🚲 edi.bike | issue 118 | 10th Nov ‘25
your weekly edinburgh cycling digest
📰 News this Week
🚳 Calling on Voi and CEC to unblock cycle parking
Following our article about Voi scaling up their hire bike offering in the city, we’re still looking to document instances of Voi bike rack parking with any photos you might have - which will be added to our page below calling on Voi and the council to address the issue.
🅿️ We're documenting instances of Voi bikes being left blocking existing cycle parking - so if you have any images to contribute, please send them in to hello+voiracks@edi.bike along with a note of where the image was taken.
👮 Never say never: Police Scotland accepting video evidence online
Police Scotland have at long last launched a web-based tool to upload video evidence - not as far along as other forces, as you still need to separately submit a report, but progress!
As posted to Glasgow Critical Mass on Facebook by Robert Beckett:
The evidence gathering portal promised by Police Scotland is here at last. You still need submit reports as normal, but now Police can take a statement by phone and have you send videos over to them - so no need for house visits or handing USB sticks in anymore.
I hoped that you could just submit video and make a complaint but the Police need to send a request for evidence to you. It’s a start I suppose.
Better late than never; a simpler process for reporting with video means more reports, which should mean more convictions, and safer streets. There’s a bit more information in this article at the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal; Guidance for Defence Agents about the Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC) »
🗳️ Transport & Environment Committee meeting this Thursday
As ever, we have a look over what’s on the agenda for the Council’s Transport & Environment Committee this coming Thursday:
✊ While it’s on: Edinburgh Critical Mass and others are staging a protest outside the Transport & Environment Committee meeting this Thursday 13th November from 8.30am, following a year of inaction on road safety in the Cowgate. One year on from a dreadful fatal accident — in spite of promises to move forward with interim closures ahead of the City Mobility Plan’s implementation — no changes have been made for the safety of pedestrians and cyclists in this space;
🚊 Seven days to go on North-South tramline consultation
The deadline for everyone’s favourite consultation — Trams from Granton to Edinburgh BioQuarter and Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and Beyond and Maybe Elsewhere — is next Monday 17th November; if you haven’t yet responded, do make your voice heard »
🏰 Local Bits
⚙️ Spokes have written a follow up on the issue of national active travel budget:
At long last the detailed allocation of the Scottish Government’s Active and Sustainable Travel budget (formerly called Active Travel) for 25/26 financial year has been revealed.
It shows total Scottish Government active travel investment now down to just 4.2% of total transport spending – back to below the level of 22/23, and even lower than the 4.6% we had predicted.
Read more: Active Travel cut confirmed »
On the bus side of things — now that we’re all lumped together as ‘Sustainable transport’ due to spending cuts on… categories? — there is also an interesting Bluesky thread of further reading from the Edinburgh Bus Users Group (EBUG).
😱 Nightmare on Elm Row (thanks, EBUG 😉) continues, with a thread of recent photos from Edward Tissiman and others on Bluesky. It’s truly puzzling why enforcement officers aren’t just making hay here, given the breadth and scope of the parking issues on display;
🕊️ Over at East Lothian Council; we’ve received some updates regarding local consultations. On the Prestonpans to Levenhall project, unfortunately previous proposals for a segregated lane through the Levenhall section have been shelved due to objections around parking and from the bus company about the impact on the road width (see October’s project update [PDF]. They are now consulting on two watered-down options, one of which protects cyclists solely with a picture of a bike on the carriageway. If you agree paint is not protection then please quickly fill in the consultation survey before this Friday 14th November — supportive voices are sorely needed.
📋 Also open currently is the consultation on Station Road as part of the Musselburgh Active Toun project. If you use this area either to access the Esk river path, or to buy baked goods at Company then you might wish to feed in (there are three options being consulted on). You can respond to the consultation online by mid December,
and you can visit the drop-in event at 📍 The Venue, Eskmills Business Park on Tuesday 18 November, 2pm - 7:30pm.
Thanks to Musselburgh Councillor Shona McIntosh for sending us over details; Shona also posted a reel to Instagram from the Prestonpans to Levenhall route this week calling for more responses to the consultation.
☕ A number of Edinburgh cycling folks frequent Coffee Outside, a Wednesday AM social gathering around making coffee and having a chat. Thanks to Christine for sending a prompt for folks to head along;
Wednesday morning coffee hangouts
📍 Lochrin Basin, 8:15 - 9:45 🌞
What to bring: a mug, water, a way to boil water, and coffee 😎
More on their Instagram »
🚴 “Putting yourself in the position of someone who cycles truly emphasises the importance of giving road users space.”
Great to see testimonials following cycle awareness and road safety training for drivers of East Lothian Council’s vehicle fleet in this Facebook post by Cycling Scotland, who have been delivering the training.
📰 This week’s rant: in mainstream coverage, what was the top issue coming out of the Living Streets Edinburgh meeting discussing the Dundee St to Fountainbridge Active Travel project? Was it the very thing LSE had set out to criticise from the outset, tee’d up as the main issue with the scheme in their pre-meeting review of the plans, and subsequently fed to the Evening News to stoke outrage about? Surprised faces all round — Edinburgh Evening News »
LSE’s convener, when we last irked him by covering Floating Bus Stops, recommended linking to guidance from UCL [PDF] commissioned by Guide Dogs UK. This essential look into the safety of different bus stop and cycleway layouts — many of them creating serious issues particularly for blind and visually impaired bus users, that must be taken into account — when compared with the plans for the Dundee St project, highlights that the right approach has been taken. With the cycleway stepped down from the height of the footway, with consistently spaced zebra crossings at the start and end of the bus stop islands, featuring tactile paving and a short crossing distance across a uni-directional cycleway, the stops in this scheme look to be the ‘best possible option’ for a multi-modal streetscape, where there will always be some degree of compromise. While the islands are not at an ideal width for some manoeuvres - the guidance mentions in particular the space needed for someone to negotiate space when pushing a wheelchair - this layout is a far cry from the awkward boarders of CCWEL or the footway-grade meanderings of Leith Walk, which must truly be a nightmare as a person with impaired vision.
👀 This isn’t Elm Row’s former downhill deathtrap of a Bus Stop Boarder — may it rest in pieces — these are well-considered designs with, in most cases, chicanes to slow cycle traffic, zebras to facilitate crossing, and waiting space on the island itself - it would appear from plans that the bus shelters will be on the ‘floating islands’, not on the adjacent footway.
The mitigations are in place for all but the appetite of Edinburgh’s commentariat to try and nuke progress enabling cycling — in protected space, for all abilities — from orbit, trying to awkwardly hide their agendas behind allyship, or ‘heritage’, or the weather, or fiscal hand-wringing. It’s time to move forward for pragmatically safer spaces for both pedestrians and cyclists, and stop pretending Edinburgh is too special for Floating Bus Stops to work here as they do elsewhere - because they’re an essential component of a functional and safe cycle network, which is an essential component of a functional and safe capital city.
🎙️ This month’s Towpath Talks at Gamma will be on Friday 21st November; doors open 18:30, for 19:00 talk:
Join us on Friday November 21st to hear from two exciting guests: Sam Kerr, an adventure racer, and Donnie Campbell, an adventurer and coach.
🎟️ Tickets and more information »
🎧 Additionally, you can listen to the talks from October now on Spotify; part 1, Alasdair Lawton: 18 years of organising the Strathpuffer and part 2, Keith Forsyth: 16 years of racing the Strathpuffer;
🚲 New City of Edinburgh Council consultation: Barnton Connections, as spotted by Harry Williams and reader Jano, thanks both for sending over; open for comments until January 26th.
💬 Spokes passed on concerns from a resident user of newly installed cycleways in Silverknowes, regarding pushback from the local community; comments from supportive users on ETRO/21/30C can be made here using the ‘Respond to Consultation’ button at the bottom of the map - open until 10th February.
📷 In Pictures
🌙 STUNNING aerial footage from a recent Edinburgh Dawn Patrol on Instagram »
🚲 Some nice photos from Cycling UK in Scotland’s Annual Gathering on Facebook »
⛈️ National
🔍 Via Spokes, a fascinating new bit of guidance from Active Travel England: ‘Critical safety issues for walking, wheeling and cycling’:
A critical safety issue is defined as a street layout or condition that is associated with an increased risk of collisions for people walking, wheeling or cycling.
Active Travel England’s route check tool identifies 16 critical safety issues for walking, wheeling and cycling.
This guidance explains each of the issues with illustrations and provides links to relevant guidance and key evidence.
More at gov.uk »
🔬 Bike lanes crucial to preventing cycling near misses, major new study suggests — article at road.cc »
🌎 Elsewhere
Globe-trotting urbanist advisor Brent Toderian flagged up this excellent business case for cycle lanes in Canada, not a million miles away from the effects our own CCWEL (City Centre West to East Link) infrastructure has had on footfall to local businesses along West Coates and Roseburn. He posted, to Bluesky:
WATCH: Seriously, if you’re following ANY bike-lane debate, you HAVE TO WATCH this news story. You actually can’t make this up. Ford claims without evidence that bike-lanes are bad for small business, and THE ACTUAL BUSINESS ASSOCIATION obliterates him with data.
Safe bike-lanes mean business. — Video »
🛣 Route Closures and Issues
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:
🚧 Obstruction of Gifford Park to Rankeillor Street toucan crossing on NCR1 by Scottish Power works until Tuesday 18th November. There is a gap of around 1m near the crossing without a dropped kerb.
🚧 Rodney Street: Closed citybound including uphill segregated cycle lane due to gas leak at Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative. Eyre Pl and George V Park may offer alternate route, or a short dismount to pass.
🚧 Minto St: Segregated cycle lanes likely obstructed by temporary traffic lights for Scottish Water repairs at Duncan St from this Tuesday 11th November for 1 week.
🏉 Murrayfield: Autumn Rugby games Saturdays 16th and 23rd November. Various Road closures in the surrounding area. Exercise caution and consider dismounting if possible on CCWEL to Water of Leith Path around 5pm and after 7pm. Roseburn Path to Union Canal open throughout.
🏗️ East Barnton Gardens: Closed for utility connections for new care home from 17th November for 6-8 weeks. If you’re travelling between Davidson’s Mains Park and the Blackhall Path, it may be better to connect to NCR1 at Barnton Avenue.
🏫 Boswall Green: Road between Wardie and Wardie Primary School closed for emergency gas repairs at Granton Road. It should be possible to dismount to pass. Update: Estimated to finish on Tuesday 18th November.
Longer Term Closures:
🚛 Kings Stables Rd: Closure between Lothian Rd and the Barrace Steps for Christmas market setup from today (Monday 27th October) until 18th January. It should be possible to dismount for 200m, or West Port and Castle Ter may offer an alternate route.
🏞️ Water of Leith Path: Closure of Pansy Walk by Balgreen until March 2026 for Scottish Water upgrades. Pedestrian diversion to be signed via Westfield Ave. However, for cyclists, the Water of Leith Conservation Trust advise an alternate diversion via Baird Drive.
🚧 Saughton Crescent: Sections of QuietRoute 9 closed for resurfacing and Active Travel improvements by Balgreen from 20th October into 2026. Impact on cycling is expected to peak in December and January.
🏗️ Edinburgh Park Station: Quiet Route 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.
🌉 Harrison Road: two bridges closed due to structural concerns with micro-cracking in the original cast iron beams:
The north-west bridge over a small path requires a dismount and use of the footway. The bridge is expected to fully close to pedestrians and cycles for 3 months during rebuilding works, date tbc.
The south-east bridge over the Union Canal is closed to cars but not cycles, with fencing placed across the bridge as a temporary modal filter. The bridge is expected to reopen to cars with a 7.5T weight limit.
🌉 South Gyle Road: Bridge between modal filter and Quiet Route 9 closed for repairs until April 2026. It is required to dismount and use a temporary bridge.
🏗️ 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
🎟️ ‘True tales of the Tour De France’ talk by Carlton Kirby at Ghillie Dhu, this Wednesday 12th November;
⚡️ This Saturday: Porty Community Energy are promoting [IG] their Sea Ceilidh this Saturday, November 15th:
We live by the sea and we want our seas and rivers to thrive. By taking care of biodiversity we in turn can be nurtured by it.
Our Sea Ceilidh follows on from our previous sell-out Hot, Hotter, Valentine’s, and Solar ceilidhs, and the Sea Rising Festival. Now it is time for our Sea Ceilidh to coincide with our community Sea Health project. We’ll work with local groups, taking forward art and citizen science projects to better connect us to our beach and waters, looking after the living world.
Hud Yer Wheesht will be our band for a twirling evening of music, dance, local bar, raffle and food from 5-10pm. Run by the Ceilidh Collective, this family-friendly event is supporting, fundraising, and fun raising for our charity Porty Community Energy.
🦺 Cycle Law Scotland have released tickets for their Cycle Road Safety Roadshow in Edinburgh a week today, Monday 17th November;
🖼️ The ‘Pedal Power’ exhibition about cycle campaigning in Edinburgh has finished its run at Norton Park. It’ll be taking a short break before opening again later in the year at North Edinburgh Arts;
💯 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
🔧 Weds, 5-8pm Fix Your Own Bike Sessions at The Bike Station, Tollcross
🌅 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, 1-4pm Fix Your Own Bike Sessions at The Bike Station, Tollcross
⚙️ 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 from Bridgend Farmhouse - every Friday 2-4pm between April and Hallowe’en, 1-3pm on the 1st Friday of each month November to March.
✊ Last Saturday of the month: Critical Mass Edinburgh, Family-friendly mass protest / group ride, 2pm, Middle Meadow Walk;
🫂 Help Needed
🚲 The Bike Station is recruiting new volunteers! 🚲
With us settling nicely into our new Tollcross shop, we've received a great deal of support from volunteers, both experienced and new - thank you. There are still a couple of roles that could aid us in furthering our mission:
🖥️ Online Sales Support:
Help manage our online sales to generate revenue from unique bike components. Taking pictures, creating and managing listings to arranging postage.
🛠️ Fix Your Own Bike:
Those experienced in bike maintenance to offer advice to those keen to fix their own bike.
✅ Benefits of volunteering:
Join a wide team of volunteers and staff passionate about cycling, discounts on parts and maintenance courses. Internal recruitment opportunities made available to volunteers as well as access to events and social rides to celebrate our work.
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
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’.
🌈 Infrastructure Progress & Consultations
✨Now a shorter, sectioned list - website updates for hosting consultation details and plans coming… in 2026? 😅 ✨
📋 Overviews: CEC’s Active travel improvements programme | Interactive Map from City Mobility Plan prioritisation exercise
✏️ In the Works:
📝 West Edinburgh Link, including Glasgow Rd, South Gyle, Bankhead, Sighthill, Wester Hailes and Clovenstone. “Around 5km of new segregated and improved cycleways, new crossings, path and pavement improvements”, with the first phasecommencing build at the start of December this year, with an initial focus primarily on links to Quiet Route 8 - Technical plans [PDF]
⛲️ Dundee Street Fountainbridge Active Travel Project consultation open until 12 January 2026 | 🗺️ Mapped illustrations (do zoom in!) — Image 1 and Image 2 | 📄 Technical drawings [PDF, 23.7mb]
🤔 The ‘Curriehill Active Travel Link’ reported by Spokes to have been delayed beyond its 2025 due date by ‘biodiversity concerns’.
🚋 Major North-South Tramline Consultation until 17th November| Spokes’ Summary | Officers A8 ‘Diversion’ Clarification | Spokes’ detailed draft response
🤫 Greenbank to Meadows Quiet Route having detrimental changes made, delayed to January ‘26: Detailed Designs [PDF] | ETRO Published as TRO/25/17
⚒️ Road Resurfacing & early ‘Dalry Living Well Locally’ Outcomes
🧱 Vital path upgrade through Muir Wood park in Currie
🦦 Burdiehouse & Niddrie Burn Restoration - blue-green regeneration project including 3m wide ‘Pentlands to Portobello’ core path;
🔬 Trials & Programmes Underway:
✨ Improving Old Town Streets | Includes current ETRO for Lawnmarket & Johnston Terrace
📋 Consulted On:
⭕️ Polwarth Gardens road layout consultation;
⛏️ Marionville Rd and Smokey Brae improvements;
🧪 Edinburgh BioQuarter Active Travel Gaps - Sheriffhall Park & Ride to BioQuarter Campus Route;
🌞 Dalry Living Well Locally | Initial Feedback Report » [PDF]
⚓ Leith Connections Phase 3 - Hawthornvale to Seafield | Detailed Designs (PDF) »
🚴🏽♂️ Midlothian Council - A7 Sustainable Transport Corridor
East Lothian Council - Prestonpans to Levenhall | Combined plans » [Large PDF]
🚧 Under Construction:
⛏️ Burnside Path Repairs & Longstone Sinkhole
Contractors setting up on site w/c 3/11 for repairs required to the retaining wall/sinkhole. Hope to complete the in-river works by xmas, & reinstatement of sinkhole by end of Feb. Option to extend contract if required. — Longstone Community Council on Bluesky » (including site plan images)⛴️ Queensferry High Street Improvements | Technical drawings [PDF]
⚓️ Foot of the Walk to Dock Street | Works leaflet » [PDF] | Progress photos »
🚋 Trams to Newhaven Snagging / Defects List »
🤬 Silverknowes Rd North being returned to cars | Spokes’ area history
Thanks for reading - ride safe 🚲
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