🚲 edi.bike | issue 16 | 27th Nov ‘23
the n+1 rule, but for emails ✉️
Welcome to your weekly roundup of cycle travel news, events and infrastructure progress in Scotland’s capital city. First signs of ice on the ground over this last week, and I keep trading up to thicker and thicker gloves…
📰 News this Week
🌆 Locally
🔧 Infrasisters campaigner Kirsty Lewin spotted this Balfour Beatty bike repair spot 🐦on East Market St, free for general public use with a bike stand and array of tools available;
⚠️ Be careful of this bollard ‘stump’ 🐦hazard if joining the Innocent railway route from Holyrood Pk, via Kirsty Lewin and Spokes Porty;
🎁 New cycle parking installation spotted on St John’s Rd 🐦at Bennito’s Deli.
🗺️ Update on Cycle Parking / Council Mapping:
🧙 The council shared an official ARCGIS map last week when sharing news of additional cycle parking installed across the city, but we’d struggled with the correct computerbox incantations to show them on the map. Reader / Internet Mage Todd got in touch to say not only do you need to tick the ‘cycle parking’ item in the layer list (represented by a hieroglyph of three vertically stacked sheets) but also every hierarchical layer above it, e.g. all of:
✅ Atlas
└─ ✅ Transport
└─── ✅ Cycle Facilities
└────── ✅ Cycle Parking
And voila! Thanks to Todd for donning the wizard hat and also to reader Kyle for recommending we check out ‘Organic Maps’ which is an OpenStreetMap application on iOS and Android, and is a lot more mobile-friendly than the ARCGIS map and its magic spells to boot. In an ideal world, the council would just edit OpenStreetMap directly, as we all can…
🫂 Help Needed
⚡ Porty Community Energy are conducting a travel modes survey (to, from or around Portobello);
🗨️ 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 are looking for new volunteers and additional directors
🛠Edinburgh Tool Library still seeking donations of unused bike tools – get in touch.
🇬🇧 Nationally
👭 Georgia Yexley, Caz Conneller, and Jeyda Hesleton — the founders of Loud Mobility, Cyclechic, and Fettle respectively — rode from London to Amsterdam to speak at Fully Charged Live Europe and the International Cargo Bike Festival. They’ve done so to launch ‘She’s Electric’, a campaign to highlight gender disparities in cycling and encourage more women into bike riding.
🌈 Infrastructure Progress & Consultations
🌉 The new ‘Duff St Woodland’ bridge span over Dalry road was lifted into place this week, as part of the Roseburn to Union Canal cycle route - the council sent over some stats:
“It’s a precast concrete bridge beam which was successfully lifted into position over Dalry Rd last night. The bridge beam complete with the formwork for casting the bridge deck, weighing over 64 tonnes, was lifted into position around midnight. Dalry Rd and the Western Approach Rd were closed to traffic to enable the beam to be transported from the works area in Dalry Park and for the 500 tonne capacity crane to lift the 28m beam into position. The reinforced concrete bridge deck will be cast in the coming weeks before Christmas.”
Ken Murray shared some daylight images of the bridge in situe 🐦 on Twitter.
📜 Running from now until 8th February, the City of Edinburgh Council are consulting on the second phase of the George Street & First New Town project, covering North Castle St, Frederick St and Hanover St (North) - you can review and respond to the consultation, but it’s also worth looking over some of the criticisms that campaign group SW20 have of the designs 🐦, which call out all the hallmarks of a project that should arguably have far bolder public realm ambitions than the current layouts are proposing.
Ongoing…
⛵ 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 - worth reading Car Free Holyrood’s blog post.
📆 Events and Happenings
🤫 Largely as per last week!
🔧 The Wee Spoke Hub have alternating puncture repair sessions, DIY workshops and introductions to bike ownership and maintenance every other Saturday, see their schedule for details and times, including:
✴️ 30th Nov from 16.00 - 20.00 – Bike DIY Session
✴️ 2nd Dec from 11.00 - 13.00 – “So...you’ve bought a bike... everything you need to know about cycling but don't want to ask!”
✴️ 7th Dec from 16.00 - 20.00 – Bike DIY Session
⚡ “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 has the City of Edinburgh council hosting the 20’s Plenty conference at the City Chambers, 09:30 - 16:30 with a range of speakers;
🎄 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
🦩 Water of Leith: starting today, 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!” Spokes have worked with the Water of Leith Conservation Trust on a suggested diversion 🐦 during the Coalie Pk closure.
🌊 Starting today, McKelvie Parade in Granton has flood prevention work ongoing - with the cycle path and footway closed from the pumping station for around 250m westwards.
🪣 Resurfacing works on Viewforth in Bruntsfield start in earnest today after last fortnight’s gully clearing works:
Phase 1 - road closed between Bruntsfield Pl and Montpelier, today (27th Nov) for 5 days;
Phase 2 (1st Dec) - road closed between Montpelier and Viewforth Sq;
Phase 3 (9th Dec) - road closed between Viewforth Sq and Gilmore Pl;
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 15th Dec - currently passable, but be aware that changes over the festive season might put paid to travel through this route if the Festivus Industrialised Consumption Machine™ expands beyond its licenced bounds. Indeed, the roadworks report currently has simply ‘road closed’ from 15th Dec and beyond;
🧑🎄All I want for Christmas is a cycle network: 12hr daily partial closures of Castle St for Edinburgh’s Christmas are ongoing: between George St and Rose St, plus North Castle St at George St, 10am - 10pm daily; Waverley Br closed 9.30am - 10.30pm daily except for taxis accessing the rank via Market St); George St closed except for cycles (at all times) and loading (6.30am - 9.30am daily);
⛏️ CCWEL-adjacent works on Charlotte Sq and North / South Charlotte St running until March 2024:
Phase 2 underway (may have concluded now) - 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 ho-ho-hope you avoid hearing Wham! for as long as possible 🚲
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