You might recall videos online a couple of weeks ago of water pouring down the steps of various closes in the city, and ankle-deep water on South Bridge. Unfortunately, the flash floods resulting from these festival downpours also visited The Bike Station’s Tollcross Hub.
Image: The Bike Station
The Bike Station are a Scottish charity refurbishing, selling and maintaining pre-loved bikes in Edinburgh and Perth; they run community events and classes, teach people how to fix and maintain bikes, and offer amazing libraries of kids bikes and cargo bikes for folks to use or try out.
“We are so proud of our amazing mechanic and branch team for the work that they do year-round, and we are particularly proud of the pace at which they have been able to recover and rebuild from this flood. Extreme weather events are only going to happen more often due to climate change, so we are more determined than ever to carry on our work helping everyone to enjoy a sustainable, and joyful, mode of transport.” — Sasha Taylor, CEO of The Bike Station
They’re running a crowdfunding campaign after having to close up at one of the busiest times of the year - great to support them if you can.
👏 Byelections deliver two more cycling councillors
Image: City of Edinburgh Council
The results of the Southside/Newington (Ward 15) and Portobello/Craigmillar (Ward 17) by-elections have been announced at Waverley Court.
Ruth Elliot (Scottish Labour Party, left) and Lorenzo Martinico (Scottish Greens, right) have been duly elected to serve in the City of Edinburgh Council for Ward 15 and Ward 17 respectively.
While a low turnout, common for byelections — at 27% in Newington/Southside and 23% in Portobello/Craigmillar — both new councillors are strong advocates for cycling, notably Cllr Martinico’s involvement with Shrub Coop and Edinburgh Critical Mass; and Cllr Elliot’s prolific cycle-video-making on Instagram discussing Edinburgh’s off-road routes, getting started and the benefits of active travel.
🗳️ Transport Committee agenda review
The City of Edinburgh Council’s Transport and Environment Committee (or ‘TEC’) meet this Thursday 10th September with a raft of business - including the next step in the north-south tramline. Have a read through our agenda round-up or use one of the links below to skip to that item:
⚙️ This week: The 2026 Spokes AGM will be held in the Studio at the Augustine United Church (below the Sanctuary where they hold public meetings) this Weds 9th September, from 7pm - see the Agenda here. This is open to Spokes Members.
📋 Green Councillors are seeking feedback on BEAR Scotland’s trial changes at the A702 Biggar Rd junction with the city bypass:
"Trial changes at Lothianburn Junction don't seem to have given a second thought to cycle safety.
"Cycling south, you either stay in the left lane and get blocked by a line of cones, or move [to] the right lane (as instructed) for maximum exposure to vehicles switching lanes.
"Fortunately, the good people at the Conservative and Unionist Party have brought a motion on Lothianburn Junction to this week's Transport & Environment Committee, so @chasbooth.bsky.social and I will have an opportunity to amend in requests for consideration of cycle safety.
"We're keen for input from anyone with experience of cycling this route." — Cllr Ross McKenzie on Bluesky
If you have cycled through this junction since the trial changes began and can share your experience, you can use this link to email Cllrs McKenzie and Booth directly, CC'ing edi.bike.
📝 Uncool enough to still be posting such things on Elon’s Hellscape Website™, Network Rail are conducting a survey regarding key Scottish stations:
❓ Do you use Edinburgh Waverley or Glasgow Central stations?
💭 We’d love to hear your thoughts. What are we doing well? Where can we do better? Please fill our the survey on the link below.
As pointed out by John Robson, this survey is a good opportunity to feed back on:
⚡ The nebulous, network-wide ban on parking ebikes within stations - even though the majority of fire risk is about when bikes are charging, and even then is very rare amongst established brands and largely limited to DIY frankenbikes; and that in spite of having an outdoor surface car-park that could provide secure ebike parking accessible from New Street and be in line with these onerous restrictions, Waverley still haven’t provided it;
🅿️ The fact that existing cycle parking is, as John puts it “away from any cycle access routes which should surely be the starting point for any cycle parking location”;
🚶 The ebike ban also extending to Voi hire bikes, which has resulted in more convenient parking zones being relocated to further outside of the station;
🐦 The number of pigeons at Glasgow Central. They’re up to something. I don’t trust them.
📷 Some lovely photos over on Facebook of the inaugural Davidsons Mains Primary School bike bus - great to see!
Image: Davidson’s Mains Primary School PSA
🍾 In 2027 Spokes will be 50 years old! For our 2026 summer competition, we’d like to hear any way in which you have benefitted from Spokes being around – recently, ages ago, or through the years
A wee reminder posted by Spokes this week of their annual competition - with a range of smashing prizes on offer:
⏩ To enter, write and submit a wee piece by this Sunday 13th September - more details here »
📰 Edinburgh social justice making national news this week, with The Workers Observatory and ROOM featuring in The Guardian:
Food delivery riders call on platforms to open up AI ‘black box’ they say has cut pay:Workers who blame algorithms for lowering their earnings are getting help from academics to find out how the system works — The Guardian »
🖼️ Cracking photo gallery by ScoreScotland from their Wester Hailes Walk, Pedal and Thrive project at Westside Plaza summer market over on Facebook this week;
Polwarth and Merchiston Road Safety schemes are developing well and need your input - we’re pleased to share a mega-update on several key road safety initiatives within our Community Council area, focused on the Merchiston Ave / Polwarth Crescent / Yeaman Place corridor.
Their recent blog post covers progress on the changes to the Polwarth Gardens mini-roundabout — now slated for construction “some time in 2027” but are also seeking input on nearby changes:
The junction at Merchiston Avenue / Rochester Terrace will be also redesigned this year, following a successful submission by our Community Council to CEC’s Local Traffic Improvement Programme… The CEC road safety team has now proposed significantly widened pavements at all four corners of the junction, which will create a much shorter crossing radius for pedestrians, and improve sightlines for drivers and pedestrians and cyclists alike. The narrowed junction would also force speed reduction and discourage larger vehicles (especially HGVs) from using this road as a rat run. There will be ground-level planters here as well, and which will be placed to deter illegal parking which also blocks sightlines. CEC wants to hear your views! If you have any views on these proposed improvements, please fill out this short survey.
The same survey also covers proposals for further up the road, at the junction with Colinton Road:
We are delighted to share that CEC is also examining how to make improvements for this heavily used junction (near Starbucks and Tesco), which also happens to be an entry point for the Merchiston Ave / Polwarth Crescent / Yeaman Place rat run. We are in touch with the Road Safety Officer managing the scheme, and will share updates once the project is further along. Tell us what you think! If you have any views on this junction (problems and ideas for improvements), please fill out the survey.
🚸 Can’t recall if we featured before, but a leaflet spotted this week reminded me about Trail Tribe, who run friendly, play-based balance bike courses for children aged 2yrs+ at locations in Colinton, Portobello and Auchendinny;
🍃 LOTHIANS
🌞 Some nice photos in the East Lothian Courier of the recent opening of a new walking and cycling path in Gullane;
🔧 Gorebridge Leisure Centre has gained a CoMoUK mobility hub for the next eight months, thanks to Midlothian’s active travel team and others:
On this pop-up mobility hub you will find:
Seats and space to rest
Bike parking
Bike repair stand
Wildlife-friendly planting
Scan the QR code below for more information about:
Walking, wheeling and cycling in your area
Local public and shared transport
Trying out walking and cycling activities while the hub is in your area
📮 Got a story or link for the next issue of edi.bike? DM or mention @edi.bike on Bluesky, or send it in using our Submissions Form »
🌧️ National
🥷 The Justice Secretary has suggested a licensing scheme for e-bikes and e-scooters amid concerns over anti-social behaviour and crime involving the vehicles.
Neil Gray said more “could and should and must be done” to make it easier for officers to track offenders and detain vehicles.
He said that would include working with the UK Government, which controls vehicle regulations and licences. — The Herald »
Wait until he hears about the licensing scheme that already exists and doesn’t work. This is an enforcement issue.
The Scotsman this week feature a thoughtful piece from Cycling Scotland chief Keith Irving: “Cycling Scotland: Supercharged e-bikes are mopeds in disguise and tackling them is a road safety priority” — The Scotsman »
📉 Incredible air quality visualisations of London ten years ago and today, on Bluesky;
🦓 I often find myself in conversations about the comparative value of side-road zebra crossings and continuous footways. People want to see improvements for pedestrians, a means to get cyclists safely past side roads, and they want to know where to focus their efforts. Does the future lie in developing the use of side road zebra crossings, or is it continuous footways that will more likely change driving behaviour?
ℹ️ Encountered unexpected road issues? Find out how to report them with this guide from Spokes. The team at Edinburgh Travel News are also keen to hear about cycle path alerts and can be contacted on Threads or Facebook.
🦋 On Bluesky? Follow the #EdTravCyc feed - anyone can use the #EdTravCyc hashtag to share route issues they encounter;
📪 Road closure info — many thanks to regular contributor Robbie for collating and preparing these:
🌊 Waterloo Place: Closed westbound from today Monday 7th September for Scottish Water repairs for approximately 11 weeks. Eastbound access will be reduced to 1 lane. Be aware of vehicles overtaking within the narrow and uphill remaining lane. A dismount will be necessary westbound, and it will not be possible to rejoin the road until after North Bridge, as traffic lights will be altered.
🚧 Comiston Road: Uphill segregated cycle lane southbound between Riselaw Pl and Riselaw Cres closed for Scottish Water works from today Monday 7th September until next week Tuesday 15th September.
🚧 Henderson Street: Segregated cycle lanes forming Leith Connections obstructed between Parliament Street and Tolbooth Wynd for Scottish Water works from today Monday 7th September until Tuesday 15th September.
🎪 Kings Stables Road: Closure for Fly Festival from today, Monday 7th September for 10 days. A cycle path is expected to be maintained through this annual closure but was forgotten last year. A dismount may be required.
🏞️ Holyrood Park: Queens Drive closed this Tuesday 8th September and Wednesday 9th September 9am to 4pm between Horse Wynd at Parliament and London Rd. The offroad path along Queens Drive should remain open, however a dismount may be necessary to access it.
🚧 Melville Street: Section of CCWEL segregated cycle lane closed eastbound between Walker St and Stafford St from Wednesday 9th September until Sunday 13th September for Cityfibre installation works.
🏗️ St John Street: Closed at Holyrood Rd for a building inspection this Thursday 10th September and Friday 11th September. A dismount will likely be necessary to access the parallel crossing over High St.
🥾 Kiltwalk: Walking event Sunday 13th Sep all day. Expect Edinburgh’s offroad paths to be busy around Roseburn Path, Ferry Rd Path, Portobello Prom, Holyrood Park and Innocent Railway.
🐎 Riding of the Marches: Various roads closed Sunday 13th September including Old Town 10:30am to 6pm and Holyrood Park 1:30pm to 6pm. Slow cycling in closure generally permitted in Old Town until 2pm. Innocent Railway Path on NCN 1 closed briefly around 3pm. Be aware of large numbers of horse boxes on Queens Drive.
🚧 Allan Park Road: Closed for Scottish Water repairs from Wednesday 16th September for 1 week. If you’re connecting to Union Canal path NCN 75, Allan Park Dr may offer an alternate route.
🏃♂️🏃♀️ Mens and Womens 10k: Old Town and Holyrood Park roads closed morning of Sunday 20th September. Note Johnston Terrace and Candlemaker Row will temporarily be reopened to motor traffic.
🚧 West Coates: Closed between Balbirnie Pl and Wester Coates Rd for Scottish Water works from Tuesday 22nd September for 3 days. Section of CCWEL cycle way closed.
🚧 Rosebery Crescent: Closed at Haymarket Terrace from Monday 28th September for 1 week. Section of CCWEL cycle way closed.
Long Term Closures:
🚧 Newbattle Terrace: Closed west of Canaan Ln for ongoing Scottish Power ducting installation until estimated 10th September. Greenbank to Meadows Queitroute should not be affected but be aware of construction vehicles.
🚧 Grange Road: Toucan crossings at Tantallon Pl and Lauder Rd on Quietroute 6 obstructed for Scottish Power ducting installation until estimated 16th September
🚧 South Lauder Road: Road on Quietroute 6closed at Regulas Rd for Scottish Power works until 12th October 2026. If you’re travelling to Kings Campus, Grange Loan may offer an alternate route to the cycle lanes on Mayfield Rd.
🚧 Dundee Street: Segregated cycle lanes between Viewforth and Gilmore Park obstructed by temporary traffic lights for Scottish Power substation works until November 2026. Access to the Union Canal may require a dismount.
🌉 Water of Leith Path: Kinauld Tan Works Footbridge by Currie closed due to a hole in the bridge deck. A diversion is suggested via Lanark Rd, which may be unsuitable.
🎾 Gyle Park: Path between Glenmuir Rd and Glasgow Rd closed until the end of October 2026 for construction work. If you’re heading to Tesco, the path by David Lloyd gym may offer an alternate route.
🚦 Bankhead Drive: Quietroute 8 along the tramline obstructed at junction with S Gyle Access until end 2026 for construction of West Edinburgh Link.
🏗️ Edinburgh Park Station: Quiet Route 8 cycle path between Hermiston Gait and the Gyle Centreclosed for works in preparation of the Edinburgh Arena development. It’s only possible to go around by carrying your bike up roughly 20 steps or by following the shared use footway on Lochside Ave.
🏗️ Port Hamilton Cyclepath: Shared use path between Union Canal and West End closed until 2027 for building works. A diversion is advised via Gardeners Crescent and Semple Street.
🏗️ Craighall Road: Closed until May 2028 for the Refurbishment of Trinity Academy. Access to the Victoria Path is expected to be maintained. A diversion will be signed along Newhaven Road, however the removal of parking for improved traffic flow may lead to this being a wider and faster road, less suitable for cycles.
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🟰 Edinburgh & Lothians Regional Equality Council’s Edinburgh Cycling Club run weekly group rides and introductory classes;
🔁 Monthly Events
🚲 First Friday of the month: Inclusive social bike rides with A Wee Pedal from Bridgend Farmhouse - every Friday 2-4pm between April and Hallowe’en, 1-3pm on the 1st Friday of each month November to March.
✊ Last Saturday of the month:Edinburgh Critical Mass is a family-friendly mass protest / group ride, leaving at 2pm from Middle Meadow Walk - don’t forget to grab a t-shirt!
Help us make cycling more accessible and connect people with the joy of a bicycle. We have a fantastic team of volunteers who support us in many ways, so please do reach out if you'd like to be part of the team.
🛠️ Fix Your Own Bike volunteers:
Our main requirement for volunteers at the moment are volunteers to help support on our Fix Your Own Bike (FYOB) sessions; notably those able to support the Saturday sessions which run from weekly 1-4pm.
The ideal candidate would be someone with extensive bike maintenance experience and someone who would feel comfortable articulating ideas and advice to members of the public. These sessions are a valuable resource for shared learning, lower cost self repairs and are a great community addition to the Edinburgh cycling landscape. Being volunteer-led, we cannot keep up with demand without the brilliant team that helps to operate the sessions.
If this role is of interest, please contact [email protected] to discuss the role in more detail; it would be wonderful to hear from you.
As a volunteer you not only join a community of like-minded individuals passionate about cycling - you can also access bikes, parts and accessories at a discounted price as well as heavily discounted maintenance courses after 6 months of volunteering.
⛏️ “West Lothian Council has been granted planning permission (application 0034/FUL/26) to construct a cyclepath, including bridge crossing over the A706, from Stoneyburn to connect to core path WL24 Fauldhouse Rail Path.” — more details and plans in this Facebook post »
📋 The Council’s consultation report for Barnton Connections has now been published, and is available to read on the project website;
🎭 With works on the refurbishment of the King’s Theatre concluded, but commencement on the build of this ‘missing link’ cycle route not due until next year, there were concerns that potentially Tarvit Street — part of the new route and closed to motor traffic for around four years during works on the theatre — might be reopened to through-traffic and add to an already busy junction and close again shortly afterwards. Instead, a modal filter will be installed at the junction of Tarvit St and Drumdryan St — which will be made one-way — so motor traffic will only be permitted one-way round a loop of Tarvit westbound, Drumdryan north and then east, returning to Brougham St - with two-way cycling allowed on both arms of the loop. — More details [PDF] »
🏞️ “The prize is a linear pathway from the Pentlands through Fairmilehead, Burdiehouse, Moredun, Gilmerton, Niddrie and Craigmillar and all the way to Joppa where it could meet the Portobello coastal cycleway and link up to the city’s entire waterfront. You could in theory create a triangular route that would include the Water of Leith Walkway. That route would be around 25-30 miles and would include some of the finest urban green space and views in Scotland.” — Pentlands to Porty path could be huge asset for city communities, Evening News / Press Reader »
📝 The good folks at Spokes have spotted a planning application 24/05843/FUL for a “Cycle path link connection and associated works from Gogar Station Road south to land east of 1 Gogar Station Road” - though they also note in their Bluesky post the width of the path being around a meter less than design guidance would instruct…
🅿️ Seven new on-street ‘cycle hangar’ storage units are planned for the locations marked with a green dot on this newly published Traffic Regulation Order - thanks to Spokes for sharing;
🧭 Comments on North Edinburgh Connections - protected cycling and walking improvements for West Granton Road, Pennywell Road, and Ferry Road — closed 9th June;
📨 Closed 10th Feb: consultation period for the Silverknowes Rd ETRO providing protected cycleways (ETRO/21/30C).
🚲 Closed February 9th: Barnton Connections consultation on safe, protected cycle routes through the area;
📝 West Edinburgh Link, including Glasgow Rd, South Gyle, Bankhead, Sighthill, Wester Hailes and Clovenstone. “Around 5km of new segregated and improved cycleways, new crossings, path and pavement improvements”, the first phase underway with an initial focus primarily on links to Quiet Route 8 - Technical plans [PDF]
🤔 The ‘Curriehill Active Travel Link’ reported by Spokes to have been delayed beyond its 2025 due date by ‘biodiversity concerns’.
⚒️ Work has commenced at the former Dalton’s Scrap Yard on Yeaman Place - which includes a ‘Section 75’ requirement for the developer to create a new walking, wheeling and cycling access to the Union canal from the site. A linear connection through the new purpose-built student accommodations slated for the land (surprise!) connect to Dundee St, while a ramped access looks to link to the Yeaman Pl side directly. Planning application documents here »
⛏️ Burnside Path Repairs & Longstone Sinkhole Contractors setting up on site w/c 3/11 for repairs required to the retaining wall/sinkhole. Hope to complete the in-river works by xmas, & reinstatement of sinkhole by end of Feb. Option to extend contract if required. — Longstone Community Council on Bluesky » (including site plan images)
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