🚲 edi.bike | issue 53 | 12th Aug '24
your weekly edinburgh cycling digest
📰 News this Week
🌉 Confusingly-named Route Gains New Confusingly-named Bridge
As posted to X by Cllr Ross Mckenzie, The ‘blue bridge’ - confusingly named the ‘Mid Calder bridge’ for the rail link it crosses, rather than where it’s actually placed - is being installed as I write this, in the wee hours of Monday 12th. This is one of several spans being constructed as part of the Roseburn to Union Canal project, also strangely named as it gives up a few blocks short of the canal, merely wishing you luck on your way.
Due to open in the Autumn, this new route connects the North East Path Network - specifically the Roseburn Path - across new bridges and community gardens to the Fountainpark complex. The Council recently posted some updated drone footage to Youtube showing progress on the route;
🚜 Greendykes Route Ripped Up; Persimmon — an unfortunate near-anagram of ‘Permission’ — Sorely Lacking
A busy five hundred metre path connecting Greendykes Road and the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary was ripped up this week by developers Persimmon, in contravention of stipulations in their site planning which stated that they needed to first re-route the path so access was maintained. Local users of the link are understandably put out, including local Councillor Kate Campbell - who has opened an enforcement case against the developer. More at Edinburgh Live.
🤝 August Transport & Environment Committee (TEC) Agenda
TEC reconvene following the Council’s summer recess this Thursday, 15th August, in what promises to be the last outing with Cllr Scott Arthur as Convenor before he steps down to focus on his new role as MP for Edinburgh South West. As usual, the meeting details and agenda documents have been published, and we’ve rifled through them like a hungry raccoon in your recycling bin. Here’s the scraps for this week…
In the Business Bulletin [PDF] this month:
🌳 Page 4: Meadows to Union Canal — protected cycleways and improvements from the western end of the Meadows through Brougham Pl, Tarvit St and Home St, to Lochrin Pl — will be subject to further delays, ”due to the length of time that has passed since the 2019 public consultation”. For those following along at home, this project was first put to the public in TWO THOUSAND AND FOURTEEN. So we’re headed for a third consultation in a decade of planning to comment on something that should be a no-brainer, linking as it will two heavily-used (and more importantly, actually extant) cycle routes. Discussion on this item appears to be slated for September’s TEC - but what’s another month on the existing one hundred and twenty odd?
🌊 Page 7: Proposed Ratho EICA and Lost Shore Surf bridge in jeopardy - detail from officers tasked at the last TEC meeting of detailing why an agreement to provide a bridge linking the new Lost Shore Surf Resort facility and the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena looks set to be reneged upon, in spite of being described as a “much-needed active travel link”. Putting aside the extraordinarily strange ‘owing rent to Scottish Canals for the air above the canal where the bridge is’ aspect, it seems that on the EICA side of the canal the access ramp to the entrance of the building would be too steep from an accessibility perspective to qualify for Sustrans funding. Of course, the EICA and its environs have a history when it comes to lacking active travel provision, being as they are situated on the Union Canal - a route massively popular with cyclists, but with no ramp provision whatsoever from the canal to the climbing arena, requiring a non-obvious diversion from Ratho marina via a cratered back road route, arriving on the roof of the EICA — or a muckle stack of steps up from the canal instead;
Meanwhile, in terms of Agenda points from the Reports Pack [PDF] for this month:
Item 7.2 (pages 181 - 218 of the pack PDF) - Access to the ‘W H💩tel’ at the St James Quarter is once again up for discussion:
Committee agreed that St James Square had been designed to be principally a pedestrian space and an area where people could sit and linger and, accordingly, requested that a new Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) be prepared that permitted access beyond the bollards for pedestrians only (with access for emergency vehicles as required).
The developer then took to the Court of Session to petition for a judicial review of the decision in January of this year; amongst their reasons for this are:
Issues with the way the St James Quarter’s dedicated, multi-thousand space car park operates (the very same one they built…);
The history of planning permission for the site;
The existing traffic regulation orders — and history of retractable bollards on — Elder St and St James Sq;
They have lawyer money in spades.
The court proceedings were suspended for the decision to come back to TEC for review, so it will be interesting to see whether the Council are able to establish grounds to stick with their initial decision and protect the space for the folks at the top of the sustainable transport hierarchy.
However, what’s currently recommended by the report looks essentially like the Council will instead bend a space clearly not suited to motor vehicles to instead encroach on the safety of pedestrians and cyclists passing through or dwelling in the area, in order to satisfy private business and the capital interests behind it.
Item 7.5 (pages 289 - 298 of the pack PDF) - Local Traffic Improvement - Delivery Programme.
Local Traffic Improvement schemes are a recently renamed and reworked programme to have local communities able to raise and develop small-scale improvements in their area not being met by other Council programmes - aiming ”to create safe, sustainable, and equitable transport landscape through the removal of barriers for the most vulnerable of road users when walking, wheeling and cycling in residential areas or accessing essential local services and amenities, particularly in respect of those highlighted in the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.”
While a large number of the projects evaluated for 2024-25 are focused on crossings and footways, they include a £100k project to fix the recently resurfaced junction of Polwarth Gdns at Polwarth Cres - while “most approved schemes are expected to commence in 2025 due to scheduling, design lead-in times and formal noticing periods”.
This is the junction that was recently fully resurfaced with no changes to the (car-centric and largely unsuitable) road layout, to the chagrin of Merchiston Community Council who had undertaken significant local engagement work to have changes made for the safety of those travelling by walking, wheeling or cycling.
It’s good to see a recommendation for some course-correction here, and with any luck this is signed off with little contention.
Finally, the Work Programme - Appendix 1 (at p31 of the Agenda reports pack [PDF]) gives us a look ahead at what’s currently timetabled for future scheduled TEC meetings. Or if you want to avoid headline spoilers, just read our summary nearer the time 😁
🏰 Local Bits
🥞 “Major study explores the experiences of delivery cyclists in Edinburgh and Glasgow” - a welcome venture from Sustrans, particularly where we see certain local politicians and critics of cycle infrastructure treating delivery riders as a sort of second-class cycle user, or suggesting they should be excluded from ridership statistics;
📺 A new promotional video for Edinburgh-based The Cycling Gardeners has been created by power tool manufacturer Stihl after hearing about the cargo-bike powered local business - check it out on Youtube and read more at The Edinburgh Reporter;
🚲 Future cycling facilities to join the pump track in Hunters Hall Park, by the Jack Kane Centre, include a newly funded BMX park and an outdoor velodrome - as covered by The Edinburgh Reporter (via Michael Macleod at The Edinburgh Minute);
From Last Week:
🏆 Spokes are running their annual competition, with some really excellent prizes - the theme this year is ‘Cycling and Sustenance’;
📋 Andrew Hay is a student at Heriot-Watt Uni currently carrying out research regarding walking and cycling policy and developments within Edinburgh, and would really appreciate your responses to their survey, probably 5 - 10 minutes of your time;
➕ Nationally
💰 “Transport Scotland has yet to decide how to spend £83 million of its active travel budget in the current (2024/25) financial year. The figures have been revealed by the Edinburgh group of Living Streets, the national campaign for everyday walking and wheeling, after a Freedom of Information request.” — more at Living Streets.
Further background on the funding landscape from the fine folks at Spokes;
🛍️ News of significant financial loss-making at Evans Cycles have lead to some really significant discounts (in some cases, up to 90%) on their online shop;
📦 “Cargo Bike Use In City Of London Up By 73%, Analysis Shows”:
“…A new analysis by Clean Cities has found that, between 2022 and 2023, cargo bike use rose by 73% percent in London’s square mile and by 63% across London as a whole.” — article at Forbes
Meanwhile, the Business Improvement District for London Bridge held a ‘cargo bike cruise’ with a huge variety of vehicles out for a ride - see the footage shared on X;
🧑⚕️ Open access at the British Medical Journal: “Health benefits of pedestrian and cyclist commuting: evidence from the Scottish Longitudinal Study”, summarised as:
”Despite active travel investment increasing, evidence of benefit is often limited to selected health outcomes and a short follow-up period, and cyclists and pedestrians are often analysed together. We aimed to examine prospective associations with multiple health outcomes over 18 years for pedestrians and cyclists separately.
Active commuters were less likely to suffer from a range of negative physical and mental health outcomes than non-active commuters. These findings strengthen the evidence for the health benefits of active commuting.”
📋 Cycling UK: “Our new survey reveals strong support for cycling promotion and infrastructure in the UK”. Speaking of Cycling UK, having formed in 1878, they recently turned 146 years old! [x];
💼 Sustrans are hiring a part-time Project Officer (Education and Young People) in Greater Glasgow – see the job listing;
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🛣 Route Closures and Issues
There’s a series of timed full or partial road closures - including High St, St Giles St, Parliament Square(s), Cockburn St, Blair St, Lawnmarket, and Johnston Ter during the Edinburgh Festival;
The Crawford Bridge - between Albion Ter and Bothwell St off Easter Rd - is closed until the 30th of August for refurbishment;
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.
📆 Events and Happenings
📆 Upcoming / Ongoing
🚸 Parents for Future Scotland are hosting a bike bus webinar covering “logistics, the science of active travel's health benefits; and why children and adults alike have fun every time they ride!” - Mon 26th Aug, 7pm - 8pm;
✊🏼 🎭 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
☕️ Active Travel Cafe is a national, weekly online active travel event; news, talks & discussion via Zoom on Tuesdays at 5pm. See their list of speakers and details;
👪 Every Friday in August; All-inclusive social guided bike rides with A Wee Pedal, 2-4pm from Bridgend Farmhouse. Check out their flyer for more;
⚡️ Porty Community Energy are trialling a weekly Wednesday evening advice drop-in [fb];
⚙️ The Wee Spoke Hub host a weekly ‘Bike Cleaning and Oiling’ drop-in session at their shop every Saturday, 2-4pm;
🛠️ 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.
✴️ Other regular events on at The Wee Spoke Hub - follow their schedule here including a Bike DIY Session this Thursday 15th, 5pm - 8pm;
🫂 Help Needed
🛠️ SW20 and Edinburgh Tool Library are looking for project volunteers:
”We are looking to expand our team of amazing volunteers and offer additional services -- if you are interested, please complete this form and we'll get back to you”;
🚸 Parents for Future Scotland are looking for more volunteers to help with organising Kidical Mass rides:
“We need volunteers to help promote and organise Kidical Mass cycle rides. Just one or two hours a month will do - help us contact local media, spread the word on social media and recce the routes. Contact rosieparents4futurescotland@gmail.com if you're interested in helping out”;
♻️ SHRUB Co-op - home of fantastic community cycling resource The Wee Spoke Hub - are aiming to raise £50,000 in six weeks:
Until the 31st of August any donation you make via our crowdfunding page will be doubled. For every donation up to £250 we will receive match-funding from the AVIVA Community Fund. This means your contribution will have double the impact!
Your donations will help secure the continuation of the Food Sharing Hub and all our other zero waste initiatives… Every donation will make an invaluable difference to our community and will contribute towards a sustainable future for the Food Sharing Hub. 🥖🥑🍄
You can find the crowdfunder here.
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
🌈 Lindsay Road ‘Pride bridge’ enters detailed design stage; welcoming ideas
A short thread from the Pride Bridge team last week updated on progress, and called for further ideas on the most popular design option for the bridge at Lindsay Rd following the public consultation, seeking ways to make it more accessible;
⚒️ Work ongoing, August to November - Lasswade Rd Cycleways
Spokes recently shared [x] the project page for a partial resurfacing of Lasswade Rd that includes a stretch of segregated cycle lane at each side, close to Gracemount High School. Spokes’ response makes mention of various interesting aspects and suggests changes.
✍🏽 ‘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.
👣 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;
🌷 Just closed: Midlothian’s Active Travel Strategy
🚴🏼♀️ Nearby Midlothian Council have just concluded ’On the Move Midlothian: Our Active Travel Strategy for Everyone’, consisting of two parallel consultations on Active Travel (both of which have 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] and the 'Active Travel Survey'.
Thanks for reading - ride safe, and here’s to many more years x 🚲
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