🚲 edi.bike | issue 33 | 25th Mar ‘24
your weekly cycle digest
📰 News this Week
✂️ A Decade On, CCWEL Officially Opens
The City Centre West East Link officially opened on Wednesday with a launch event amidst some typically glorious Scottish drizzle. Some links:
📚 Spokes' 2022 post about the history of the project;
📹 Cllr Scott Arthur's time lapse video of the short ride from Roseburn to the event near Haymarket with local school kids;
📰 Edinburgh Live's article has a number of quotes from involved public figures past and present attending the opening;
👁️🗨️ From Spokes again - the fantastic 'CCWEL opens! - and what comes next?' looking at what will, or at least should, happen coming out of this project.
Plenty of fair criticism around, too:
"Pleased to see it open, but it’s taken far too long. Essential we speed up active travel delivery." — @CllrChasBoothx
"People will choose to cycle when there is safe, convenient & contiguous infrastructure. Meanwhile, today we celebrate the "opening" of the city centre cycle "link" which is convoluted, compromised and unfinished…"
— Thread from Blackford Safe Routesx (or read it 'unrolled' here).
🛟 Road Safety - Victims, Avoiding Driver Blame, and Sentencing
Content Warning: Deaths While Cycling
A 56-year old woman died this week, outside an early years centre in Bearsden, Glasgow. She was hit by the driver of a Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) - not, as every mainstream "journalist" likes to imply with their choice of words, by a vehicle just out on a jolly by itself, wholly and autonomously at fault. People kill people on our roads.
"A cyclist has died after being hit by a HGV on a busy road near Glasgow." — Some lazy idiot with a pen.
Perhaps it's too early to make such a judgement, given how little detail there is at present about the nature of the incident. Perhaps I'm just sick of the deflection away from 'professional' drivers to their vehicles, as though an inanimate vehicle can be sentenced instead.
Cycling Scotland have called forx 'Urgent Action' from government.
This week saw the HGV driver who failed to see Emma Burke Newman — encroaching as he was on the Advanced Stop Line area at the junction of another road in Glasgow, with a partially blocked view and dirty side mirrors — sentenced for causing her death in January last year.
We were galled to see this victim-blaming insinuation in the Sentencing Statements:
The investigators also concluded that Emma had unfortunately placed herself in a vulnerable position so close to the accused’s lorry.
Emma used the Advanced Stop Line box - the box specifically set out to give people on bikes a protected and designated space from which to set out across a junction. The box for people on bikesx, not the driver of a heavy goods vehicle and the "driver of the blue bus in lane three… positioned in such a way as to entirely cover the cycle safe zone."
Jodi Gordon from Cycle Law Scotland represented Emma's family. She makes this case very coherently in this video on X.
"Calling use of the advanced stop area – part of the road specifically designed for cyclists – a 'vulnerable' place to put yourself as a cyclist is a reflection of how we view the appropriateness of road use by people who are not behind the wheel of a motor vehicle." — Shellie
We would be over-stepping to comment on how lenient or not the sentencingx has been in this court case. We can only hope that the conclusion of the case, the contrition and apologies of the driver involved, and the gradual growth of life around the grief begin to provide some degree of solace to Emma's family and friends.
“Every individual riding a bicycle is someone’s child. Drivers, please ‘get behind’ bike boxes, give cyclists space, and watch out at every junction, where most traffic fatalities occur.
“For your sake as well. No one wants to live with the consequences of having killed or injured a cyclist.” — Rose and John, Emma's parents
🌻
✊🏼 'Pedal Power' Exhibition Coming to the Museum of Edinburgh
'Pedal Power' is a free exhibition co-curated by Critical Mass Edinburgh, Infrasisters, Spokes and folks running Bike Buses across the city will be coming to the Museum of Edinburgh from Sat 27 April to 22 September - including some talks and events that we'll highlight nearer the time.
🔔 If you have an old or spare cycling bell you could donate for an interactive sculpture for this exhibition, you can pass them on at Critical Mass on 30th March to George, who can be found at the back of the ride with a flag.
📣 Critical Mass this Saturday 30th
Get all the details in our 'Events and Happenings' section below.
🌆 Local Bits
🚍 All aboard the bike bus! Several safe rides to school ran recently, including to Juniper Green primaryx, George Watson's Collegex and the 'Wee Unicorns' of James Gillespies - who celebrated the five year anniversary of their first bike busx this week. Amazing work by all involved and always brilliant to see so many young folks getting around by bike;
🌙 The Edinburgh Evening News have a great video round-up of the recent Causey event attended by the Infrasisters International Women's Day ride with Critical Mass - some great footage of the projection artwork and interviews with some of the folks behind it too;
📈 Another update in Edward Tissiman's adventures with Omni bike lane counter datax:
1,840 cyclists passed the Omni Centre on Tuesday 19th March 2024. That’s a new record. — @edtissx
🧐 This week in 'Councillors who do not know about things', the launch of CCWEL prompted this gem from Cllr Mowat:
"In a country where we have little control over the weather actually from October to March - so for at least six months of the year - I just don't think it is pleasant to cycle because it is dark and it's wet and splashy. Is that a realistic option?"
Assumedly this is different from the six months of the year when we do have control over the weather.
Around this time, Spokes re-shared their 2019 wet weather counts and others discussed modern marvels such as 'jaikets' and 'troosers' that apparently ward off droplets with some kind of faerie cyclist magick. Astounding. 💧
📝 The Council published an article by the Transport Convenor regarding the recently updated biannual Sustrans Walking and Cycling Index for Edinburgh.
Over on everyone's favourite hellsitex, a good number of naysayers were having their favourite kind of underinformed argument about statistics, methodologies and whether numbers can really be true if one doesn't like the outcomes, in much the same way our toddler argues about the classification of vegetables to attempt to evade eating them – loud and ineffective wombling with very little effect on the march of progress (and/or dinner).
📸 Lovely photos sharedfb from one of The Wee Spoke Hub's DIY bike fixing sessions;
🌳 More photos - this time from campaign group Save the Roseburn Path having held their 📸 first banner-making workshop this weekfb.
➕ Nationally
🚀 "Boost walking and cycling in towns and cities, urges UK government adviser" - The Guardian;
🤣 "Petition demanding cyclists 'display registration, pay road tax and have insurance' closes after six months… with just 353 signatures" — Road.cc
🫂 Help Needed
🚲 Bikes for Refugees Scotland request on X:
New Scots refugees and asylum seekers need your bikes now.
https://www.bikesforrefugees.scot
Providing essential mobility and freedom of movement.
Please complete the bike donation form on our website, thank you
💸 Ends this week - support the Transport Action Network legal action to challenge funding cuts to walking and cycling - around 25% of their £40k fundraising goal remains;
🎭 The ninth Edinburgh Festival of Cycling will run from Friday 31st May to Sunday 9th 2024 and they’ve recently put out a call for events;
Ongoing:
🙋 Sustrans seek volunteers for their ‘I Bike’ school programme: teaching kids, maintaining a bike fleet or marshalling rides with pupils;
🗨️ Spokes are in need of new members for their Planning and Resources groups;
🤝 SW20 are a Co-op Local Community Fund Cause - support them via this page;
🆘 Support Bikes for Refugees with an SMS donation 🐦or on EasyDonate;
🎭 Edinburgh Festival of Cycling are looking for new volunteers and additional directors
🌈 Infrastructure Progress & Consultations
📷 "The new bridge for the Fountainbridge to Russel Road active travel link has appeared. These sections will cross the "Mid Calder Railway" — @fountainbridgex
🗨️ Last Chance, closes Wednesday - City of Edinburgh Council consultation currently running for Roseburn to South Gyle walking, wheeling and cycling improvements (Quiet Route 9) here, until 27th March.
🌈 There’s an open consultation on the future of the Lindsay Rd ‘Pride Bridge’ in Leith, running to the 4th April;
⚓ Measures as part of the Leith Connections project that are under Experimental Traffic Order (ETRO) are open for feedback until 8th April, namely:
Prohibition to motor vehicles at Tolbooth Wynd/ Water Street junction
Making Tolbooth Wynd two way operation
Prohibition to motor vehicles at Wellington Place/ John’s Place junction
Westbound bus lane/ bus gate on Links Place
Contraflow cycling on one way streets within the area - Water Street, Carpet Lane, Giles Street, Spier's Place, Maritime Lane, Seaport Street.
Restrictions on waiting and loading associated with new pavement buildouts
Details on how to respond »
⚡ The UK Government are consulting on making changes to speeds and regulations for ebikes until 25th April. Worth reading about - Cycling UK have safety concerns.
📆 Events and Happenings
🛠️ Edinburgh Tool Library recently launched their weekly Bike Kitchen:
A Cycle Kitchen is a community-driven space where people can share their knowledge about bicycle maintenance, repair, and building. We provide tools, spare parts, and expertise to help members fix and maintain their bikes… The Cycle Kitchen is more than a workshop; it’s a place where you can learn, grow, and connect with others.
Open every Wednesday from 3pm.
Regular events on at The Wee Spoke Hub - follow their schedule here:
✴️ Thursday 28th March, 4pm - 8pm: The weekly Bike DIY Session, “£6 per hour for use of a stable bike stand, in a warm, dry, well-lit space. Wee Spoke Hub tools are available for your use. Also spare parts, and mechanical assistance by competent volunteers, backed up by a workshop mechanic.”
✊ Edinburgh Critical Mass is coming up on Saturday 30th March, 2pm Middle Meadow Walk; a friendly and welcoming mass protest ride, with the route typically published a few days before to their Facebook, Mastodon, X and email list.
This month's ride will head out on a Morningside Manouevre towards the Braid Estate, highlighting the recent Council Transport and Environment Committee decision to remove highly effective filters from the Braid Estate section of the Greenbank to Meadows Quiet Route, against officer recommendations and council's own goals around the sustainable transport hierarchy and aims to reduce car kilometres travelled in Edinburgh by 30% by 2030.
It feels like there has never been a more urgent and exciting time for the cycling community to be together in the streets, shouting out loud that we need to end the era of car dominance. — Critical Mass Edinburgh
Also from the Critical Mass team: Do you ever want to join the ride late, but not sure where it is? You can use Critical Maps - an anonymous location-sharing app for cyclists in critical mass events, aiding coordination through real-time map visualisation. We only need one or two people to use it from the start, so that others can see where the ride is.
🕺 Also this Saturday 30th Shrub Co-op - hosts of The Wee Spoke Hub - are holding a Sustainable Fashion Show and Ceilidh Fundraiser for the International Day of Zero Waste, helping to support the Co-op’s various projects.
2pm to 8pm at Stockbridge Church on Saturday 30th - get your ticket here.
2.30pm - SHRUB Presentation
3pm - Sustainable Fashion Show
4pm - Food, Stalls & Raffle
6pm - Ceilidh
🛣 Route Closures and Issues
🤔 Trial run - poring over the council's dense Road Report each week takes ages, and largely ends up listing closures that cycling makes it trivially easy to route around. So, experimenting with only mentioning cycleway-specific issues here. Do you miss it? Let us know.
⚠️ Continuing safety issues with the cycleway green light at the foot of Leith Walkx - mind how you go. However, reader Ella shared this week that there's a new crossing light waiting in place, hopefully this makes the difference when it’s commissioned:
🪨 John Robson shared some worrying images of parts of the Princes St tramway crumblingx - do take care if cycling along that way. Spokes shared some related linksx on avoiding tram line crashes and reporting road defects in response.
Ongoing…
🦩 Water of Leith: in Leith, 9 remaining weeks of closure at a section of the shared walkway - Spokes have worked with the Water of Leith Conservation Trust on suggested diversions [PDF] during the Coalie Park closure.
⛏️ CCWEL-adjacent works on Charlotte Sq and North / South Charlotte St finishing soon:
Charlotte Sq has reopened as of Friday 8th, with pending Lane closures for installation of cycle lane defenders and line marking.
Thanks for reading - ride safe 🚲
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