🚲 edi.bike | issue 34 | 1st Apr ‘24 🤡
your weekly edinburgh cycling digest
📰 News this Week
💈 Poles Apart
🤡 Not an April Fool! At long last, the lamppost installed smack in the middle of the Picardy Place gyratory's east-west cycle lane has been moved onx. An Easter treat for city centre cyclists - still some resurfacing work ongoing but forward (sideways?) progress like this always welcome.
🤔 Critical Mass Rides on Morningside, and the Transport Convenor Gets Up to Some Manoeuvring of His Own…
This Month's Critical Mass headed out on a sunny "Morningside Manouevre" on Saturday, passing through the Braid Estate to highlight the recent Council Transport and Environment Committee (TEC) decision to remove highly effective filters from the Braid Estate section of the Greenbank to Meadows Quiet Route.
Ahead of the ride there was coverage in the Edinburgh Evening News; Blackford Safe Routes posted a great video of the mass passing throughx the filtered area, and another mass videox from The Edinburgh Reporter — who also published a photo album of the ridefb before later also giving the protest a write-up on their website.
Meanwhile, TEC Convenor Cllr Scott Arthur — who had hoped to attend, but must have been running low on sheer gall when Saturday came around — took to his blog with an article trying to spin the removal of the filters as in everyone's best interests. It's worth a read as there's a good number of half-hidden bits of absolute rubbish in there, like an Easter egg hunt but for misinformation and political post-hoc rationalisation.
To take on just one example:
"…my view is that the segregated route will be safer than what we have right now as you won’t be mixing with rat-running cars at peak times"
What we have right now is a route through effective street filters that prevent rat-running, that have reduced it by 40% according to the council's own figures.
Instead, we'll have a segregated lane running right beside rat-running through traffic, needlessly reintroduced for the sake of a vocal minority.
As anyone who's ever ridden a bike in a segregated lane before, you'll know what happens at junctions? The segregation ends. Guess what you 'mix with' there - the same rat-running traffic the Labour administration have sided with Lib Dem and Tory stirrers to welcome back to residential streets with open arms.
The Convenor had the cheek to refer to the way as the 'not so Quiet Route' in his article. Soon enough, he can take credit for making it so.
📋 Save Our Streets
"With your help, we can send a strong message to Local Government to re-consider their proposals on future local travel and resident amenity in the Braid Estate:"
📆 Save the Date - Cargo Bike Movement's 'Spring Caper'
Cargo Bike Movement’s Spring Caper is on the 13th April from 10:00 to 14:00 at the Meadows Compass. Open to everyone for:
Free mechanical help from Dr Bike;
Free bike security marking from Police Scotland; and
Free, of course, cargo bike tryouts - challenge yourself with the cargo bike try-athlon!
See you there whatever bike you ride!
🌆 Local Bits
📄 Not an easy read, March's update to the City of Edinburgh Council's Active Travel Investment Programme 2022-2026 has at once a tremendous breadth of projects, and a disastrous number of them delayed or on hold. The hope is that the last list item, Financial Year 24/25 work on "Reallocation of road space and reprioritisation of corridors: New walking and cycling provisions" is simply major enough to be affecting internal resources on these other projects.
🗺️ The Transport & Environment Committee Convenor shared an updatex regarding Melville Crescent and the City Centre West-East Link (CCWEL):
"CCWEL was supposed to bring street trees and wider sandstone footways to Melville Crescent, and a return of the setted street carriageway (using the setts which currently lie hidden under the existing asphalt surface). It was, however, removed from the project in Autumn 2021 to cut costs… We have won £2.1m from Transport Scotland to complete the work."
🗞️ Spokes, the Lothian Cycle Campaign, have releasedx their 138th news bulletin this week [PDF] - covering Future Streets policy, ScotGov traffic targets uncertainty and more;
⚡️ Porty Community Energy have shared some great testimonials from their bike hire schemefb on Facebook;
💧 Another great deep dive into Edinburgh cycle statistics from Edward Tissiman, this time in his article on cycling and weather - "Are Edinburgh’s cyclists afraid of the dark?":
On Leith Walk, a rainy day (more than 1mm) sees the number of cyclists fall by around 6% — @edtissx
🚗 "Locals demand changes to 'rat-run' Polwarth roundabout over safety fears" in the Edinburgh Evening News.
SW20 added their commentsx:
"68,000 vehicles a week on a single mini roundabout - filtering these neighbourhoods is the only realistic way of delivering effective mitigation to the crashes, noise and pollution that blights this residential area.
Guaranteed Edinburgh won’t have the guts to do it."
➕ Nationally
🚌 Professor David Begg, a former chair of the City of Edinburgh's Transport Committee:
"I have been on a sabbatical for a few years and have been catching up on transport policy from a fresh perspective. I have been shocked by the vacuum when it comes to strategy. What exactly is it that the Government are trying to achieve?"
— Recent article at Transport Times;
🫥 Zoe Williams at the Guardian - "Why is the right at war with cyclists? We’re not ‘wokerati’ – we’re just trying to get around"
(Editor's Note: We're definitely wokeratis over here, oops ✊)
♿️ Wheels for Wellbeing have published their guide to choosing an accessible cycle;
🌍 Elsewhere
📦 The International Cargo Bike Festival have just introduced the first issue of "Carrier: the magazine the cargo bike deserves";
🫂 Help Needed
🚲 Bikes for Refugees Scotland request on X:
New Scots refugees and asylum seekers need your bikes now.
Providing essential mobility and freedom of movement.
Please complete the bike donation form on our website, thank youhttps://www.bikesforrefugees.scot
🎭 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
🍃 Spring 2024 Project Update on the proposed Curriehill Active Travel link: "A formal, lit and surfaced active travel path linking Curriehill Station to Heriot-Watt is now at the detailed design stage" - while not a formal consultation, comments are welcome;
📋 Recently launched Petition against the removal of Braid Estate 'Quiet Route' filters;
🌈 There’s an open consultation on the future of the Lindsay Rd ‘Pride Bridge’ in Leith, running until this Thursday (4th April);
⚓ Measures as part of the Leith Connections project that are under Experimental Traffic Order (ETRO) are open for feedback for one more week — closing 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
✨ New This Week
🚴🏼 Across various dates - The Bike Station's 'Free Wheel Gorgie' community programme is offering Gorgie folks free absolute beginner cycling lessons, and Introduction to Bike Maintenance Classes;
🏘️ In Restalrig, from community hub The Ripplex:
"Ripple Riders weekly cycle launches on Thur 25th Apr 9.30-11. Do you love cycling and want to do local quiet off road routes, easy paced, with trained leaders and friendly members? Come and join! Its free! Bike borrowing available. Call Cat 07510 521759 to join or find out more."
🔁 Weekly Events
🛠️ Edinburgh Tool Library host a 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 4th April, 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.”
🛣 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.
💨 Ahead of the Low Emissions Zone (LEZ) going live on 1st June, a new right-hand turn at Tollcross is being permitted from Thursday 4th:
Allowing a right hand turn to all traffic from Home Street to Brougham Street, at Tollcross junction. This will go live to all traffic on 4 April 2024 at around 01:00 AM and will be communicated on street with new / temporary signage. — @CllrScottArthurx
⚠️ Continuing safety issues with the cycleway green light at the foot of Leith Walkx - mind how you go. Recently reader Ella shared last week that there's a new crossing light in place yet to be commissioned, do drop us a line when it goes live and let us know if it's making a difference here.
Ongoing…
🦩 Water of Leith: in Leith, 8 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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