Cyclists to get dedicated lanes on Edinburgh tram extension

The latest plans for the extension of Edinburgh’s tram network include dedicated cycle lanes. The city council has previously been criticised for ignoring warnings that space should be made for cyclists.

In June, Zhi Min Soh was killed after coming off her bicycle on tram tracks before being hit by a minibus and it was said that Edinburgh tram bosses had “largely ignored” a report warning that cycle lanes should be installed along the length of the network.

Hundreds of cyclists have been injured and many are taking legal action with two lead cases to be heard in May 2019. The council contests liability, arguing that the tram lines “… were clearly visible and did not present a significant risk of an accident to any careful cyclist exercising reasonable care.”

Herald Scotland now reports that cyclists would get dedicated lanes for the planned £165.2 million extension under which trams will run from York Place/Picardy Place to Newhaven by 2022.

The business case for the extension will be considered in September with a final decision on whether to extend to be taken in 2018.

Chas Booth, Edinburgh Greens' transport spokesman, said that a cycle lane would have to be a "high quality, segregated" pathway.

He said: "The case has been made for the extension of the tram to Newhaven but a lot of the detail still needs to be sorted out, in particular, how we learn lessons of the previous scheme and from a cyclist's perspective that means they have to have the design right.

"There are lots of good council officers working on the proposals but I will be keeping a very close eye on the proposals as they are brought forward."