🚲 edi.bike | issue 68 | 25th Nov ‘24
your weekly edinburgh cycling digest
📰 News this Week
📈 Spokes’ Annual November Traffic Count Finds Cycle Numbers Up, Bigger Increases Near Newer Infrastructure Projects
Spokes have returned the results of their November 2024 traffic counts. In some places, modest increases, but in others a significant upwards trend:
“The biannual Spokes city-centre and Porty traffic counts, on Tuesday 11 November found bikes up almost everywhere compared to November 2023 – though mostly not by large amounts. In the city centre morning rush hour bikes were up 4% from 365 to 381, and at lunchtime up 17% from 156 to 183. In Porty, totalling morning and lunchtime, bike numbers were up a huge 36%, albeit from the low base of 70, to 95.”
The full report also includes some of the recent Cycling Scotland counter data showing the popularity of new routes in the city.
📋 Princes St and Waverley Valley Consultation Opens
A new public consultation has opened, entitled ‘Princes Street and the Waverley Valley’ - consisting of many of the points we covered in our TEC roundup in Issue 58 when the strategy was first discussed.
To a certain extent, it’s good that feedback about including cycling provision on Princes St — in spite of it not being designated a primary cycle route — has been taken into the consultation. On the other hand, this doesn’t seem at first glance like it will get through:
As always - absolutely worth spending some time responding to regardless.
🖊️ November TEC Roundup
Our monthly roundup of the Council’s Transport and Environment Committee meeting can be found below, just under ‘Local Bits’ ⬇️
⚙️ Spokes ‘Local Cycle Campaining’ Meeting - Watch on Youtube
Spokes held a public meeting last Thursday, and you can watch back the various talks on Youtube:
🛣️ Accessible and Sustainable transport expert 📺 Derek Halden;
🚺 📺 Julie from Infrasisters;
🚸 📺 Jarlath who does Edinburgh Bike Buses
✊ 📺 Victoria from Edinburgh Critical Mass;
🎤 📺 Panel Q & A hosted by Helen Todd, chair of Planning Democracy and former Ramblers Scotland policy manager.
It was a great event - positive and welcoming, and great talks from Julie and Victoria in particular - and many thanks to Spokes for hosting us.
🏰 Local Bits
A few great photos on Bluesky of the wee Toucan crossing works carried out at Tantallon Pl / Cumin Pl crossing Grange Rd, posted by John Robson;
🧑🎄 Do you or someone you know want some maintenance skills for Christmas? Graeme at Hart’s Cyclery has maintenance classes up for purchase:
“This course is aimed at those looking to get the most out of their riding by avoiding common pitfalls with modern bike systems. Be it road, gravel or mountain biking, this course has you covered. For those with some enthusiasm with getting their hands dirty and wanting to avoid trail/road-side calamities by keeping their bike tickety boo in the first place and knowing what to do when things still go wrong.”
📦 The good folks at SW20 have expanded their fleet of their bikes and trailers for hire, now featuring a massive Carla cargo trailer;
⚠️ After a year or so of unclear onward progress at the Foot of Leith Walk, the council have finally implemented signage actually explaining the end of the cycleway:
Spokes also reported:
Now that #TramsToNewhaven is 'complete,' Council is to follow up more of our remedial suggestions..
Remove signposts in 🚲lanes
Move planters away from 🚲lanes
Add reflectivity to nearby obstacles e.g 🚌shelters — Spokes on Bluesky
👏 Specialist cycle club Vie velo had a chilly outing on their tandems this week and posted some great photos;
🗺️ Spokes pointed out this week an update to Scottish travel planning tool ‘Traveline’ - including cycle routing using Cyclestreets;
☃️ Works in and around the Roseburn to Union Canal link are still ongoing, with today having been one of the previously stated potential opening dates for the route; is it still officially Autumn now that we’ve had snow?
🤝 Roundup: November Transport & Environment Committee (‘TEC’) Meeting
The City of Edinburgh Council’s Transport & Environment Committee met on Monday 18th November; greeted on the way in by protestors from Critical Mass Edinburgh, who were able to speak directly with Cllrs McKenzie, Booth and Aston:
”People are fed up with culture wars, they want to be safer, they want their loved ones to be safer. So we are taking our protest to the TEC, who are meeting today, to hold them to account and say ’Saving lives is not controversial’. These are our streets and Edinburgh’s people deserve the best in road safety design.”
Links: 📅 Meeting Page / Webcast | 💼 Business Bulletin [PDF] | 📄 Public Agenda Reports Pack [PDF] | 📄 Late Report on Cowgate [PDF] | 🗳️ Motions and Amendments [PDF] | 💬 Deputations [PDF]
ℹ️ Our PDF links below will open to the correct page in most desktop browsers; unfortunately, the same isn’t true of most mobile device browsers.
💼 Business Bulletin
💔 Whitehouse Road junction improvements - PDF [Page 3]
Following the tragic death of 11-year-old Thomas Wong in March of this year, the business bulletin outlines a number of safety interventions being implemented at the entrance to the Royal Burgess Golf Society, the site of the collision. Short-term solutions were implemented including the removal of hedges and foliage, as well as traffic-calming measures within the society’s car park. Further upcoming works involve narrowing the junction and footpath crossing width, introducing a STOP line and signage within the society grounds, laying new tactile paving to identify the road junction for pedestrians with sight loss; and installing new box junction markings to keep the exit clear of queuing traffic and improve visibility. It is expected that these measures will be in place by the end of the first quarter of 2025.
🧭 West Edinburgh Link - PDF [Page 7]
In September TEC commissioned an update from officers regarding delays and funding for the West Edinburgh Link, as well as timescale for construction. In terms of funding, there seems to be positivity as the project ‘meets Transport Scotland’s funding criteria well’, though it is not yet fully confirmed. In terms of delays, the project was originally signed off in 2019 and intended to be delivered by 2021, however a number of roadblocks in the form of objections to redetermination orders, compulsory purchase orders and also funding decision delays have all contributed to a lack of momentum.
📉 City-wide Target Reduction in Car Kilometres Travelled - PDF [Page 8]
Following the Council’s stated goal to reduce the distance travelled by private cars by 30% before 2030, there were a few questions on reaching that goal:
The baseline number for that goal was 2019, so a 30% reduction by 2030 would mean 1,720M kilometres or less;
Cllr O’Neill asked about how we’re going to achieve the target — something many active travel campaigners have been asking too… The answer provided at TEC was that the City Mobility Plan should address the level of use; and that road user charging is also on the table (with other conversations about the timetable for this were also happening during this TEC). The possibilities around other ‘demand management’ tools will come in a future report.
📅 Work Programme - PDF [Page 33]
The cycling-adjacent December items for TEC look to be:
Elm Row Pedestrianisation
Trams to Newhaven update
Safe Cycling on Queen Street
Cycle Hire Scheme update
🪵 Rolling Actions Log
The timeline for changes to the Greenbank to Meadows Quiet Route were questioned, coming in ‘early spring’, and it was good to see it again emphasised that temporary segregated cycleways will be in place prior to the removal of the modal filters from the Braid Estate; Cllr Booth asked for TEC to be notified of any further updates to the timeline, and also to be circulated the latest Road Safety Audit resulting from the new plans.
📋 Agenda Items
📄 Late Report on Cowgate - PDF [Page 3]
Following the tragic death of 74-year-old Michael Leneghan in early November, officers prepared a report looking at short, medium and longer-term interventions in the Cowgate to improve the safety of pedestrians and reduce traffic volumes.
The council, of course, voted to take action on the Cowgate as early as February of this year, but unfortunately the proposed trial to make the cowgate one-way or even filtered and largely pedestrianised became the latest tin can to be kicked ever further down the long, slow road of safety progress.
Police Scotland — whose initial findings suggest that the footway nor road layout played a significant part in this particular incident, a fact which a Conservative councillor at TEC callously jumped on as an opportunity to question why we should look at making the area safer — have asked that the existing ‘no entry’ hours for vehicles passing into the Cowgate from each end are extended (currently between 22:00 and 05:00). Beyond this, officers are looking towards further restrictions coming into force ahead of the festival period in summer 2025.
The shorter term measures regarding hours may come as early as December, depending on the legal processes required to amend the Traffic Regulation Order that defines the hours of entry.
🔒 7.3 On street cycle parking - PDF [Page 223]
Following a request for more on the rollout of hangar-based secure on-street cycle parking, and also to investigate the feasibility of bringing the service in-house at the council (rather than provided by Cyclehoop), officers prepared this report for TEC. The report also contains information about the level of newly installed public cycle parking, and the amount installed at Schools within the city.
The Council’s target is to have 380 secure on-street cycle parking units operating in Edinburgh by the end of 2025, with 200 to be delivered as part of Phase 2. Since May 2024, 38 more units have been installed. This takes the citywide total to 218 units, the locations of which can be seen on a map here Secure Cycle Hangars…
The remaining 162 units in Phase 2 require a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to be in place before installation…with an aim to deliver the units on the ground by the end of 2025.
Total number of hangars: 218
Total number of spaces: 1,302
Number of unused spaces: 43
Percentage of spaces used: 97%
Total waiting list for all hangars: 2,566
According to the report, “further rollouts beyond Phase 2 are likely to rely on external funding for both design and construction”, to fund the up-front purchase of the hangars and any legal process required when siting them. Once installed, users pay Cyclehoop directly for storage, with subsidised prices depending on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation score of where they live. £1 per month per user is paid into a central maintenance fund to keep the hangars clean of graffiti, and functioning.
In terms of public cycle parking:
Financial Year 2023/24
90 cycle racks installed, and 3 cargo bike racks, at 30 locations city-wide;
Financial Year 2024/25 to date
34 cycle racks installed, on Leith Walk and at city-wide locations;
Financial Year 2024/25 full year forecast
84 cycle racks installed at city-wide locations.
Following a question from Cllr Booth, officers advised that they have been catching up on an historic requests backlog from members of the public for cycling parking locations, but are working towards more proactive planning for where parking could be needed in future.
The report goes into a good deal of detail about the costs and feasibility of in-housing the management of the cycle parking scheme, and recommends that the council does not pursue this - largely for financial and staffing reasons - but instead sticks with external supply and maintenance.
🟢 Cycle Parking - Green Group Amendment PDF [Page 9]
Cllr Booth’s amendment proposed to replace the report’s recommendations with five key points:
Noted that potential VAT exemption has not been considered in the financial calculations in the report were the council to run the scheme;
Proposed to postpone a decision on in-housing the scheme in order to hold a workshop with TEC members to explore the issue, and come back to TEC;
Attempted to pass the question of funding on to the council’s budget-setting apparatus to properly fund secure parking, “and if necessary, to consider raising fees and charges in other areas of the transport budget in order to achieve this”;
“Agrees to add a webform or other mechanism to the council website for members of
the public to request locations for public cycle parking;”Agreed to provide updates on cycle parking installations annually, as part of the annual update on the City Mobility Plan.
More on the voting below.
🟠 Cycle Parking - Liberal Democrat Addendum - PDF [Page 8]
Cllr Dijkstra-Downie’s addendum describes municipal ‘larger capacity neighbourhood cycle stores’ in the Dutch cities of Utrecht and Delft, and “Requests that officers investigate whether such a model could be implemented in Edinburgh, for example by using underused Council-owned garages or similar properties located in areas where there is a high concentration of demand, and by exploring the possibility of contracting the same external provider to manage these facilities”.
In voting on the issue, there were two positions created:
📋 The report as-is, with the Lib Dem addendum regarding looking into municipal parking, and folding in only points 4 and 5 from the Green Group amendment (web form to request public cycle parking in a new location and annual update as part of city mobility plan), but essentially the Labour administration rejecting any delay to the decision on in-housing the service and instead ruling it out;
📋 The Green group amendment in full — delaying the decision on whether or not to in-house — but also including the Lib Dem addendum on municipal parking.
The latter was defeated six votes to five - a fairly close outcome for TEC.
After the meeting, Councillors expressed their concern and disappointment at Labour’s position - particularly as their own 2022 manifesto includes the promise of “direct council provision of council services, bringing back into the council those that had previously been contracted to external providers”.
🕳️ 9.2 Longstone Sinkhole
The significant sinkhole in the Burnside path in Longstone was brought to committee in a motion by Cllr Ross McKenzie. Initially guarded only by flyaway plastic barriers, more recently locked fences have been put in place to safeguard local passers by, who are currently having to divert around the affected section by means of another path.
In the absence of the proposed ‘Longstone Link’ bridge, the Burnside path is one of the only active travel links heading East for the residents of Longstone; the community want and need to see it preserved. Indeed, the Council’s own Quiet Routes map [PDF] for the south west marks the Burnside path as a route with a reasonable surface, for this reason. Previous issues with the Burnside bridge lead to repairs by the Council, in spite of the fact that the narrow strip of land the path runs along is owned by the Earl of Morton, who would not engage in undertaking the work needed.
It is apparent from the condition of the base of the retaining wall below the path and the way the river hits it, that there will continue to be erosion issues, particularly in severe rainfall, without an intervention. There are also safety concerns around the potential widening of the existing sinkhole, or appearance of others. Excellent deputations from Alan Gordon of Longstone Community Council and Peter Hawkins of Spokes’ Pathways group — who personally maintains the overgrowth of vegetation on the path due to a lack of council adoption and the land ownership issues! — made the case for the motion and a report on next steps will come back to committee in due course.
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➕ Nationally
🍦 A new ‘Hierarchy of Responsibility’ change to the Highway Code — “Those in charge of vehicles that can cause the greatest harm bear the greatest responsibility to take care and reduce the danger they pose to others” — this week saw the launch of a cutesy explainer video from Cycling UK;
🎤 England’s Active Travel Commissioner Christ Boardman spoke at COP29, with an interesting tale of how much carbon he cut from his own commute by cycling and taking the train - article at road.cc;
🛣 Route Closures and Issues
📥 From reader Robbie: _“CCWEL Cycle Path Closed at Haymarket between Rosebery Crescent and Coates Place in both directions for emergency sewer repair works. An update: reader Melissa kindly let us know that the lane was open again at the weekend, however it’s not clear yet whether that was just an allowance for the rugby match in the locality;
⚡ Ongoing: The questionable Network Rail ban on ebike parking at Waverley Station - best to make alternative parking plans if travelling from this station at present;
Part of Quiet Route 8 - Roseburn to Edinburgh Park is currently blocked as reported on X by John Robson;
🏹 Lawnmarket and Upper Bow: Road improvements are ongoing until July ‘25; 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 mind how you go;;
🚶 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;
🎉 Events and Happenings
📆 Upcoming / Ongoing
🚺 #NoExcuse - Infrasisters Ride Again
InfraSisters is coming up this Friday 29th November starting at 7:30pm: meeting at Middle Meadow Walk, “for a slow circular ride around Edinburgh city centre lasting about an hour…”_
The theme, following UN Women UK is #NoExcuse - no excuse for unsafe cycle infrastructure, no excuse for inaction, no excuse for standing by.”
🌺 ✊ Last of the year! Edinburgh Critical Mass is coming up on this Saturday 30th November, 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.
This month, joined by:
The Scottish Rewilding Alliance, who will be handing their Rewilding Nation Charter to the Scottish Government on 3rd December. Everyone is encouraged to wear something/decorate their bikes with a Scottish wildlife theme, or to make a placard highlighting the link between cycling and nature.
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.*
⚡ From Porty Community Energy:
“Our next led cycle ride will be to a cafe - Rosearista Coffee House on Pencaitland railway path. If you've not been on your bike for a while and need a confidence boost, or are looking for new cycle routes to try - our led rides are for you!
We start at Portobello Active Travel Hub - our bike library on the prom. Sign up so we know you're coming, and we'll meet you there!”
Sunday December 1st, 10am - 3pm: Sign up here »
🔁 Weekly Events
🍃 Mon, 12-2.30pm: Free, fun group ride on paths from Bridgend Farmhouse;
🌅 Tues, ⏰ 5.40am: Edinburgh Dawn Patrol - Meet St. Andrew Square, same route each time - contact Markus [x];
☕️Tues, 5pm: [National] Active Travel Cafe on Zoom
🛠️ Weds, 3pm: Bike Kitchen at Edinburgh Tool Library
🌅 Thurs, ⏰ 5.40am: Edinburgh Dawn Patrol (same as Tues, details above);
✴️ Thurs, 5-8pm: Bike DIY Session at The Wee Spoke Hub
⚙️ Sat, 2-4pm: ‘Bike Cleaning and Oiling’ drop-in session at The Wee Spoke Hub
🔁 Monthly Events
🚲 First Friday of the month: Inclusive social bike rides with A Wee Pedal, 1-3pm, from Bridgend Farmhouse;
✊ Last Saturday of the month: Critical Mass Edinburgh, Protest Group Ride, 2pm, Middle Meadow Walk (with no ride in December);
🫂 Help Needed
🚸 From Parents for Future Scotland:
”We are looking for enthusiastic parents to join our 2024 Schools Air Pollution Programme as parent speakers. Our programme empowers children and their parents to take meaningful action against air pollution in Edinburgh. Parent speakers help deliver an engaging and informative talk to other parents in the city, raising awareness about air pollution and the steps we can all take to help tackle it. No previous experience in speaking to groups or expertise in air pollution needed - we provide free training and a buddy system to help build your confidence as you grow into this important role. This is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to positive change in your community, meet other like-minded parents, and develop new skills.”
✏️ Jobs and Voluntary Roles
⭕ The Bike Station — Board Members and Shop Floor volunteers for their Causewayside branch [x] »
💚 Cargo Bike Movement — Freelance Communication and Marketing Lead »
🛠️ SW20 & Edinburgh Tool Library — Project Volunteers:
✴️ The Wee Spoke Hub — Administration Volunteer:
ℹ️ Also: office / studio space to sublet;
🛠️ With over 500 responses, halfway there! 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.”
Ongoing: 🚌 Marshal for School Bike Buses | 🙋 Help with school programme ‘I Bike’ | 🗨️Join Spokes’ Planning or Resources group | 🤝 Support SW20 via Co-op shopping | 🆘 Donate money or bikes to Bikes for Refugees | 📦⚡️ Hire a community Cargobike / E-bike from SW20, Porty Community Energy or Banzai | ♻️ Donate old bikes to The Bike Station or ‘Brake the Cycle’.
🌈 Infrastructure Progress & Consultations
🚢 Leith Connections: Foot of the Walk to Dock St Commences Construction, Schedule Shared
🦶Foot of the Walk to ‘Ocean Terminal’ (actually Commercial St)
⚓️ 'Foot of the Walk to Ocean Terminal' - construction is now underway on the Great Junction St cycleway, with work on Henderson St commencing at the start of December, for around ten months - a 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.
This Leith Connections works leaflet [PDF] outlines the rough timeline for construction of the route.
Confusingly, the project 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 third phase of Leith Connections (below);
⚓ Leith Connections Phase 3 - Hawthornvale to Seafield
This consultation has recently closed (17th November).
View the:
Consultation Hub Page (link at the bottom to fill out the survey before the deadline);
Detailed Design drawings (PDF) »
🌳 Greenbank to Meadows Quiet Route
Some recent movement on the Greenbank to Meadows Quiet Route, in an update from Blackford Safe Routes:
New Traffic Regulation Orders representing the Greenbank to Meadows Quiet Route, as currently implemented, are to be drawn up within the next couple of weeks.
This is a technicality – there is no need to comment on them, and comments will not be counted by the council.
Following on, in January 2025*, another traffic order will be drawn up to include the changes that were discussed (removal of the traffic filters in the Braid estate and implementation of a segregated cycle lane) during the March Transport & Environment Committee (TEC) meeting. Comments to the council on the changes will be invited. We will be back in touch with you then.
*January 2025 will be the (almost) 4 year anniversary of the traffic filters being installed outside the school. That’s 4 years of a simple, low-cost traffic intervention helping to keep children safe and the neighbourhood more pleasant! 4 years of successful community campaigning to support the council to meet its own policies, objectives and manifestos. Policies that the majority of residents support. Thank you for continuing to show that people do have agency and can make a difference!
📋 Travelling Safely Schemes (Various)
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; also by emailing TRO.Consultations@edinburgh.gov.uk quoting the relevant scheme.
🌊 Musselburgh Active Toun Consultation
Updated plans over on Musselburgh Active Toun with further consultation ongoing: these may be of particular interest to Edinburgh residents as they cover the East Lothian section of Edinburgh Road that would eventually facilitate the long-held ambition of a tie-in to Joppa and Portobello prom, as well as the rest of the North Edinburgh network.
Comments on the consultation can be emailed to musselburgh.uki@aecom.com
⚒️ 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.
Thanks for reading - ride safe 🚲
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