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A8 Pop Up Route – From Roseburn To Corstorphine

In its Creating Safe Spaces for Walking and Cycling paper from the Transport and Environment Committee meeting on 14 May streets were listed for repurposing. This included Wester Coates Road to Magdala Crescent (they must have meant Wester Coates Terrace – the link to the NEPN) – anyway along the A8.

A pop up route to Corstorphine along the A8 has also been proposed.   Here is our response to the proposal:

Having gathered the views of our members, it is perhaps not a surprise that we support the proposal for a pop up cycle route on the A8 out to Corstorphine, and I will set out why.

The local shared use paths are currently full of people doing their daily exercise and there is simply not space for more people cycling on these routes. Below is a tweet regarding the Pinkhill Railway which runs parallel to the A8.

https://twitter.com/PidginPosti…/status/1256563048304828416…

Councillors have also raised concerns from elderly residents saying they are scared to used shared paths because how busy they are.

https://twitter.com/jomowat/status/1261401836549926912?s=19

And given we have both UK & Scottish Governments calling for more people to cycle to leave the very limited space on buses/trams with physical distancing (only 10% of previous capacity has been quoted for London) for those who have no other option (only 60% of Edinburgh households have access to a car), we need to create space for those choosing to cycle and not on the shared paths.

The A8 offers a direct route and could easily be converted with a pop-up cycle lane. This would give a clear message for those starting out cycling to use it. These are exactly the type of people who would otherwise be put off by sharing the road with motor vehicles and therefore heading to the shared paths.

You'll recall that in last year's BikeLife survey 74% of residents supported building more protected on-road cycle tracks, even when this would mean less room for other road traffic, so there was already a lot of support for this kind of intervention. https://www.sustrans.org.uk/…/…/bikelife19_edinburgh_web.pdf

It should be noted that the data for Covid-19 shows a link between hospitalisation rates and obesity, so getting the population healthier through exercise is important in short term as well as longer term benefits.

(This is behind a paywall but you can get the gist)
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/…/boris-johnson-to-launch-war-on…

And finally, whilst traffic levels are low we have the opportunity to put in a temporary cycle lane to see how many journeys previously done by car can be changed to other less polluting methods. We all want the economy to recover, but having seen massive reductions in air pollution in recent weeks, do we really want to rush back to car dominated streets without at least trying to build back better?

And to answer a couple of specific comments from my fellow community Councillors.

1. Pavements could also be widened in Roseburn Terrace, by way of a row of cones with a cycle lane outside.

2.. Given the public health & economic crisis we are currently facing, I don't think that aesthetics should hold much sway in our decision making. As I understand the regulations, these interventions would only be allowed to remain for 18 months before being removed, which should give some comfort.

3. We all want a thriving public transport system, but unfortunately confidence has taken a huge blow given the capacity issues I mention above. I don't see travel times as the critical feature of bus confidence just now, so the impact of sharing a traffic lane with cars to make space for a cycle lane is a sacrifice we think is worth making for now.

We strongly support pop-up cycle lanes on the A8 and urge MCC to do so as well.

15% peak time vehicles are bikes!

May Traffic Count - Roseburn Park & the A8

Our survey showed:

  1. 23% of private vehicles were bikes.  All of these and more are likely to use the CCWEL once it is completed.
  2. 82% of cars were single-occupancy.  Any measures to improve public transport and active travel will reduce congestion and pollution.
  3. 87% of vehicles in the park at the Ice Rink junction were bikes.  We need to give priority to the bikes and pedestrians.

We were counting traffic in both directions on Tuesday 14th May in Roseburn Park (on Quiet Routes 8 and 9) and along the A8, just by the junction with Riversdale Crescent.  Two thirds of the people on bikes chose the safer, but longer, route through Roseburn Park. We did not count pedestrians, but there were lots of people walking and scooting too!

Vehicle Type Total Vehicles (A8 & Roseburn Park)
Bicycles 15%
Cars & motorcycles (single occupancy) 42%
Cars & motorcycles (with passenger) 9%
Commercial (buses, vans, taxis) 34%

City Centre Transformation Project - Consultation open until 28th June

The City Centre Transformation project aims to transform the way that we all use and get about in the city centre. There are grand plans to allocate much more space to walking and cycling, to improve public transport links and to make the most of our green spaces. The council consultation on these plans runs until 28th June.

You can find out more on the council web-page, from Spokes or by joining the Spokes meeting on Friday 14th June.

TRO - Haymarket to Charlotte Square

The Council has published the draft Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) and Redetermination Order (RSO) for the Haymarket to Charlotte Square section of the CCWEL route. Let us know what you think.

Rejuvenating Roseburn - Consultation Open Until 7th May

The proposals for 'Rejuvenating Roseburn'
'Just Eat' bikes on Murrayfield Avenue

The design proposals for Rejuvenating Roseburn have now been published and the Council is asking for input from the community. This public realm improvement project is included within the CCWEL cycle route scheme as one of many measures for the benefit of the wider community. It's a welcome step to enhance Roseburn, making it a little greener, less car dominated and creating a space for people. It's exactly the kind of measures called for by Murrayfield Community Council in their 2014 Roseburn Action Plan.

Please do take part in the consultation as it is important that the Council hears the voices of those that support these specific proposals or have constructive suggestions to make. Please take a look at the plans and complete the survey here. There are full visualisations in the document 'Roseburn Questionnaire' at the bottom of the page. You can see how we responded here. For more detail about where the cycle path goes, see these annotated drawings.

On Tuesday 30th April, the Council team will be on site at the bridge from 13:00 to 18:00 to answer any questions.

Roadworks on Roseburn Terrace

From 20th May there will be roadworks in Roseburn Terrace near the junction with Murrayfield Place for around 13 weeks.  There will be lane closures, side-road access closures and parking restrictions.  All-in-all it seems like the perfect opportunity to leave the car at home and cycle or walk.

New Cycle Hire Stations

The "Just Eat Cycles" are becoming very popular around town.  There are now 5 stations in Roseburn, and many other nearby.  Prices start at £1.50 for an hour, and you can return the bike to any other station.

AGM on Monday 25th March

New crossing at Roseburn Street
New crossing at Roseburn Street

Don't forget that it is our AGM on Monday! It will be held 7:30 to 9:00 pm at Murrayfield Parish Church Hall in the Dove Lounge (accessed via rear doors). The address is 2B Ormidale Terrace, Edinburgh EH12 6EQ. There will be an opportunity to hear about progress on CCWEL and to give us your ideas and feedback.

You need to be a member to attend, but it is easy to join if you have not done so already. You can join on the night if necessary, but please come early.

Full details and the agenda here.

Privacy Policy

Also, please don't forget to log in to confirm your acceptance of our Privacy Policy.  It only takes a moment. You will see an acceptance clause as part of the login process. Don't worry if you have forgotten your password because there is the familiar "Request new password" button to get a new one.

AGM 25th March, new Privacy Policy and latest CCWEL news

An ordinary day at Roseburn Primary:-)

Privacy Policy

We have published our Privacy Policy and request all of our members to simply log in to confirm your acceptance of this. You will see an acceptance clause as part of the login process. Don't worry if you have forgotten your password because there is the familiar "Request new password" button to get a new one.

AGM 25th March

Our AGM will be held on Monday 25th March, 7:30 to 9:00 pm at Murrayfield Parish Church Hall in the Dove Lounge (accessed via rear doors). The address is 2B Ormidale Terrace, Edinburgh EH12 6EQ. There will be an opportunity to hear about progress on CCWEL and to give us your ideas and feedback.

You need to be a member to attend, but it is easy to join if you have not done so already! You can join on the night if necessary, but please come early.

Nominations for new committee members and officers are welcome. Please contact us in advance of the meeting.

The agenda is

  1. Apologies for absence
  2. Chair’s report - including
    1. Latest news on the CCWEL project
    2. Overview of TRO hearing process (scheduled summer 19)
  3. Secretary’s report
  4. Proposed constitution change (see draft document - clause "and agree to the Privacy Policy" added to clause 4b).
  5. Election of Chair, Secretary & committee members
  6. Any other business

We hope to see you there!

Latest News

Things have been a little quiet with the CCWEL since the Edinburgh Council Transport and Environment Committee voted to keep moving forward with the project in June 2018, but progress continues with the designs and public consultations. There is a target date of 26th April for the Public Hearing about the Roseburn to Haymarket section and the four week Statutory Consultation for the Haymarket to Randolph Place section is due to start in early March and run for four weeks. If you are not already signed up for the Council's updates, you can get them here.

Local businesses are still campaigning about the loss of parking, yet nearby short-stay parking will increase from 12 to 49 spaces, with all but two spaces increasing from 30 minutes to two hours. We welcome the decision by Edinburgh Council to support the businesses during construction.

We've published an article on our website reminding people that there is still widespread support for the cycle route and its wider benefits and that local traders will have opportunities from new passing trade as well as a four-fold increase in nearby short stay parking.

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