🚲 edi.bike | issue 40 | 13th May '24
your weekly edinburgh cycling digest
📰 News this Week
🚸 A Brand New Bike Bus Launches
Flora Stevenson Primary School in Comely Bank ran its first Bike Bus this week, a fun and safe way for kids to get to school en masse by bike. Check out the photosx and videox shared by the folks running it. Elsewhere, the Juniper Green Primary bike bus had a lovely ride to school in the sunshine;
🌳 With Recent Objections, the Meadows to George Street Project Needs Your Supportive Emails
A long-planned and essential north-south route from the Meadows to George Street via Forrest Rd, George IV Bridge and the Mound ran into formal TRO / RSO objections from the Cockburn Association this week, which represent a potentially significant setback for the project which is already six years into various stop-start planning, design and consultation phases.
📧 You can make a difference - even a short email voicing your support to TRO.Consultations@edinburgh.gov.uk mentioning TRO/21/32 and RSO/21/08 - THIS WEEK, by the 17th of May.
Of course, the only thing even vaguely substantive in the association's brief feedback was a cracking use of 'hitherto', and otherwise amounts to NIMBY hand-waving about 'many' aspects of the professionally designed street layouts being 'inherently dangerous' and other baseless nonsense.
There's links to all the detailed designs in the Infrastructure and Consultations section of this newsletter.
If there was ever a time to send an email in support of the project, it's this week.
📈 Omni counter passes 2,000 cycles in a day
Another landmark recorded by Edward Tissiman this weekx with data from the cycleway counter outside the Omni Centre:
Leith Walk's cycle lane recorded over 2,000 cyclists for the first time on the 30th of April, 2024... The total number of cycle journeys in 2024 has increased by around 60% compared with this time last year.
📆 18 days until the Edinburgh Festival of Cycling!
The 2024 Edinburgh Festival of Cycling starts on the 31st of May. Check out the calendar of events or find where you can pick up a lovely printed programme.
🌆 Local Bits
🗞️ Spokes, the Lothian Cycle Campaign, released its May '24 Action Update with lots of news and goings on in Edinburgh and beyond;
🚏 In response to the recent Guardian article about Tory machinations to 'ban' floating bus stops - a key transport infrastructure approach when trying to reconcile different travel modes in modern streets - came across this fantastic counterpoint thread by Kelsey Trevett (originally on X).
🅿️ Quoting New York City plans to install 500 secure bike parking hubs throughout the city, Transport Convenor Cllr Scott Arthur teased upcoming newsx on Edinburgh's own bike parking improvements;
🚲 From Cycle Law Scotland:
Zara Jones, specialist cycling solicitor at Cycle Law Scotland, reflects on her recent experience as a tandem pilot with Vie Velo and encourages others to get involved.
From Last Week:
Airport Buses to return to Waverley Bridge;
BBC Journalist joins the Watson's Bike Busx;
Laura Laker's new book Potholes and Pavements: A Bumpy Ride On Britain’s National Cycle Network is now out;
➕ Nationally
📸 Significant turnout for the Glasgow safer streets demonstration in Bearsden at the weekend - some photos on X by a couple of different folkx;
🚺 From Scottish Cycling:
We want your thoughts on our Women & Girls strategy: During the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships we made a commitment to making a step change in women and girls cycling participation, and we want your input to help shape our strategy. — Find out more »
🚐 A different kind of Bike Bus - this trial service by Climate Forth:
"The service will offer a transport link between various pre-defined pick-up and drop-off points in the landscape, between Alloa and the Forth Bridges. This will allow users of the service, who wish to walk or cycle in the area, to use the Bike Bus to reach or return to their starting point - or a train or bus station."
Welcomes cycles of all kinds - more information on their website;
🧩 From Sustrans: "From transporting freezers to family outings across Scotland: Your cargo bike stories" - Read it here »
🌍 Elsewhere
A new fundraising project to look further into the causes and effects of 'Motonormativity' has extended their goal and scope this week:
"Why do so many people apply different standards to driving?"
A recent study [PDF] uncovered the concept of Motonormativity. This refers to the double standards that people apply to the car-dominated status quo in the face of potential change. Participants in that study were asked how much they agreed with some statements. Half the people, at random, saw statements about driving ('It’s okay for a delivery driver to bend a few health and safety rules in order to keep their business profitable') and half the people saw the same statements but with a word changed to make it about something other than driving ('It’s okay for a chef to bend a few health and safety rules in order to keep their business profitable').
That study found that people were much less tolerant of negative behaviours when they were in general situations than when they were in situations of car traffic. This systematic bias leads to a societal acceptance of problematic behaviour and to policies that actually encourage it and shape our environments to become even more moto-normative.
You can help fund the research here.
📆 Events and Happenings
✨ New This Week
💬 Friday 24th May will see the latest in Biketrax' series of 'Towpath talk' events, 18:30-20:30 in the Towpath cafe space above their bike shop at the Lochrin Basin. Speaking are:
Jane Dennyson: one of the Directors of Shift, a movement that has brought together the cycling industry to tackle sustainability. She will tell us more about this and what their community of brands, many of the largest, are doing to try to transition to more sustainable models.
Matt Finlayson: owns and operates Rothair Cycles out of Glasgow. Every bicycle is created in partnership with the rider – from start to finish, you are there making the decisions to create the perfect bicycle that rides and looks the way you want.
Stu Allan: created the Badger Divide, a 210-mile bikepacking route from Inverness to Glasgow, that follows a mix of mostly unpaved estate Rights of Way, Heritage Paths, long-distance trails, and forestry gravel roads.
Enjoy canapés included in the ticket price, with mocktails and drinks available from the cafe on the night.
🏛️ As part of the ongoing 'Pedal Power' exhibition at the Museum of Edinburgh (details below), there are three upcoming talks:
🗓️ Wednesday 5th June, 2pm - Can cycling make transport sustainable? by Dr Brendan Hill;
🗓️ Saturday 8 June, 2pm - Pedal On: Cycle Campaigning in Edinburgh (two talks):
Hop on The Bike Bus When a city lacks safe cycling infrastructure there is no better way to get your kids to school than by taking part in a bike bus. Bike bus champion, Jarlath Flynn talks about how you can go about setting up a bike bus for your school and how it can help nurture healthier, happier, more resilient kids and adults.
City Centre West East Link Hear from Henry Whaley, Chair of the Roseburn Route Support Group who will explain how the campaign for the City Centre West East Link was run.
📆 Upcoming / Ongoing
🎬 Monday 20th May, Summerhall - From Markus Stitzx:
If you're in Edinburgh on 20 May at 7.30pm, please come around to the world-premiere of 'Great British Gravel Rides' on a big screen, followed by a Q&A with Stuart Kenny, supported by Schwalbe UK. There are a few tickets left available for £15/12 here;
⚙️ Spokes — the Lothian Cycle Campaign — are hosting a public meeting on Weds 5th June, tabled as part of the Edinburgh Festival of Cycling:
Controversy rages over whether the proposed north-south tramline should use the Roseburn path or an onroad route via Orchard Brae and Dean Bridge. The speakers at our June 5th public meeting will present the two cases, then the pros and cons of each option for cycling and walking, and for wider public health. Followed by our always-stimulating one-hour QA and panel discussion.
With Speakers:
For Roseburn, not Road: Lesley Hinds - Former Councillor, Lord Provost, Council Leader and Convener of the Transport & Environment Committee
For Road, not Roseburn: Euan Baxter - representing 'Save the Roseburn Path'
On Cycling aspects: Alex from Spokes;
On Public Health aspects: Adrian Davis, European public health & transport planning specialist
Q&A chair: Johanna Boyd, Chief Executive of Planning Aid Scotland (PAS)
This promises to be somewhat lively on account of the strength of feeling involved from those who regularly use the path, but also has a great lineup of speakers and a careful balance of folks to cover all sides of the debate. Well worth attending if you're able to.
✊🏼 Ongoing - 'Pedal Power', a free exhibition co-curated by Critical Mass Edinburgh, Infrasisters, Spokes and folks running Bike Buses across the city at the Museum of Edinburgh running until the 22nd September - including some upcoming talks and events in the summer that we'll highlight nearer the time.
🔁 Weekly Events
🛠️ Edinburgh Tool Library host a weekly Bike Kitchen providing 'tools, spare parts, and expertise' to 'learn, grow, and connect with others'; Open every Wednesday from 3pm.
✴️ Regular events on at The Wee Spoke Hub - follow their schedule here including a Bike DIY Session this Thursday 16th, 4pm - 8pm;
🫂 Help Needed
📦 With the Edinburgh Festival of Cycling coming up, there’s an opportunity to directly help with the success of the festival by helping to distribute their lovely printed programmes to Cafés, Bike shops, Independent retailers, Libraries and beyond. You can see a map of the locations that volunteers have bike-delivered to so far, (and also, to see where you can find a printed programme of your very own!). If you'd like to get out on your bike and help to get the programmes distributed far and wide, check out the call for Volunteer programme distributors;
📹 The Council are looking for participants for a promotional video about the City Centre West-East Link ('CCWEL') - email eileen.hewitt@edinburgh.gov.uk if you're interested;
🚴🏼 There's a Crowdfunder on the go to support the Skelf bike park, just off Holyrood Park - currently at £1,065 of their £2,000 target;
🌊 Also currently crowdfunding at the moment, Porty Community Energy are raising money for their new Sea Rising Festival who are at £549 of their £2,000 target with 32 days left;
👩🏻⚖️ THE BIG 'Bikes for Refugees Scotland' FUNDRAISING AUCTION 2024
Bikes for Refugees are looking for the donation of experiences, cycling-themed items, artworks, event tickets, signed memorabilia, gift baskets, and other ideas to auction off in their fundraiser: get in touch with bfrscotland@gmail.com. The auction will go live at the start of this year's Edinburgh Festival of Cycling on 31st May.
As always:
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 you https://www.bikesforrefugees.scot
🚲 Also from Bikes for Refugees:
TRUSTEES WANTED (Glasgow). Join our board of directors. Help govern & shape the ongoing development of our successful charity... Contact admin@bikesforrefugees.scot
Ongoing:
🚌 Volunteer to help marshal a local school Bike Bus - see the Bike Bus Hub Directory;
🙋 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;
🌈 Infrastructure Progress & Consultations
🌳 Meadows to George Street
Deadline for comments THIS FRIDAY 17th of May: The Meadows to George Street team recently announced the Publication of the detailed design proposals and advertisement of the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) and Redetermination Order (RSO) for this vital gap-joining project, tackling one of the city centre's nastier cycling gauntlets:
✍🏽 Detailed Design Documents:
📧 If you want to provide support for the scheme, you should email TRO.Consultations@edinburgh.gov.uk mentioning TRO/21/32 and RSO/21/08 with your positive noises, comments and constructive feedback THIS WEEK, by the 17th of May.
⚓️ 'Leith Feeder Ride' on X posted recently that there were 'signs of lifex' - namely 241 days of planned cycleway construction works starting some time between late Summer and Autumn this year - for the 'Foot of the Walk to Ocean Terminal' protected cycle route as part of Leith Connections, which promises to be a great continuation of the segregated routes slowly taking root in the city centre;
🚴🏼♀️ Nearby Midlothian Council have launched ‘On the Move Midlothian: Our Active Travel Strategy for Everyone’, consisting of two parallel consultations on Active Travel and also wider transport concerns across their council area:
The active travel draft strategy, which includes measurable and achievable targets, focuses on making Midlothian a place where getting around in a way that makes you physically active, such as walking and wheeling, will be an easy, convenient, cheap and realistic option for all.
📄 You can view the draft strategy online [PDF].
Deadlines for responses:
10th June for 'Midlothian Local Transport Strategy';
22nd July for the 'Active Travel Survey'.
👁️🗨️ The Dalry Living Well Locally consultation runs until 26th June:
🛣 Route Closures and Issues
Thanks to reader Martin, who passed on that following recent closures, Dublin St has now reopened fully;
The Water of Leith path at Coalie Park, closed for the last 6 months or so, has now reopenedx.
Reports that Melville St at Walker St has some partial closures of the CCWEL segregated lanes for major works, assumedly as part of the public realm improvements that recently commenced and run until December this year;
With works at the Western General Hospital completed, the Council has confirmed that the segregated lane along Crewe Road South will shortly return.
Thanks for reading - ride safe 🚲
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Thanks for the reminder re The Meadows to George St TRO. Just sent a strongly supportive email on behalf of Union of Genius.