http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Repainted bike lanes Gilmerton Rd en Sun, 05 Apr 2026 19:44:08 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-285869 Wed, 27 Jun 2018 15:05:39 +0000 amir 285869@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I thought the white lines indicated where most of the potholes are (and that's saying a lot on Gilmerton Road) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-285868 Wed, 27 Jun 2018 13:40:42 +0000 Roibeard 285868@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I've taught the children that these dashed lines on Gilmerton Road demonstrate the minimum (secondary position) distance their wheels should be from the kerb...</p> <p>Robert </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-285867 Wed, 27 Jun 2018 13:16:35 +0000 Frenchy 285867@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>And yeah, I saw the same reason somewhere (Twitter maybe). </em></p> <p>Quite possibly me there too. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-285866 Wed, 27 Jun 2018 13:14:41 +0000 EdinburghCycleCam 285866@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Oh wonderful.</p> <p>Gilmerton road is where I've had almost all of my close passes because I outright refuse to use the cycle lanes because they're absolutely abysmal.</p> <p>And yeah, I saw the same reason somewhere (Twitter maybe). </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-285865 Wed, 27 Jun 2018 13:07:36 +0000 Frenchy 285865@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I saw a discussion somewhere recently (probably a thread on here, but I can't find it now) about what the point of the cycle lanes on Gilmerton Road is. I'd been told by a council officer that the main reason for them was to narrow the carriageway and slow down drivers. So I tried FOIing the council to see why they were put in in the first place.</p> <p>"The cycle lanes on Gilmerton Road have been in place for many years. We hold no records of the anticipated benefits when these lanes were installed." </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-272956 Thu, 18 Jan 2018 23:24:39 +0000 I were right about that saddle 272956@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@Frenchy</p> <p>It's a miracle. Could become a place of pilgrimage? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-272951 Thu, 18 Jan 2018 22:17:58 +0000 Frenchy 272951@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I'm mostly surprised that section of road wasn't parked on long enough for it to be dug up. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-272950 Thu, 18 Jan 2018 22:16:18 +0000 HankChief 272950@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Thank you. We shouldn't mock too much as they have at least done their job right, just a shame that the original is so faded (and not that great to start with).</p> <p>H </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-272949 Thu, 18 Jan 2018 22:15:39 +0000 glasgow megasnake 272949@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>with the budget hit so hard the council has been forced to pay for and deliver its infrastructure in instalments. You too could get your own bike lane, available with just 500 weekly payments of £5.</p> <p>Special offers are also available on roundabouts (1/16 portions) and lampposts (available in easily assembled 1/4 high segments). </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-272946 Thu, 18 Jan 2018 22:02:12 +0000 Frenchy 272946@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Sure. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-272945 Thu, 18 Jan 2018 21:52:20 +0000 HankChief 272945@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Wow! Mind if I tweet it? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-272944 Thu, 18 Jan 2018 21:41:49 +0000 Frenchy 272944@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://flic.kr/p/23A6fpt"><img src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4658/39767190961_6eafb41bb1.jpg"></a><a href="https://flic.kr/p/23A6fpt">IMG_20180116_141757</a></p> <p>New bike lane on Gilmerton Road! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-215763 Tue, 05 Apr 2016 12:06:49 +0000 jonty 215763@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Yeah, the only real use for painted lanes I've been able to discern is for encouraging cars to leave space for filtering. They work quite well for that if there's nobody parked in them. </p> <p>A painted lane I'd be "happy" with would have chevrons for the first ~0.5m from the kerb, followed by 1.5m-2m of (smooth!) lane and at least another 0.5m buffer from traffic. I think the only place in Edinburgh that even comes close to this is the bottom of Leith Walk, but other design aspects ruin it. </p> <p>By that point, you may as well install hard segregation. But as a cheap minimum standard for when hard seg hasn't been designed yet, it could be okay. Where there's no existing space to upgrade a substandard lane which is still useful for filtering, the lane should be replaced by ~1m wide chevrons, surrounded by a dotted line, clearly indicating that cyclists shouldn't be in there normally but are allowed to filter up it should they wish. </p> <p>One day... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-215762 Tue, 05 Apr 2016 11:50:28 +0000 Stephan Matthiesen 215762@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@Luath There is one situation in Gilmerton Rd when I do find them somewhat useful, and that's when traffic is stationary, as drivers tend to stay out and you can pass them (slowly bumping through the potholes...). On roads without markings, some drive close to the kerb and others close to the central line, blocking the full width.</p> <p>Gilmerton Rd is often jammed all the way back to St John Vianney. Right at Liberton Primary the bike lane is then full of parked cars and and I have to negotiate with impatient/sleepy drivers, but at least most of the bike lane between the schools is usually free as there aren't any houses or shops. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-215761 Tue, 05 Apr 2016 11:41:20 +0000 mgj 215761@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Just back from London where the two things I noticed most were that the road surfaces were dramatically better than in Edinburgh, and the volume of cyclists therefore capable of using road bikes at high speed up the inside of fast moving vehicles, sometimes on cycle lanes and sometimes not. On the one hand it looked terrifying, but the cyclists were able to concentrate on the traffic and not on avoiding potholes, so maybe I'd get used to it. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-215755 Tue, 05 Apr 2016 10:54:54 +0000 Luath 215755@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>The only situation where I can see that dotted cycle lane lines might help cyclists is where they mark a lane about 2 metres wide.<br /> Otherwise they're just a tool for the "in the gutter, scum" brigade to bash cyclists.<br /> Do bodies like spokes have an official position on the use of these markings? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-215742 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 22:31:21 +0000 Stephan Matthiesen 215742@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@amir "I generally ignore the lanes" me too and I think everybody should, but the issue is that now they shine so brightly that drivers don't ignore them any more. Fine if you're fast and assertive but if you're a bit slower you get bullied. And some cyclists may feel compelled to stay in them and not "encroach" onto car space.</p> <p>Does <em>anybody</em> find them helpful?</p> <p>If they are useless and should be ignored, why was money spend on repainting them and not on fixing the road defects or something else useful?</p> <p>@iwrats Ah, in the 1990s it definitely wasn't me... Yes, they do look like drivers' fantasies - perhaps about what cyclists want, but perhaps just to ban them to the gutters out of the way? But the nineties is long ago, what I'm really more angry about is that money and time is spent <em>now</em> and the opportunity not used to improve them. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-215739 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 21:28:10 +0000 amir 215739@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I generally ignore the lanes. They are too narrow especially given the frankly shameful road surface. And going downhill it's pretty difficult anyway. </p> <p>The road needs to look more dangerous for cars as well - those travelling at 30 mph or lower are not infrequently overtaken.</p> <p>A lot (but not all) the surface imperfections are caused by buses, right in the area where cyclists travel. The council should be recognising the issues and routinely checking the places where this occurs - current repairs don't last long. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-215738 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 21:22:02 +0000 crowriver 215738@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"Essentially more space is allocated to be kept empty to <strike>protect</strike> <strong>allow</strong> motorists <strike>from each other</strike> <strong>to drive faster than is safe in a built up area</strong>, than is allocated at the sides to protect cyclists and pedestrians from motorists."</p> <p>FTFY </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-215737 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 20:20:52 +0000 bruce_mcadam 215737@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>The issue I have with Gilmerton road is that for much of its length there is a hatched reservation (and islands) down the middle.</p> <p>Essentially more space is allocated to be kept empty to protect motorists from each other, than is allocated at the sides to protect cyclists and pedestrians from motorists.</p> <p>(I'd like to see mandatory lanes and removal of the hatched area to allow for this.) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-215735 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 19:32:57 +0000 neddie 215735@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Probably CEC <strike>using up </strike> wasting the end of year remaining budget. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-215734 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 19:15:53 +0000 I were right about that saddle 215734@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Stephan,</p> <p>Sorry, I meant originally as in back in the nineties or whenever they first sprouted. Like ASZs, I've always thought they were the automobilists' fantasy of what a bicyclist might want. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-215732 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 18:48:36 +0000 Stephan Matthiesen 215732@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"Does anyone know who asked for these dotted line lanes" I just hope it wasn't me... I have been nagging South Team for ages on Twitter about how bad Gilmerton Rd is for cycling with all the road defects. Perhaps somebody felt the need to "do something"... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-215730 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 18:38:00 +0000 I were right about that saddle 215730@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Stephan,</p> <p>Indeed, I'd have been happy to see these lines fade into obscurity. Corraling cyclists onto the worst tarmac is not helpful. Neither is wasting money that could go into road repairs or segregated facilities.</p> <p>Does anyone know who asked for these dotted line lanes in the first place? It couldn't have been cyclists surely? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-215729 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 18:34:56 +0000 Stephan Matthiesen 215729@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Most parts of Gilmerton Rd with the painted bike lanes are actually enormously wide, often with hatching in centre and traffic islands.</p> <p>At least they could have repainted the lanes much wider, not just refreshed the old narrow lanes. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-215728 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 18:26:59 +0000 Stephan Matthiesen 215728@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Pictures taken on my way home. </p> <p>See the sunken drain, the holes and the puddles near the kerb hiding more craters?</p> <p><img src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CfNvg-IWQAESWqX.jpg"></p> <p>Shiny new paint encourages overtaking at pinch point. You see how the motor lane is just wide enough for a small car - speed there is normally above 30mph,</p> <p><img src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CfNvt4nW4AAOJT4.jpg"> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-215726 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 18:13:11 +0000 MediumDave 215726@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I've not been near those specific lanes recently but agree with the general point: badly designed infrastructure is far worse than useless. Its intrinsic uselessness is the lesser problem; the tendency of self-righteous motorists to enforce their warped interpretation of the Rules is much more of an issue. </p> <p>My submission to the KB/Marchmont consultation made this point heavily. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=16234#post-215725 Mon, 04 Apr 2016 17:16:37 +0000 Stephan Matthiesen 215725@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>About a week ago the bike lanes in Gilmerton Rd were repainted with shiny bright white lines, and I wonder what other people think.</p> <p>My impression is that the repainting makes an already bad situation worse, more unpleasant and dangerous.</p> <p>This goes beyond the general issue that painted lanes are not optimal. The specific problem in Gilmerton Rd is that the road surface is really bad along long stretches and deeply cratered especially in the area of these bike lanes (top layer of the tarmac coming off in patches, sunken drains, long cracks etc). Normally I have to cycle at least <em>on</em> the line, often further out, just to avoid deep road defects that would throw me off. It's not a matter of a few potholes here and there but of long sections just worn down.</p> <p>The problem with the re-paint: Until now, the markings were so faint that they were hardly visible so that they were universally ignored by cyclists and drivers (i.e. most drivers normally didn't seem to notice when I cycled much more centrally).</p> <p>Now they are bright and visible and within a few days I already had drivers signalling me I should be in there, as they don't realise how bad it is. Less assertive cyclists might be tempted to hopple over the craters. The bright visible lines have considerable psychological impact and encourage too close overtaking, as they signal to drivers where "cyclists should be".</p> <p>The lanes may just be ok if the surface was smoother, but apparently there are no plans to resurface Gilmerton Rd (except a bit around Ellen's Glen).</p> <p>I appreciate that the road teams had the best intentions and perhaps had to refresh the paint as the lanes were already there, but in my opinion it was better when they were not visible and I would have preferred to remove them completely if the lanes can't be resurfaced and designed properly. </p>