🚲 edi.bike | issue 15 | 20th Nov ‘23
charge up your lights brigade
Welcome to your weekly roundup of cycle travel news, events and infrastructure progress in Scotland’s capital city.
📰 News this Week
🌆 Locally
🧮 “The biannual Spokes traffic count, on November 7, found a continuing (but small) rise in bike traffic, and a continuing (but small) fall in private motor traffic, as compared to November 2022” — Spokes
⚡ Porty Community Energy are conducting a travel modes survey for folks who travel to, from or around Portobello;
🍀 Wester Hailes Community Trust and Wester Hailes Growing Communities met with Cargo Bike Movement this week 🐦 to discuss potential access to electric cycles for nearby organisations and local folks;
🔒 “We've installed 86 new cycle stands at 26 locations, making 172 spaces for cyclists to park their bikes - 3 of these are non-standard size to fit larger cycles like cargo bikes. And we plan to install more!” — City of Edinburgh Council 🐦
🗺️ The council shared an official ARCGIS map with the news of additional parking, that has a relevant layer called ‘Cycling parking’ under ‘Transport > Cycle Facilities’ but we’ve had no luck so far regardless of the ancient incantations used to try and view… if you know the relevant computer curses, please feel free to get in touch 🪄
☕ And lastly, a reminder of the recently opened Towpath cafe at the Lochrin Basin end of the Union Canal, upstairs from Biketrax.
🗳️ City of Edinburgh Council TEC Meeting
Thursday 16th saw the Council’s Transport & Environment Committee (TEC) meeting discuss a number of wide-ranging travel aspects, including the start of enforcing a ban on parking on footways, in front of dropped kerbs or doubled up. You can watch the webcast if you’ve got some hours spare (our tip would be speed it up to 1.5x!) but here’s the most cycling-adjacent items discussed:
📝 This report on the Travelling Safely Schemes:
On Comiston Rd:
Northbound (downhill!) cycleway surface changes are proposed to highlight to folks travelling downhill that there are ‘floating’ parking spaces being accessed and better highlight the cycleway to folks who may be crossing it to their vehicles;
Also Northbound, a proposed update to materials at the junction of Comiston Springs Ave and Pentland Ter to more clearly demarcate cycleway, carriageway and footway;
Southbound, a welcome proposal to consider design changes at the traffic island ‘cyclist grinder’ layout where the segregated cycleway spits riders out into the carriageway supposedly with cycle priority through the traffic island, but in reality leads to frequent close passes from people who don’t know what road markings mean and need to broom broom more than keep other people safe (can you tell this is on my way home?)
In Silverknowes:
Councillors agreed to remove a Bus Gate hindering car traffic and reinstate two lanes for bi-directional motor vehicle access, by changing segregated cycle lanes to a minimum width two-way cycle lane; on paper, this runs counter to goals to reduce car kilometres travelled across the city…
Removal of the Silverknowes Rd South quiet route is proposed to be replaced with two-way cycleway going the full length of the road;
The only real concession in the committee to the report, noted by way of an amendment prior to voting through, was that the safety of cycle riders at the roundabout at the end of the Silverknowes Rd South route should be taken into consideration at the design stage, good as it’s currently a significant flaw in the new plans;
Greenbank-Meadows Quiet Route - mentioned again but due to the high volume of feedback from the recent consultation won’t be reported on until TEC in early 2024.
🚲 🚲 🚲 Bike Buses - an update was delivered to the committee about the 12 or so ‘bike buses’ running across the city facilitating kids cycling to school, as well as a number of similar endeavours to walk in groups; the Council is of course keen to encourage more active travel to schools (could always build a tonne more routes then folks? Go on, treat yersel…);
🚊 Tram Network - considerations for incorporating active travel around new tram routes was briefly discussed - largely through the lens of the recent enquiry’s recommendations and whether specific design guidance should be put together for the implementation of active travel concessions when producing tramway designs.
🫂 Help Needed
🏫 The previously-featured lack of marshals lead to the cancellation this week of the George Heriots’ School Bike Bus from Fairmilehead (Tues) - contact Jarlath Flynn via Twitter 🐦 if you can help out;
Previously:
🗨️ Spokes are in need of new members for their Planning and Resources groups;
🆘 Support Bikes for Refugees following their recent break-in with an SMS donation 🐦or on EasyDonate; there’s also an upcoming event opportunity to support detailed below;
🎭 Edinburgh Festival of Cycling have looking for new volunteers and additional directors
🛠 Edinburgh Tool Library still seeking donations of unused bike tools – get in touch.
🏴 Nationally
“Guy Opperman was appointed Minister for Roads and Local Transport at the Department for Transport on 13 November 2023” — Gov.uk
According to the APPG on Twitter 🐦, the Minister is a ‘keen cyclist’. Hopefully he doesn’t run afoul of any culture war crap or cross paths with the new anti-woke ‘Minister for Sleepyheids’.
🎦 “Scotland is the only part of Great Britain without a police dashcam reporting system” - Cycling UK
And Beyond…
🟰 An interesting scientific study from earlier in the year — found via our social media wanderings — on gender inequality in cycle travel and how segregated routes tend to be less male-dominated.
🌈 Infrastructure Progress & Consultations
🌉 Work starts this week on the new bridge over Dalry Rd 🐦 as part of the Roseburn to Union Canal cycle route;
⛵ Reader Andrew Keba shared with us this Musselburgh Active Toun consultation currently ongoing;
🚗 The ongoing public consultation on the future of Holyrood Pk is still available to respond to until 19th December - Car Free Holyrood have a great and thorough blog post about it;
📆 Events and Happenings
🔧 Lots going on at The Wee Spoke Hub! Alternating puncture repair sessions and introductions to bike ownership and maintenance every other Saturday, see their schedule for details and times, including:
✴️ 23rd Nov from 16.00 - 20.00 - Bike DIY Session
✴️ 25th Nov from 11.00 - 13.00 - Puncture Repair Workshop
✴️ 30th Nov from 16.00 - 20.00 - Bike DIY Session
✊ The last Critical Mass protest / city group ride of 2023 is on this Saturday 25th, 2pm Middle Meadow Walk - with route map to follow later this week:
“Each month, we take to the streets to highlight our right to occupy the road, campaign for better routes for cyclists and enjoy some music and company”
— Critical Mass Edinburgh 🐦
🎏 Also on Saturday 25th, Porty Community Energy will be hosting a Fundraising ceilidh from 5-10pm, get your tickets at Ceilidh Collective;
⚡“Would you benefit knowing how e-bikes, electric cargo & adapted cycles can assist in creating healthier & fairer communities? This online event will explore the ways that electric cycles could support health equity in Scotland. 30th Nov, 1.30pm – 4.30pm”
🚺 Infrasisters #OurStreetOurNights: “Our next ride will be on Friday 1st December at 7.30pm from Middle Meadow Walk, and we're planning a wee tour of central Edinburgh. Light up your bikes and come along!” - what’s more, if you log the ride with LoveToRide you might win these prizes 🐦
🪧 7th Dec sees the 20’s Plenty conference at the City Chambers, 09:30 - 16:30;
🎄 On 9th Dec Bikes for Refugees Scotland are having a fundraising sale 11:00 - 16:00 at the Phoenix Club, 1 Harrison Place EH11 1SF:
“2nd hand adult and kids bikes, bike jumble, new and 2nd hand bike parts, cycling gear & accessories, BfR branded merchandise - everything cheap and discounted with mince pies, tea/coffee, raffle, prizes and surprises.
When you buy a bike or accessories/parts you are also supporting a New Scot. All proceeds from the big Christmas sale will support new Scots refugees access to free bicycles, providing essential mobility and freedom of movement.” — Bikes for Refugees Scotland
🛣 Road Closures and Route Issues
🌳 Fresh from an edi.bike newsletter referral spree – thank you! – John Robson tweeted about the welcome addition of bollards at Elm Row 🐦, and the trimming of overhead branches there too 🐦 - plus:
“You can now cycle all the way to George St via CCWEL (apart from the Picardy Place lamppost which is still in the middle of the path 🙈)”
🚥 Not content with just one highly useful update this week, John also observed changes to the signals 🐦 at the top (North) end of Middle Meadow Walk — “Green man on far side doesn’t mean green man on near side” — and noted this appears to be additional time added for pedestrians crossing that hasn’t also been added to the cycle signal, which is now pending a look from the council’s @edinhelp team;
🍡 Some interesting street bollarding added to George Street ahead of Christmas closures there — which on the road have me wondering about precisely which model of cargo bikes can pass through their width — and unfortunately elsewhere have been deployed at pavement level on Waverly Br leading to questions about whether the teams involved have ever heard of a recent invention known as the ‘wheeled chair’;
🤔 Mound Pl closed today 4.15 - 5pm for an ‘Event’. 10/10, would read description again.
⛔ Thistle St at Hanover St: road closed and western end of Thistle St NE Ln closed. Access via N St David St with one-way order suspended, today until Fri 24th;
❌ Ainslie Pl - North / west leg of Ainslie Place closed today until Fri 24th for ducting installation on behalf of BT;
🚚 Rankin Dr closed between Mayfield Rd and Langton Rd from today until Fri 24th for resurfacing;
⚽ Sat 25th fitba sees Hearts v St Johnstone in Gorgie, kick-off 3pm: McLeod St, Wheatfield St and Wheatfield Pl closed before and after the match;
🦩 Water of Leith: later in November, a lengthy closure of a Leithward section of the shared walkway commences - “from 27th November the route in Leith through Coalie Park will close for Park Improvement works for 25 weeks!”
Ongoing…
🐴 Continuing access issues through King Stables Rd - slated as “road closed to north / westbound traffic except cycles between Lothian Rd and Barrace Steps” from Nov 19th to mid December - but reports on TwitXter 🐦 and beyond that it’s currently blockaded by some naughty elves;
👓 ‘Minimal restrictions’ continue on Viewforth for another week for carriageway resurfacing between between Bruntsfield Pl and Gilmore Pl - with a road closure coming soon;
🧑🎄 12hr daily partial closures of Castle St for Edinburgh’s Christmas are ongoing (one month four sleeps 🎁): between George St and Rose St, plus North Castle St at George St, 10am - 10pm daily;
⛏️ CCWEL-adjacent works on Charlotte Sq and North / South Charlotte St running until March 2024:
Phase 2 underway until around Thurs 23rd - daytime closure of Charlotte Sq (north side);
Phase 3 from 8th Jan ‘24 - daytime lane closures on Charlotte Sq (east side), North and South Charlotte Street, daytime closures of Charlotte Sq (south and west sides).
💡 Footway works and street lighting renewal on Polwarth Gdns, involving lane closures and parking restrictions. Polwarth Pl, Polwarth Pk, Harden Pl and Mertoun Pl will be closed as work progresses, running until March ‘24;
💧 9-month programme of Scottish Water drainage improvement work on Longstone Rd 🐦;
🧰 Braidburn Ter 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 🐦 Cllr Scott Arthur recently posted a 12m video walking through these works 🐦.
Ongoing updates on the Council’s Road reports page as the week unfolds and via @edintravel 🐦 on TwiXtter.
Thanks for reading - ride safe and stay frosty 🚲
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