'd like (book in advance), or come on your own bikes.
FREE but please BOOK in advance »
🧘 More upcoming rides and movement / yoga sessions from Detour [IG]:
30th August - Yoga by Bike, Porty to Longniddry - 🎟️ Details and Tickets »
20th September - Yoga by Bike, Porty to Longniddry - 🎟️ Details and Tickets »
28th September - Yoga by Bike, East Linton - 🎟️ Details and Tickets »
🚶🏻♀️ Wester Hailes Walk, Pedal and Thrive Project June to October Events at ScoreScotland - mainly based at 📍 Gate 55, 55 Sighthill Rd, and booking required - call / text Madhavi on 07496 190 752 or email madhavi@scorescotland.org.uk.
🚸 Play Together on Pedals (3 to 6 year olds): Fridays from 2pm to 4pm;
🧭 Led Cycle Rides: Saturdays from 9:45am to 1pm;
🚲 Adult Beginners / Family Cycle Training: text for an appointment.
🎟️ Festival Show: ‘CADEL: Lungs on Legs’:
ONE ACTOR. ONE BIKE. ONE HOUR. Connor Delves is Cadel Evans. The epic true story of the first Australian to win the Tour de France, live on stage. — Tickets at Underbelly »
🎫 Via Edinburgh Festival of Cycling: Fringe Show ‘The World at 15mph… ish’: Burnt out and needing change, non-athlete Naomi cycled 20,000 miles through 26 countries, with a man she'd met just three times — Tickets at edfringe.com »
🚌 Every Sunday until 26th October: “Inner Forth Bike Bus - the route, between Alloa and the Forth Bridges, encourages cyclists to travel more sustainably within the Inner Forth. See this video on Instagram for more. The concept of the Inner Forth Bike Bus was developed to enable local people, and visitors, to help them cycle (or walk) part of the 'Round the Inner Forth' route, hop off at fascinating heritage sites, and return home or to a bus stop / train station for their onward travels.” - Info and Timetable »
🖼️ New Venue: The ongoing ‘Pedal Power’ exhibition about cycle campaigning in Edinburgh co-curated by Spokes, Infrasisters, Bike Buses and Edinburgh Critical Mass has moved on from Duncan Place, and can now be found at Norton Park (📍 57 Albion Road) — having been transported across by cargo bike (of course!) in April;
⛰️ Bikepacking event Dirt Dash’s 2025 return wraps up in September - check out the gorgeous video they put out previously [IG] too:
Dirt Dash’s summer programme concludes with the Lezyne Dunoon Dirt Dash on 27 & 28 September. Organised by round the world cyclist Markus Stitz, these self-supported rides are designed for cyclists who love off-road riding and are seeking new experiences on their bikes, whether for seasoned gravel riders or anyone new to bikepacking.
💙 Riding LEJOG in memory of Tim McKenna — and raising money for charities Mind, Sustrans and Flight Free UK in his honour. Passing through in August, folks can join for some or all of the route by reviewing the itinerary. Thanks to John Robson for the link;
⚙️ In September, Spokes will be hosting a Cargo-bike-focused event, showing the film Motherload and hosting a discussion;
A special Spokes public meeting, discussing further development of cargo bikes in Edinburgh – as always the meeting is open to all, but local groups who we know to be involved in cargobikes will be specially invited. The evening will include a screening of MOTHERLOAD, a 90-minute documentary film which captures a new mother’s quest to understand the increasing isolation and disconnection of modern life, its planetary impact, and how cargo bikes could be an antidote. The showing and discussion will be on Tuesday September 2nd from 7pm - 9.30pm at Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge EH1 1EL. Further information from Ian »
🎉 For six months starting in September, the ‘Towpath talks’ team will be returning:
Cycling community Talks are back - with the closure of Biketrax in January, the regular cycling talks by MacKenzie Barker (@rekrab82 [IG)] and hosted by Izabela Murtagh (@iza.murtagh [IG]) will be making a return in September using a new venue — Gamma Transport Division in the Comely Bank / Stockbridge area"
Great news. Announcements currently via the Towpath Talks account on Instagram, and we’ll publish dates when available!
💯 Edinburgh RC celebrating its hundredth year in 2025 and have an ongoing challenge encouraging 100 women of all cycling abilities to ride 100km - offering help to anyone who needs it along the way;
🔁 Weekly Events
- 🍃 Mon, 12-2.30pm: Free, fun group ride on paths from Bridgend Farmhouse;
- 🌅 Tues, ⏰ 5.40am: Edinburgh Dawn Patrol - Meet St. Andrew Square, same route each time - more info on their Instagram;
- ☕️Tues, 5pm: [National] Active Travel Cafe on Zoom
- 🛠️ Weds, 3pm: Bike Kitchen at Edinburgh Tool Library
- 🌅 Thurs, ⏰ 5.40am: Edinburgh Dawn Patrol (same as Tues, details above);
- 🪨 Thurs Evenings: Edinburgh Gravel Cycling Club social group rides;
- ✴️ Thurs, 5-8pm: Bike DIY Session at The Wee Spoke Hub
- ⚙️ Sat, 2-4pm: ‘Bike Cleaning and Oiling’ drop-in session at The Wee Spoke Hub
- 🟰 Edinburgh & Lothians Regional Equality Council’s Edinburgh Cycling Club run weekly group rides and introductory classes;
🔁 Monthly Events
- 🚲 First Friday of the month: Inclusive social bike rides with A Wee Pedal, 1-3pm, from Bridgend Farmhouse;
- ✊ Last Saturday of the month: Critical Mass Edinburgh, Family-friendly mass protest / group ride, 2pm, Middle Meadow Walk;
🫂 Help Needed
Ongoing: 🚌 Marshal for School Bike Buses | 🙋 Help with school programme ‘I Bike’ | 🗨️Join Spokes’ Planning or Resources group | 🆘 Donate money or bikes to Bikes for Refugees | 📦⚡️ Hire Community Cargobikes, E-bikes or Trailers from SW20, Porty Community Energy or Banzai | ♻️ Donate old bikes to The Bike Station, The Wee Spoke Hub or ‘Brake the Cycle’.
📦 Cargo bikes for sale via Laid Back Bikes:
We're grateful to organisations such as @spokes.org.uk supporting cargobikes in the city & beyond. Just to remind people that we have three used UA Bosch Flatbed models available to try, hire or buy. Ideal for business, two with boxes. @portyenergy.bsky.social @sw20.info @thebikestation.bsky.social
— @LaidBackBikes (@laidbackbikes.bsky.social) 2025-07-13T19:39:03.643Z
🍃 Sustainable transport charity Sustrans is producing a new iteration of the Walking and Cycling Index - are you keen to share your experience walking, wheeling or cycling in Edinburgh? Fill in the survey »
🌈 Infrastructure Progress & Consultations
✨ This section of the digest will receive a revamp in the coming months to move long-running, detailed consultation information onto web pages, and instead publish a list of links for open and recent consultations (along with summaries for anything actually new). In the meantime, anything new or changed is found near the top. ✨
In Previous Updates:
🎥 This short video clip shows progress on the Leith Connections ‘Foot of the Walk to Dock Street’ project, which will eventually link all the way to Ocean Terminal.
We are making really good progress on #LeithConnections
Changing streets in #Leith and making it more comfortable for anyone #walking, #wheeling or #cycling, and providing better connections to existing cycle routes and public transport #activetravel
🚧 Harry Williams spotted on the roadworks commissioner site in Issue 103 that the Living Well Dalry side streets have been scheduled for continuous footways and raised table builds as soon as September 2025, bringing forward parts of the overall scheme when resurfacing of the roads in the area have been scheduled. While the project brings significant disruption, there are a lot of positive thoughts on the outcomes for the area in the latter part of this article on Edinburgh Live by local area councillor Ross McKenzie.
🌾 Some good development on the way in Currie, featured on planning news portal City Scope — “Hard-surfacing and widening the field path linking Juniper Green and Currie, with low-level lighting, benches, filter-drainage and planting to formalise the route as a permanent public link.”.
As SW20 put it:
A vital link in the ‘education corridor’ envisioned to link all the local schools together with Heriot Watt university making walking, wheeling and cycling safer for pupils, staff, visitors and the communities it will tie together. - post on Bluesky »
🌳 Greenbank to Meadows Quiet Route: with changes coming — to re-introduce rat-running traffic to the Braid Estate and attempt to mitigate the impacts for cycling with the addition of segregated cycleways through residential streets — Council Officers have advised that “The designs have now been completed and the relevant ETRO documents have been drafted. These need to be subject to legal procedures before they can be implemented, with an expectation this will take place during July and August. Due to the requirement to conduct pre-implementation traffic monitoring, which cannot meaningfully be undertaken during school holiday times, the works will not start until mid-September at the earliest."
📐 Having had sight of draft plans, Merchiston Districts Community Council have a blog post on the changes coming to the somewhat infamous mini-roundabout junction in Polwarth after a lot of local campaigning, which sound extremely promising. Consultation coming later in the summer, which we’ll be sure to link to here.
📋 New Consultation in Meadowbank for Marionville Rd Cycleway, and Details on Smokey Brae
Following consultation in 2022, the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) has published new web pages (Issue 96, 9th June) detailing plans for protected cycleways on Smokey Brae, including Marionville Avenue and Restalrig Avenue. There are pages featuring visual before / after renders, and others with street layout plans.
These changes are part of an overall plan for the area which now includes a new section being consulted on, featuring a bi-directional protected cycleway on Marionville Rd. The associated consultation is open until the 17th of August, with CEC no doubt hoping to deliver both sets of improvements in tandem in the near future.
📋 Consultation: “Walking, wheeling and cycling improvements in Currie” closed to comments as of 6th July 2025. The plans include junction and crossing improvements, and additional cycle parking and access at Curriehill railway station, as well as access into some of the new developments in the area.
🔭 As spotted by Harry Williams and others, some movement on the ‘Longstone Link’ bridge (Issue 95, 2nd June): a Boundary Map [PDF] and Pre-application Screening have been published on the planning portal, which reads:
The proposal is for a new 5m wide shared-use bridge over the Water of Leith between a new housing development and New Mart Road. The bridge will link on the north east to a 3.5m wide shared-use path that will be widened to 5m wide connecting to New Mart Road in HRA. On the south west, it will connect to a new path to be delivered within the land of the new residential development. On the north west, the existing wooden boardwalk will be altered to connect to the new infrastructure. The location and alignment of the bridge has been selected to minimise the impact on trees, flooding management considerations and to retain the desire line for users crossing the Water of Leith.
🚶 Pedestrianisation and Cycling Project to Close Lawnmarket to Traffic
Via Harry Williams on Bluesky, news of a new City of Edinburgh Council project commencing in July will see an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) close Johnstone Terrace and Lawnmarket during daytime, with deliveries and loading taking place outside of those hours:
Restrictions will be between
- 10.30am and 7.30pm, Monday to Saturday
- 12.30pm and 7.30pm, Sunday
Lawnmarket’s former black vehicle barriers have been removed during works, to be replaced at the end of the current work with mechanised retractable bollards. In addition to this filter, the following changes will be put in place:
Johnston Terrace:
- Restricted access for large vehicles when pedestrian and cycle zone is in operation
- Removal of existing coach parking
- Taxi and private hire pick-up and drop-off areas
- Additional blue badge parking
- Public and resident parking
- Turning area for smaller vehicles including taxis and vans
Castle Terrace:
- Coach pick-up and drop-off on Castle Terrace
- Relocated residential parking to make way for Coach spaces, at the cost of
Being an ETRO, over the eighteen trial months the council will be looking to monitor the impact and any changes needed before making the scheme a permanent change - including six months of public consultation. There’s also an extensive page of current arrangements, ahead of the ETRO commencing, including changes to through traffic on Castle Terrace.
These welcome (and long overdue) changes are seemingly part of a series of new projects under the heading ‘Improving Old Town Streets’ which starts with Johnstone Terrace and Lawnmarket, and also covers Victoria Street, High Street (west), Cockburn Street, High Street (east) and Hunter Square - all earmarked for changes under the various themes already established by the Transport Committee:
The strategies and plans guiding our proposals
The project reflects our ambition to be net zero by 2030 and the wider vision for the city as set out in our key strategies including:
- City Mobility Plan 2021 – 2030: a 10-year strategy to transform the way people, goods and services travel around the city;
- City Centre Transformation: an ambitious plan to provide a people-focused city centre, which is a desirable place to live, work and visit.
- Our Future Streets (Circulation Plan): a long-term approach for planning transport and improvements to outdoor spaces across the city.
🌸 Greenbank to Meadows Quiet Route: ‘Option 3’ Detailed Plans (At Last)
Last Spring, the Labour Administration sided with Tory and Lib Dem colleagues on the Transport and Environment Committee and voted to remove traffic filtering from the Braid Estate, forming a key part of the Greenbank to Meadows Quiet Route - filters that had reduced through-traffic in the neighbourhood by as many as four thousand cars per day, a vote in direct opposition to several of the councils’ own policies. After a long design process, the plans for ‘Option 3’ (in a strange, consultation-as-referenda programme of stumbling around local objections and procedural glitches) have finally been made available, providing instead a series of protected cycleways through the streets forming the Braid Estate. Recently, Cllr Ben Parker asked for an update at Full Council and received a number of clarifications from Officers.
Neither pro-filter campaigners nor their pro-through-traffic counterparts are particularly thrilled by the plans, which will be implemented using temporary materials under a new Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO). However, thanks to Labour having tabled a last-minute caveat at the time, the ETRO will include the option to revert and reintroduce filters on the estate without requiring further legal process (e.g. another ETRO design and advertisement), so there is still hope if a case can be made that the goals of the project are deemed to have been compromised by reintroducing through-traffic to a liveable neighbourhood…
You can download the plans here [PDF].
🌸 Thursday 8th May saw the meeting of Edinburgh’s full Council, and tabled amongst its business were some clarifying questions to the Transport Convener on the safe implementation of the changes coming to the route by Green party Councillor Chas Booth; the answers are worth a read through [PDF, Page 17] in terms of some previously unseen detail, including different widths of planned protected cycleway on Braid Avenue depending on whether travel is in an uphill or downhill direction;
📋 Consultation: Edinburgh BioQuarter Active Travel Gaps - Sheriffhall Park & Ride to BioQuarter Campus Route
Now closed (2nd March at 23:59): Consultation spotted by Spokes this week; seeking to connect up both some missing internal links in the active travel pathways around the Edinburgh BioQuarter site at Little France, and also deliver protected cycleways and quiet routes between the site and the Midlothian Council park and ride facility at Sheriffhall:
“Edinburgh BioQuarter partners (City of Edinburgh Council, NHS Lothian, Scottish Enterprise and The University of Edinburgh) are in the process of improving active travel routes and facilities in and around the campus…
The improvements being looked at within this project will see the development of a new active travel route to Edinburgh BioQuarter from Midlothian in the south to plug a 'gap' in the infrastructure. Eliminating the 'gap' will improve accessibility for walkers, wheelers, and cyclists during everyday journeys.”
Detailed Plans and Rationale on the project’s StoryMap »
🗺️ East Lothian Council are carrying out consultations on proposed improvements between Prestonpans and Levenhall; there is of course some local resistance, and at this stage the consultation closed for comments in March 2025.
Download the (muckle!) combined plan [PDF] or browse the list
🍃 Spokes recently highlighted a new consultation from Midlothian Council in Spring 2025 to create Active Travel provisions along the A7:
The aim of the project is to improve active travel connections within the study area making it easier for people to walk, wheel and cycle for their everyday journeys and to connect to public transport services more easily. Currently, there is no or limited provision for walking, wheeling and cycling along the majority of the A7 corridor.
🏞️ Via Spokes - in an update from Friends of Burdiehouse Burn Valley Park the start of a new project to improve the valley is ongoing:
Burdiehouse Burn Restoration - Concept Design
“For the Burdiehouse Burn to become a successful and notable blue-green regeneration project, restoring approximately 5 km of the burn and surrounding habitats”
Core project objectives:
- Sustainable river restoration
- Habitat restoration in the surrounding landscape
- ✨ Active travel connections
- Placemaking & access improvements
- Education & engagement of people and organisations local to the burn
- Net zero gains
- Improve the resilience of the site to climate change.
More in their newsletter »
🏚️ New plans for 21 flats on the site of the derelict Longstone Inn - damaged due to local flooding - have been published, featuring a ramp and alley access to the Burnside path; in addition, the council have now progressed with identifying who owns which bits of land and wall where the Burnside path sinkhole is situated, so discussions with the landowner will be ongoing to come up with a plan for remedial works here to fix not only the sinkhole, but hopefully the underlying cause too.
📋 Dalry ‘Living Well Locally’: the council have published an Initial local resident feedback Report on the Dalry Town Centre proposals [PDF]. There is a summary on the main Consultation page.
🚢 Leith Connections: Foot of the Walk to Dock St Construction Underway, Schedule Shared
🦶 Foot of the Walk to ‘Ocean Terminal’ (actually Commercial St)
⚓️ 'Foot of the Walk to Ocean Terminal' - construction is underway on the Great Junction St cycleway, with work on Henderson St recently started too, for around ten months - a protected cycle route as part of Leith Connections, which promises to be a great continuation of the segregated routes slowly taking root in the city centre.
This Leith Connections works leaflet [PDF] outlines the rough timeline for construction of the route.
Confusingly, the project doesn’t go to Ocean Terminal (shades of Roseburn to Union Canal here) and instead gives up at Commercial St, with the Commercial St to Ocean Terminal leg covered by the third phase of Leith Connections (below);
⚓ Leith Connections Phase 3 - Hawthornvale to Seafield
View the:
Consultation Hub Page (now closed to responses);
Detailed Design drawings (PDF) »
Thanks for reading - ride safe 🚲
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