🚲 edi.bike | issue 59 | 23rd Sep ‘24
your weekly edinburgh cycling digest
📰 News this Week
📸 Some Photos of Roseburn to Union Canal* Progress
Here’s a wee thread of photos posted recently by Sustrans, documenting progress on the Roseburn to Union Canal* project due to open some time in the next couple of months.
\* Rumours of this route ending at a canal may have been exaggerated in the naming of the project
🚸 Corstorphine Low Traffic Neighbourhood - Some Long Reads on a Long Saga
As detailed in edi.bike Issue 58’s Transport & Environment Committee (TEC) roundup, there’s a loud and mathematically troubled group in Corstorphine vocally opposed to a trial Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) scheme and adjacent bus gate. Tomorrow, Tuesday 24th, the Council’s Traffic Regulation Orders sub-committee will meet and vote on whether to follow Council officer recommendations to keep the measures in place permanently, albeit with adjustments to the active times of the Bus Gate.
Here’s a number of fine bits of further reading ahead of the decision:
📰 A ‘Long Read’ by The Edinburgh Reporter - in part one, taking a look at the small but loud brigade of opponents (buoyed as they are in their number by a mixture of pro-driving-everywhere supporters who live nowhere near the area, and folk who think LTNs are a nascent tool of government control alongside 5G towers and Bill Gates being involved in microchipping COVID vaccine doses) and their arguments;
👀 In part two lies a phenomenal, step-by-step, assessment and correction of the myths around the project, the lack of engagement in the early planning and design of the project from ‘concerned residents’ and Councillors that at the time weren’t even in post;
📄 The report on Corstorphine Connections (402 pages, PDF) coming to the TRO subcommittee tomorrow;
🧵 This great thread by @PidginPosting on X highlighting some of the more ridiculous claims being made in objection to the project, debunked in the report - and a later thread highlighting the misunderstanding and misrepresenting of the ETRO process that the anti-campaign are displaying in a recent video posted following TEC;
🐦 Other Posts on X that show messages from the anti-campaign’s private Facebook group calling for a council tax boycott, and further vandalism - namely cutting down the Bus Gate enforcement camera for a third time, with no intervention or moderation from the group’s admins.
This is Edinburgh - in spite of the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order process having been followed, with local engagement and consultation, measurable successes in road safety for vulnerable users and a net positive for the area of benefit, the decision tomorrow could still go either way. Fingers crossed that sense prevails - the Council needs the political will to get through the bedding-in phase of such schemes to be able to draw on the vital benefits, lessons learned and implement further schemes elsewhere, for the good of all residents.
Cyclist Assaulted in Cowgate
⚠️ Content Warning: Description of Violent Assault.
On Friday, footage emerged on social media of a stand-off between a person on a bike and the occupants of a car in High School Wynd, near Cowgate. The fuller context of the situation is missing, but it appears that the driver of the car is making a move when they shouldn’t be and the cyclist has stopped in place mid-way through the car’s turn into them.
After refusing the disembarked passenger’s shouts to move on, the cyclist is subjected to a violent assault, in which the driver steps out of the vehicle, grabs the person on their bike with two hands around their neck, and throws them to the ground - it would appear causing a pretty serious knock to the head. Sickeningly, there are nearby shouts of praise for what is clearly an unnecessary, disgusting and wholly disproportionate response to the situation.
The driver - from Wigan, rather than an Edinburgh resident - was quickly identified through the number plate, some social media sleuthing — having recently picked up the car from a dealership here — and Police Scotland were called to the scene, and are making inquiries.
Not linking to the video - it’s brutal, as above. Nor do I want to try and unpack the rights and wrongs, dangers and necessities in this kind of encounter - it’s not my story. I just wanted to say that it made me feel really sad, and angry on behalf of the victim, and I didn’t want to just skip over posting about it. If this reaches you - I’m really sorry that happened to you, and I hope you’re OK, and get back on your bike soon.
🏰 Local Bits
🏫 Updated Link - Could you help marshal a bike bus? The main blocker to running bike buses is a lack of volunteers. Check out the Bike Bus Edinburgh page to find contact details.
📷 Some lovely cargo bikes in this Instagram post shared by Soul Cycles following recent cargo bike training delivered for Napier University;
🗞️ Via John Robson [x] — ‘On the fringe: Three of Edinburgh’s best bike rides’ in the Financial Times;
⚽ Great to see another road closure bringing kids back to street play - this time in Marchmont, posted by Green party Cllr Ben Parker. If you’d like to host a similar event, you can apply for permission here;
🅿️ We’d echo this call for better cycle parking at Edinburgh Rugby’s Hive Stadium at Murrayfield, from reader John Edward over on Bluesky. If you know anyone who might be connected or influential in this area, drop us a line;
📺 If you’re interested in a Youtube channel documenting Edinburgh’s cycle infrastructure and making campaign footage - including a ridethrough of the Foot of the Walk to Dock Street route recorded as a ‘before’ video ahead of work starting on protected cycleways there later in October - head over to Edi Cycle Infrastructure on Youtube »
➕ Nationally
⚡ Thread (with video / article) from Cycling UK - “This morning, Cycling UK senior policy officer, Monica Scigliano appeared on the BBC Breakfast red couch to discuss e-cycles vs. motorbikes, couriers, and cycle safety”;
🪑 Lovely wee cycling parking / maintenance / seating pop-up for parking spaces installed in Glasgow by CoMoUK in this X post;
📺 The recording of last week’s Active Travel Cafe weekly Zoom presentation is worth a watch, with Active Travel England’s Commissioner, former Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman CBE - including some great thoughts on behaviour change, emotion and strong messaging in campaigning - even over and above statistics and data; and some amazing insights:
“One of the most important things I learnt from [Chris Boardman] last night was that infrastructure built to national standards increases active travel by 20-60% and halves deaths; 'painted lines' increase deaths by 10% and don't increase active travel at all.”_ — @2WheelsGoodBrum on X
🪓 From Transport Action Network: “Cancel New Roads To Boost Growth — Kickstart Labour’s growth Mission: Cancel Conservative road schemes, fix potholes,invest in public transport, slash the deficit” — Full Report [PDF] »
👏 “Traffic pollution down in first year of Glasgow LEZ” - BBC Article;
📼 “After years of complaints that delays to the introduction of a dedicated road safety reporting tool and inaction on the part of the Scottish government and Police Scotland were putting the lives of cyclists across the country “at risk” and making the roads “less safe”, it has been confirmed that following a successful pilot scheme in Dundee, a new third-party video evidence-sharing tool will be rolled out across Scotland by this time next year.” — more at Road.cc
📹 Sustrans posted a recent video from Angus [fb], where upgrades to a section of National Cycle Network Route 1 at Carnoustie have recently been completed;
📈 “If the progress achieved up to 2010 had been sustained, we would have avoided at least 40,000 deaths and serious injuries. That is the scale of 14 years of missed opportunities and complacency in UK road safety” — article at Road Safety GB
🛣 Route Closures and Issues
Lawnmarket and Upper Bow: Road improvements commence today, Monday 23rd September; be sure to read the Council’s page about the closures, which managed to completely omit arrangements for a certain human-powered transport mode, so good luck I guess;
Reader Robbie kindly got in touch to share an upcoming closure of Holyrood Park: 4 - 11pm October 31st for Samhuinn. Potential Cycle access until 6pm on Croft-An-Righ is being considered - some of the information on HES’ Events page is still to be confirmed;
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 runs until December this year;
Spokes shared the upcoming partial closure of NCN 196, on the Auchendinny-Rosewell railway path for resurfacing with ‘flexipave’ - an ongoing 6-8 week closure from mid-September, so around 7 weeks remaining. Details from Midlothian Council »
📣 Help edi.bike ✍🏼
🗣️ Recommend us to someone - why not forward to a friend, or just point them to edi.bike online
📝 Share a story / issue - If you run into anything that might be a good fit for next time, feel free to send it over.
💜 Join the Supporters Club for £1/month to help us cover costs and promote to a wider audience. More info below.
📆 Events and Happenings
📆 Upcoming / Ongoing
⚡ Porty Community Energy are leading some friendly, communal rides out from Portobello in the coming weeks, this week (25th) to Leith, with QMU and the Meadows in later weeks - more details and booking link on their Facebook post »
🚲 The Bike Station have a Wednesday evening beginners’ Bike Maintenance course this Wednesday 25th September - details and booking on their website »
⚙️ Saturday 28th, 11am - 1pm: Bike Puncture Repair Session: How to get rolling again at The Wee Spoke Hub;
⚡ Porty Community Energy will pause hiring from their Bike Library during the October break:
Just a quick note to let you know that our Bike Library will be closed for the autumn school holidays from Monday, October 14 to Sunday, October 20. 🎉🍂
But here's the great news: we would absolutely love for you to hire one of our bikes during this time! 🍁
More info on their Instagram post »
🧭 In the West of the city, lots going on for SCOREScotland at Whale Arts and Gate55, ranging from route planning workshops to Dr Bike, bike maintenance training and beginner cycling classes - see their Facebook post for the full list »
✊ Edinburgh Critical Mass is on this Saturday, 28th September, 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. 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. Only one or two people need to use it from the start, so that others can see where the ride is.
🏴 Cycling UK in Scotland’s annual gathering - “some really inspiring talks and a free lunch”:
Sat 5th October, 10.30-4pm at Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge Edinburgh EH1 1EL.
Hear from journalist Laura Laker, endurance MTB-er Naomi Freireich, Ed Shoote on bikepacking with kids, update on the Drem-Gullane Path Campaign from Iain Monk, and Scottish campaigns and project inspiration from Cycling UK. There's also an optional bike ride beforehand. Please book in advance on Eventbrite to help manage the catering.
⚡ Porty Community Energy have a fundraising ceilidh on Saturday 12th October, 17:00 - 22:00:
“Cosmic Ceilidh Band will be our band for a heady evening of live music, dance, local bar and delicious food. Run by the ceilidh collective, this event is supporting, fundraising, and fun raising for Portobello Community Energy (PCE). PCE's wonderful projects including: Porty Bike Library, Cosy Homes, Porty Car Share, Porty Action Travel Hub, and the all new embryonic Porty Community Solar... Find out more, lots more in between dances!
Ceilidh tickets range from £10 - £25, depending on what you can afford. In addition you can buy a meal ticket for a hearty plate of vegan stew with rice and sides to power you through the night.”
👥 Facebook Event page »
🎟️ Get Tickets »
🔁 Weekly Events
☕️ Tues, 5pm: [National] Active Travel Cafe on Zoom
🛠️ Weds, 3pm: Bike Kitchen at Edinburgh Tool Library
⚡️Weds, 6.30-8pm: Porty Community Energy’s evening advice drop-in [fb]
✴️ Thurs, 5-8pm: Bike DIY Session at The Wee Spoke Hub
👪 Fri, 2-4pm: All-inclusive social guided bike rides from Bridgend Farmhouse
⚙️ Sat, 2-4pm: ‘Bike Cleaning and Oiling’ drop-in session at The Wee Spoke Hub
🔧 Last Friday of the month (27th): Basic Bike Maintenance class at Bridgend Farmhouse
🫂 Help Needed
✴️ The Wee Spoke Hub are looking for an Administration Volunteer:
“For a charity like ours to succeed, a lot of behind-the-scenes work needs done. If you are a super-organised person with a bit of time on a regular basis, please get in touch!
Bonus points if you have a passion for active travel or for the climate 🌱”
More on their website listing »
💼 Closes Sunday 29th September: Paths for All are hiring for a head of income generation (Hybrid / Stirling);
⚙️ The lovely folks at The Wee Spoke Hub are advertising office / studio space to sublet in their building;
🛠️ Scottish Cargo Bike maker Ariel Bikes are looking to get 1,000 responses to their e-cargo bike market survey, and if they do they’ll give away a bike:
“Win an Ariel e-cargo bike worth £5600, with ZF 112Nm motor system, plus Magura, Shimano, Halo, Schwalbe, Suntour and Spinner parts and components. All on a hand built 4130 chromoly steel frame fabricated in our Scottish workshop. Finished in glorious orange metallic fleck powder coat.
We want to understand the UK e-cargo bike market better. So we’ve created a short survey. Fill in the survey and if we can get to over 1000 responses, we will give away the bike.”
🛠️ 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”;
Ongoing:
🚴🏼 Friends of the Skelf bike park and pump track just off Holyrood Park are raising money currently;
🚌 Volunteer to help marshal a local school Bike Bus - see the Edinburgh Bike Bus Hub;
🙋 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
🛣️ Powderhall Junction Update
The Council have published a fairly thorough documentation of the consultation and design iteration process - showing the preferred design for the junction and its cycling affordances before and after consultation. More context on the project - including next steps predicated on funding and developer contributions - can be found over at The Spurtle.
🌈 Lindsay Rd Pride Bridge Update
A short update from the team on their Instagram - with a sketch of the design following some iteration and accessibility feedback;
📋 Travelling Safely Schemes
ETROs for these schemes have various end dates (barring ‘South’, which is not yet published) and can be found for comment at the Council’s Travelling Safely Commonplace microsite;
⚒️ Work ongoing, August to November - Lasswade Rd Cycleways
Spokes 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’ (actually Commercial St)
⚓️ 'Foot of the Walk to Ocean Terminal' - construction start date has been updated to 21st October (for ten months) in the council’s weekly roads report, but still to be confirmed - 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. Confusingly, a closer look at the project reveals that it doesn’t go to Ocean Terminal (shades of Roseburn to Union Canal here) and instead gives up at Commercial St, with the Commercial St to Ocean Terminal leg covered by the as-yet unfunded third phase of Leith Connections, ‘Hawthornvale to Seafield’.
Thanks for reading - ride safe 🚲
💜 Join our 'Supporters Club'
The weekly edi.bike digest will always be free (gratis) to read for anyone who subscribes, as well as remaining ad-free.
For £1/month, you can join our Supporters Club, and help with existing costs for our domain name, hosting, and promotional materials like posters and stickers.
Huge thanks to those of you who have already signed up to support us - we really appreciate it 💜
🎁 Club Perks
As well as supporting us, we're also planning the following perks for Supporters Club patrons:
A bi-monthly (6 times a year) behind-the-scenes update sharing subscriber numbers / growth, promotional efforts, and other stuff about the running of edi.bike;
A shiny 'Supporters Club' sticker, once we get them printed up (subject to collection in person!).
Over time, we might also consult Club patrons on strategic decisions and other matters.
If you can't support us in this way, that's grand too - thanks for reading!
There is a part 3 to the Edinburgh reporter long read. A group made up of cyclists, motorists and pedestrians https://theedinburghreporter.co.uk/2024/09/the-edinburgh-reporter-long-read-improve-corstorphine-group-part-3/.