🚲 edi.bike | issue 47 | 1st Jul '24
your weekly edinburgh cycling digest
📰 News this Week
📣 Spokes have shared a useful update to their ‘General Election 2024’ page - which along with hustings info and many other useful links, also has a number of links off with analysis of UK parties’ transport and active travel policies;
🥳 Did you head down to the Porty Community Energy Sea Rising Festival? It would really help the team with future engagements if you could fill out the feedback form!
📸 Always lovely sights to see - the last Wee Unicorns bike bus of the term [x] and photo album from Saturday’s Critical Mass Edinburgh ride from the Edinburgh Reporter [fb] (beware: roasters lurk in the post comments);
💯 With the deadline for feedback passing on the Dalry: Living Well Locally consultation, local campaigners SW20 published a really thorough and thoughtful response article about the opportunities, areas for improvement and need to avoid watering down the measures involved;
🎉 Local Independent Councillor Ross McKenzie shared some images to X of a key dropped kerb recently fixed at the Russell Rd entry to the Roseburn Path, which when finally installed had a poorly finished transition to the carriageway;
⚒️ Speaking of dropped kerbs, Living Streets Edinburgh have shared on X a list of locations due to receive additional dropped kerbs;
From Last Week:
‘The Rolling Subs’ made it to Germany [x], and have very nearly made their fundraising target;
Dalry low-traffic ‘School Street / School Zone’ report by Sustrans.
🎨 There’s an opportunity to sublet a studio space with the lovely folks at The Wee Spoke Hub, available now - see all the details on their Facebook post;
🛣 Route Closures and Issues
As shared on X by Ella, a section of riverside path on the Water of Leith has been blocked by a gate welded shut - potentially due to bank erosion - at the Stockbridge end of Rocheid Path;
The Crawford Bridge - between Albion Ter and Bothwell St off Easter Rd - is closed as of today until the 30th of August for refurbishment;
Argyle Place - recently closed northbound for sewer repairs by Scottish Water - has fully reopened, as has the South Meadow Walk footway and cycleway that had been diverted;
Melville St at Walker St has some partial closures of the CCWEL segregated lanes for major works as part of the public realm improvements that recently commenced and run until December this year.
➕ Nationally
“Each year, over 7000 people die on British roads, and every 18 minutes someone is hurt. 99% of the collisions are caused by motorists. But at the same time, the media seems focused on cyclists, especially those equipped with cameras.
Join me on the journey through time, meeting the people who shaped third-party reporting in the UK: David Brennan, Traffic Droid, Cycle Gaz, Dave Sherry, Jeremy Vine, Andy Cox, Mark Hodson, Mike van Erp and many more…”
📘 ‘Record, Retreat, Report’ - a new book out today;
🏖️ Drem to Gullane: “Candidates Urged To 'lay Cards On The Table' On Climate-Friendly Path” from the Campaign’s Website;
📈 Some incredible London stats posted to X by Melissa & Chris Bruntlett:
London’s cycling network has more than quadrupled in size from 90 km in 2016 to 390 km in June 2024.
Nearly a quarter of residents now live within 400 m of a high-quality route.
With 20 routes opened in the last year, over 600,000 people have been brought closer to the network.
Get on with it, Embra…
🗺️ Via Jarlath Flynn, Love to Ride have been doing some really interesting stuff with ‘rate my ride’ data from their app for various cities - some short videos on this page to give you an idea;
🌎 Elsewhere
👟 “72km of newly installed ‘Olympistes’ will allow visitors to access most Olympic and Paralympic sites by bike.” - via John Robson on X;
⚖️ Via SW20’s Dalry Consultation response [x] being the first time I’ve encountered the word ‘Mobesity’ in the wild - they shared this article by the originator;
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📆 Events and Happenings
⭐ New This Week
🚵 Friday 5th and every Friday in July; All-inclusive social guided bike rides with A Wee Pedal, 2-4pm from Bridgend Farmhouse. Check out their flyer for more;
🍑 Saturday 6th - Edinburgh World Naked Bike Ride 2024 - meeting Middle Meadow Walk from 1pm for a 2pm-4pm ride - more info on Facebook;
🎨 Saturday 13th - 2-4pm ‘Cycling Craftivism’ Family Craft Workshop:
“What message would you like to tell people about cycling? Come along to our cycling craftivism event and make badges or write a message to design your own stencil. Stencils will be used to spray chalk messages on the streets of Edinburgh!”
Just drop in - on at The Museum of Edinburgh as part of the ongoing Pedal Power Exhibition there (more below);
📆 Upcoming / Ongoing
☕️ Active Travel Cafe is a national, weekly online active travel event; news, talks & discussion via Zoom on Tuesdays at 5pm. They’ve recently published a list of speakers for the next month or so.
🎭 Still one more event left on the EdFoC events calendar:
🎭 A Quick Brown Fox – An Evening With Ayesha McGowan - Thursday 11th July
🧓 Edinburgh Leisure have added more cycle skills course dates to their Ageing Well Programme, whose goal is to increase the number of older adults who are active and connected in Edinburgh. Check out the wider programme page and the flyer for the next 11 week course [PDF] that starts on 15th July;
✊🏼 🎭 EdFoC | Ongoing - 'Pedal Power', a free exhibition on cycling and activism in Edinburgh, 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.
Edinburgh Council archives --- who recently launched the ‘Edinburgh 900’ project to celebrate 900 years since Edinburgh became a royal burgh --- have also asked ‘Pedal Power’ to be part of the programme and will tour the exhibition around communities in Edinburgh after it finishes at the Museum of Edinburgh in September.
🔁 Weekly Events
⚡️ Porty Community Energy are trialling a weekly Wednesday evening advice drop-in [fb];
🛠️ 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 4th, 4pm - 8pm;
🫂 Help Needed
Ongoing:
🚴🏼 Friends of the Skelf bike park and pump track just off Holyrood Park are [raising money currently;
💁 Help Fund a New Specialised Active Chair for Porty Community Energy Activist Roseanne Sinclair at her campaign page;
🚌 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
✍🏽 ‘Spaces for People’ Lanes in East of Edinburgh - ETRO
This ‘East Area’ Experimental Traffic Order (ETRO/21/28A) covers a number of Covid-era parking suspensions used to facilitate bollarded cycle lanes around London Rd, Willowbrae and Duddingston, including cycle routes used by school pupils, teachers and parents to and from multiple primary and secondary schools. It is currently open for comments until 28th October by emailing TRO.Consultations@edinburgh.gov.uk quoting ETRO/21/28A.
🌊 Seafield Regeneration
Regeneration plans are afoot in Seafield, including active travel links to Porty, Craigentinny, and Leith. Leith Feeder Ride [x] have a great roundup thread (unrolled) on the scheme; you can also view the masterplan proposals [PDF] and respond to the consultation survey which is open until the 31st July;
🐳 Connecting Granton Waterfront
A new Granton-focused consultation running until Tuesday 16th July. From the project’s Consultation Hub:
This project proposes a network of safe and well-connected routes as part of a walking, wheeling and cycling network for Granton Waterfront. Our ideas have been designed to make walking, wheeling and cycling safer and easier through the new and existing areas of the neighbourhood. The proposals include wider pavements, better cycling provision, placemaking improvements including new and improved landscaping and upgrades to key crossing points and junctions on the following routes:
Forthquarter Park
Waterfront Broadway
Waterfront Park
Waterfront Avenue
West Shore Road
The Promenade
View the Community Engagement Portal and give feedback via the Survey.
🏖️ Brunstane and Portobello
‘Edinburgh roads: 'Radical changes' on way for Portobello High Street and Brighton Place’ in The Evening News;
The ETRO scheme closing Brunstane Rd to motorised traffic has been made permanent.
👣 Foot of the Walk to Ocean Terminal
⚓️ 'Signs of life' [x] - 241 days of planned cycleway construction works starting some time between late Summer and Autumn this year - on 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;
🌷 Midlothian’s Active Travel Strategy
🚴🏼♀️ Nearby Midlothian Council have launched ’On the Move Midlothian: Our Active Travel Strategy for Everyone’, consisting of two parallel consultations on Active Travel (one of which has now closed) 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].
Deadline of 22nd July for the 'Active Travel Survey'.
🚶 Dalry: ‘Living Well Locally’
Closed at 26th June. Check out SW20’s excellent response.
Thanks for reading - ride safe 🚲
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