Our Spokes public meeting on the proposed Granton tramline extension was jammed, with the hall at capacity, the gallery opened, and 20 or more latecomers still having to be turned away – over 200 in total! Whilst many issues were raised, the future of the Roseburn walking/cycling path was the top issue raised in discussion, with many in the audience seemingly unconvinced that any form of path would remain if the tram uses the Roseburn route.
Continue reading Granton Tramline: #SpokesMtg Report
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 With virtually all transport and cycling-related policy now a Scottish rather than a UK responsibility we are not asking individual candidates for statements or holding a hustings for the UK General Election. However, as always, we will give any useful information as it becomes available. Please let us know of hustings or other relevant events/ material. Controversy rages over whether the tram should use the Roseburn path or an onroad route via Orchard Brae and Dean Bridge. The four speakers at our June 5th public meeting will present the two cases, then the pros and cons of each option for cycling and walking, and for wider public health. Followed by our always stimulating one-hour QA and panel discussion. Continue reading #SpokesMtg: The Granton TramlineThe biannual Spokes city-centre traffic count, on Tuesday May 14, found bikes forming 16.3% of all 8-9a.m. vehicles – exactly the same % as in our May 2023 count. However, this disguised a 10% decline in bike numbers and a 12% fall in private cars, although bike numbers were marginally up on our November 2023 count (cars, however, were down on November as well as May). In contrast to this relatively static picture for bikes at our four regular on-road locations, the automatic counter at Picardy Place Omni separated bike lane found bike numbers rising a dramatic 60% over the same one-year period from May 2023. Continue reading May Traffic Count : the power of separation .. and connection?Update 11.9.25: 12-month monitoring report shows rises in pedestrian satisfaction, bike numbers (big increase), trader satisfaction (huge increase) and retail spend. Our bluesky post from Transport Cttee. After a 10-year gestation, the City Centre West East Link, Edinburgh’s first substantial main road protected cycleroute, was officially opened on 20 March 2024 by Active Travel Minister Patrick Harvie MSP and Edinburgh Council Transport & Environment Convener Cllr Scott Arthur. There are many lessons, but let’s celebrate: then extend to Gogar, as in the Council’s new Future Streets transport plan! Continue reading CCWEL opens! – and what comes next?Speaking at our public meeting on Edinburgh’s new transport policies, London-based environment and cycling journalist Laura Laker said that Edinburgh now appeared to be on the way to a less car-dominated city and a more coherent approach to transport policy, with public transport, walking and cycling at its heart. On cycling in particular, on this her third look at Edinburgh in 10 years, the city reminded her very much of London a few years ago at the start of its transformation of cycling conditions, which now comprise extensive, heavily-used and still expanding segregated cycling provision. Continue reading Future Streets: Edinburgh is “on the way”On February 1st the Transport Committee approved the ‘Future Streets’ policy, which incorporates the Circulation Plan (deciding which transport modes will have priority on which roads), the Active Travel Action Plan (ATAP), and the City Centre Transformation (to free the City Centre from through motor traffic). Although much detail is still to come, and there will be future consultation on some aspects, transformative basic decisions have now been taken and action can and must begin. Continue reading Public Meeting, 29 Feb: Edinburgh’s ‘Future Streets’ policy, and the place of cyclingThere is much controversy over the Granton-Roseburn section of the proposed tramline from Granton to Bioquarter. In particular, will it be onroad or on the Roseburn path? In both cases, what provision will there be for cycling? What is the Spokes position? Continue reading Roseburn path tramline?Thanks if *you* emailed your councillors, after our campaign – you helped change the day! Continue reading Positive tramline decision!!The February 1st Transport Committee has several massive reports on the future of transport and getting about in Edinburgh, much of which we strongly endorse. There’s a great twitter thread about them here. However they are accompanied by a wholly unexpected proposal to remove cycling from a 2km Roseburn section of the North Edinburgh Network when the tram is extended to Granton – although a walking/wheeling path the same 3m width as the existing will remain. Continue reading !! Proposal to ‘discourage’ (or remove?) cycling from 2km of North Edinburgh Network |
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