Edinburgh cycle lane not gritted for 3 days after snowfall; 2.4m trips on CS3 in 2020; Congestion up after cycle lane ripped out; Matt Stephens quizzes Ineos signings; New name, kit, bike as Mitchelton-Scott becomes Team Bike Exchange + more on live blog

Cyclists ,made 2.4 million trips on London's Cycleway 3 in 2020 according to the cycle counter close to Embankment Underground station - while across the river, the Blackfriars Road cycle counter recorded 1.1 million bike rides on Cycleway 6. 

Click through the tweet for a thread analysing of how riding patterns changed throughout the year.

** #CS3 and #CS6 cycle journey counters in 2020 **

The two counters recorded over 3.5 million journeys during 2020:
> #CS3 #Embankment 2.403 million;
> #CS5 #Blackfriars Road 1.135 million.

Thread picking out some 2020 highlights
1/n pic.twitter.com/kvpgJnQVW2

— London Cycle Route CS3's Crowdsourced Count (@CS3Count) January 1, 2021

A cyclist in Edinburgh has asked the city council why a bike lane on a main road in the Scottish capital was not gritted for three days after a recent snowfall, forcing many to take to the main carriageway instead.

The cycle lane on Comiston Road, which runs from Comiston to Morningside in the south of the city, was put in place last year as part of the council’s Spaces for People programme to encourage active travel during the coronavirus pandemic.

Edinburgh News reports that one local resident, Paul Bailey, wrote to the council’s transport convener Lesley Macinnes to point out that while the main road had been gritted, the cycle lane had not.

“I notice to the council’s credit that some gritting has been done on some pavements on Comiston Road,” he said. “However I also notice that none of the cycle lanes on Comiston Road have been cleared at all. May I ask why the cycle lanes on such a major road are being left untreated - even after three days?

“On Wednesday, to my surprise, I met a cyclist attempting to negotiate the icy surface of the cycle lane. A few seconds later the cyclist left the dangerous cycle lane and moved out into the main carriageway.

“This of course leads to another problem; the overtaking car needs to straddle the central white line to give the cyclist room; further up the road where parking is allowed, the main carriageway is even narrower - 3.25 metres.

“Spaces for People was meant to help cyclists and pedestrians. Clearly the Orcas  are creating a serious problem which needs to be addressed promptly. Waiting until the next review on January 28 is unacceptable when you know about the danger now.”

A spokeswoman for Edinburgh City Council commented: “Our gritting teams work 24/7 to respond to poor conditions on the city’s roads, cycle paths and pavements.

“We operate a priority gritting system, treating priority one routes first, which include principal roads, bus routes and roads and pavements leading to hospitals, fire stations care homes, in order to keep the city moving.”

It's the second time in a month that the council has faced criticism for not gritting the same cycle lane, with one Twitter user saying after a snowfall in early December, "Looks like we may have to clear these ourselves."

Looks like we may have to clear these ourselves. Was it beyond the ken o man to expect the snow not to fall in the cycle lane. The smaller machinery that does the pavement will fit the lane no problem. Not doing it is inexcusable.

— ShakeTheFoundations (@shaken_shake) December 4, 2020

A study of traffic on Kensington High Street has found that congestion worsened after the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea ripped up a temporary cycle lane there last month.

Campaign group Bike Is Best also said that its research shows that the space formerly taken up by the cycle lane is now blocked by illegally parked vehicles up to 80 per cent of the time, reports the Guardian.

More on this story on road.cc later.