[TheBillder]

York Place, Edinburgh. This has team tracks and a good bit of segregated bike lane that’s usually quite good for its 150m length, and then it stops at the western end, as it never got finished. There’s actually a permanent sign advising cyclists to wait for a green man before joining the road again, and in the last few weeks, there’s been a roadworks barrier at the eastern end.

So apart from the beginning and the end and that there isn’t much in the middle, it’s terrific. Until this morning: Hotel Indigo delivery van finding it a bit too useful.

There are side roads 50m away, but the delivery man said one of them would mean he had to cross the tram track (pedestrian crossing available), and other parking would mean he had to wheel his load uphill. So I shrugged and walked past on the pavement. Picture to come.

Topic

[chrisonabike]

Know the place. I’ve recently

Know the place. I’ve recently been doing a cycle safari round the various bits of Covid infra in Edinburgh (fake commute now we’re home-officed). It’s remarkable how inventive the hardy motorists are at inserting their vehicles into cycle tracks, bike lanes, pedestrian areas etc. This was the main thing of note – regardless of what type of non-motor-vehicle space. You cannot go more than a couple of hundred metres without needing to avoid a vehicle. That’s averaged over day, night, inner city, outskirts.

A “cycling facility” with cars in it isn’t cycling infra. Actually let’s not forget that most cycling infra is in fact “motor vehicle infra” again because it wouldn’t be needed without the big fast vehicles!

That’s not just “bike lanes” by the way like in Causewayside (always been a mess). The “seaside town” of Portobello where they’d put in “extra pedestrian space” was still car-infested afterwards.

Edinburgh is one of the few cities in I know in the UK that’s passable for cycling (yes, I must get out more). It has a legacy of re-purposed railways which are car-free and network (for some), a long-suffering campaign group, who’ve managed to build relationships with some sympathetic councillors / MSPs, a moderate climate, Sustrans (hmm… work in progress!). However it still seems to take 5 – 10 years (or more) to achieve any significant “route”. Also the council is quite capable of delivering less-that helpful “infra” at the end of that – even after intially agreeing on “good” designs. Maybe it’s just stagnation – “we think you’ve got enough now”?

[TheBillder]

Pic 1
Pic 1

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