http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Who turned the rail-tracks into cycle-paths ? en Tue, 19 May 2026 11:00:07 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=3#post-327714 Wed, 15 Apr 2020 14:35:55 +0000 wingpig 327714@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Lovely. So much gas back in those days. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=3#post-327691 Wed, 15 Apr 2020 07:28:47 +0000 gembo 327691@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Great shots. Always like to see how the trains just barreled through granton squar. The odd Austin Maxi, no other cars </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=3#post-327689 Wed, 15 Apr 2020 00:19:13 +0000 chdot 327689@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Some ‘before’ photos -</p> <p><a href="https://flickr.com/photos/117983829@N03/sets/72157643950735923" rel="nofollow">https://flickr.com/photos/117983829@N03/sets/72157643950735923</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=3#post-319846 Sat, 21 Dec 2019 17:45:50 +0000 Rosie 319846@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@LivM Did this today. The noticeboard has a history of the railways. Also these two paragraphs:-</p> <p>Developing the cycling infrastructure</p> <p>In 1981 the Lothian Regional Council bought the North Edinburgh disused railway from British Rail. This helped to create a fantastic leisure facility connecting the area with a safe, traffic-free route into the city centre and to Leith. The cycling campaign group Spokes, that only formed years earlier, had been mounting pressure on the council to include cycling in the transport policies.</p> <p>With the support of Spokes, cycling and walking became more prominent on the council’s agenda and the city saw developments in the cycling infrastructure. So much so that in 1983, after a two year lobbying effort, Sustrans was appointed to investigate further cycle routes. Today Sustran, Spokes, City of Edinburgh Council and other local campaign groups continue to work to improve access to active forms of travelling.</p> <p>I've posted pictures on Spokes FB.</p> <p>@steveo - only a little painted graffiti </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=3#post-317783 Thu, 14 Nov 2019 10:46:39 +0000 steveo 317783@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Wouldn't wait too long to read them, can't imagine they'll survive the weekend. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=3#post-317780 Thu, 14 Nov 2019 10:29:46 +0000 LivM 317780@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Thread drift - steering it back on track (!) slightly :)</p> <p>There are some new info boards around Drylaw / Red Bridge on the NEPN - I've not had time to stop and read them yet but the one by the Red Bridge is about railway lines. When I'm not running late for work I'll stop and take a photo of the boards. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=3#post-317769 Thu, 14 Nov 2019 09:09:38 +0000 sallyhinch 317769@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I complimented a dog owner on their highly visible dog lead the other day and then wondered if dog owners get annoyed about cyclists who don't look out properly for non hi-vis dogs ... It was nice to be able to clock in seconds that the dog was connected to the owner though! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=3#post-317723 Wed, 13 Nov 2019 15:36:28 +0000 Arellcat 317723@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>This. Entirely this.</p> <p>Edit: I have visual(s). I spent a bit of time this afternoon tidying them and adding local info, then lost heart and decided to update my own posters. Sadly I was underwhelmed by some of the other supplied material as well. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=3#post-317722 Wed, 13 Nov 2019 15:13:32 +0000 Greenroofer 317722@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@Arellcat - my interactions are with a graduate travel planner called Sam... He (and I'm sure it's a 'he') is also acutely aware of my concerns about bias.</p> <p>An approach that came to mind while coming upon yet another totally invisible person on foot on the towpath last week was that it's about <em>courtesy</em>. You don't need to wear reflectives when you're 'prey' on foot or on bike, but if you choose to, it makes easier the job of the person who is 'predator' in the relationship. So it's thoughtful. However it doesn't absolve them of <em>any</em> responsibility for looking out for you.</p> <p>I am grateful to the people on foot on the towpath who wear reflectives, as it make it easier for me. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=3#post-317719 Wed, 13 Nov 2019 14:42:13 +0000 Arellcat 317719@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>the bike is shown only as a silhouette with no lights on it, and no reflectors that light up as the car lights hit it</em></p> <p>The Be Bright Be Seen people I'm working with are aware of my concerns about unconscious (or conscious, or confirmation) bias, but I've yet to see the visuals. I expect they may be not unlike Greenroofer's, if we are working with the same consultancy.</p> <p>Last year I designed my own posters that featured only bikes and pedestrians. It's tricky to 'encourage' people to go beyond the legal requirements, while also explaining the legal requirements. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=3#post-317715 Wed, 13 Nov 2019 14:25:39 +0000 ARobComp 317715@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@Greenroofer - that particular gif from the council is already generating exactly the sort of response you'd expect from the usual corners of the internet. It get that it puts the onus on the vehile driver that no matter that a bike may not have lights, you still need to be looking out for them and others, however it does with the gif just make a problem. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=3#post-317713 Wed, 13 Nov 2019 14:13:46 +0000 Greenroofer 317713@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>P.S. When I say 'reflectors' on the bike, I'm talking about the legally-mandated rear red reflector and amber pedal reflectors. I don't have an opinion about the reflectives on the person on the bike (well, I do, but it's not relevant to my complaint here!) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=3#post-317712 Wed, 13 Nov 2019 14:12:07 +0000 Greenroofer 317712@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>My discussions with the Be Bright Be Seen people continue. Like I said earlier in the thread, I'm keen to get free stuff for BUG members at my work and to encourage them to ride a bike through the winter, but I'm having to work harder than I think I should have to to temper the victim blaming tone of the messaging. The latest I've sent back for rework is an animated GIF that shows a car passing a bike in the dark. The car headlights are clearly shown as on and lighting up the road, but the bike is shown only as a silhouette with no lights on it, and no reflectors that light up as the car lights hit it.</p> <p>Can anyone see where this might go wrong if I post it on our internal car-friendly social media platform? Why do I have to point this out to the expensive (presumably) consultants that council is using for this project? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=3#post-317496 Sun, 10 Nov 2019 17:39:54 +0000 gembo 317496@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Currie library has an exhibition next week of photographs of the WoL Path before it was a cycle path (shared with others), i.e. The Balerno Branch Line</p> <p>Colinton library also will have a model of the railway as it was in Colinton. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=3#post-316450 Fri, 25 Oct 2019 22:18:12 +0000 chdot 316450@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>WELL</p> <p>(Not sure if this is actually true)</p> <p>“</p> <p>Most schemes of this nature are part funded by the Scottish Government Agency ‘Sustrans’.<br /> “</p> <p><a href="https://www.snapsurveys.com/wh/siam/surveylanding/interviewer.asp" rel="nofollow">https://www.snapsurveys.com/wh/siam/surveylanding/interviewer.asp</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=3#post-316417 Fri, 25 Oct 2019 17:51:29 +0000 Arellcat 316417@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Various possible reasons. My hypothesis is that the railway always owned the branch from Silverknowes Road to Barnton but disposed of it in stages, and LRC was unable (or unwilling) to develop the remaining section.</p> <p>Barnton Station, immediately north of the Barnton Park Hotel, was the first to close in the 1950s I think, and when that happened the wayleave west of Cramond Road South became redundant. The western half became the houses on the north side of Barnton Park View which was then just starting to be built. Later on, the eastern part became nos.1 to 11 Barnton Avenue when the Barntongate Nursery was sold for housing; and the middle section became the driveway to the Royal High School.</p> <p>But the railway from Silverknowes Road to Cramond Road South wasn't all lifted; it was singled because the goods station was still in use. The goods station closed in the 1970s and the Safeway was built there (now, Tesco Metro). I have a vague feeling that it was part of the planning application that the supermarket carpark would not provide official continuation of the cycle path. In the mid-90s that path was still just a muddy track. But by then the alternative route – what we all know as route 1/76 – was already established.</p> <p>It is also possible that LRC chose not to develop the supermarket section because the exit onto Cramond Road South was too close to the main junction, and Cars Must Not Be Held Up By Pesky Cyclists Who Just Put Themselves In Danger Anyway.</p> <p>That stupid chicane gate onto Cramond Road South is therefore a constant reminder of what could have been. Heck, what could have been was a dead straight cycle path that went all the way to Whitehouse Road. Heck, what <em>could have been</em> was a railway, or tram, that served the northwestern part of Edinburgh. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=3#post-316413 Fri, 25 Oct 2019 15:51:23 +0000 acsimpson 316413@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Does anyone know why the spur from Silverknowes out to Barnton wasn't included in the purchase of the Norther Railways? Or perhaps it was and the council chose to dispose of it. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=3#post-316372 Fri, 25 Oct 2019 09:43:01 +0000 the canuck 316372@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I recently saw a person pootling around town who had put their bike lights on a little early, and i was thinking, ah! forward thinking! good!</p> <p>only to realise after a second that they'd put both red and white lights on the front of their bike. I've seen this from time to time, and don't get it. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=2#post-316369 Fri, 25 Oct 2019 08:35:48 +0000 wingpig 316369@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I have walkable MTB-type cleats and shoes rather than clippity-clop road hooves but I imagine a strip of amber retro-reflective tape around the heel would work on other shoes too. I am not irked by pedal-reflectives as they were common when I was small and say "bike" quite clearly.</p> <p>I moved here in 1994 but only discovered the Innocent in 1998ish and the NEPN in 2000, when I went from Roseburn to Newhaven then back up to Craigleith, which I had somehow missed on the way down, then on to the FRB. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=2#post-316351 Thu, 24 Oct 2019 19:31:08 +0000 Greenroofer 316351@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@Arellcat - I have already been asked to promote the BBBS thing at work. I'm always up for getting free stuff for BUG members (this year they are including lights), so will gladly take that off the council's hands. This (hijacked) thread has prompted me to think about how we can communicate the wider 'look out for bikes' message to colleagues too. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=2#post-316350 Thu, 24 Oct 2019 19:16:21 +0000 Arellcat 316350@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>However, dredging this up has inspired me to google and I found these...</em></p> <p>On my EB I have the Shimano XT PD-T780 trekking pedals. Single-sided with reflectors, not quite up to usual XT quality. The current <a href="https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/pedals-cleats/shimano-deore-xt-pdt8000-single-sided-spd-clipless-pedals/">PD-T8000 pedals</a> are silly money, but have grippy spikes instead of the vague ridges that mine have. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=2#post-316343 Thu, 24 Oct 2019 18:42:17 +0000 CycleAlex 316343@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“You ran down 3 cyclists! That’s dangerous driving.”</p> <p>I was on my phone!</p> <p>“Oh. Careless driving then, £50 fine.” </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=2#post-316340 Thu, 24 Oct 2019 18:35:08 +0000 crowriver 316340@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"someone driving into me and then getting off by saying"...</p> <p>...cyclist wasn't:</p> <p>- wearing a helmet<br /> - using the cycle path<br /> - riding in the gutter<br /> - wearing mahoosive day-glo reflective jacket<br /> - where I expected them to be<br /> - allowing me to overtake<br /> - supposed to be on my road in the dark<br /> - a motorist<br /> - a car/lorry/bus<br /> - my fuel gauge/speedo/satnav/mobile phone/tablet/laptop/bowl of cereal/newspaper/detective novel<br /> - sufficiently respectful of my obvious superiority</p> <p>They're going to get off anyway, most likely, whatever they say. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=2#post-316338 Thu, 24 Oct 2019 18:10:49 +0000 MediumDave 316338@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Shimano PD-M545 and (I think) M646 had options to fit a wrap-around cage with reflectors in. I even had them for a while until <a href="http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=14832">this happened</a></p> <p>Never did manage to get any suitable replacements (I just *cannot* get on with single-sided SPD) so I'm pedal reflectorless at the moment. </p> <p>However, dredging this up has inspired me to google and I found <a href="https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/pedals-cleats/shimano-xtr-pdm9020-smpd60-reflector-unit-y40z98010/">these...</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=2#post-316336 Thu, 24 Oct 2019 18:02:45 +0000 Rob 316336@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I read somewhere that road shoes have reflective bits on them to make up for the invisible nature of road pedals. The reflective bits on my shoes aren't amber so that might be nonsense. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=2#post-316335 Thu, 24 Oct 2019 17:53:15 +0000 Frenchy 316335@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>But then no roadie has ever ever had them on their clippy-ins have they?</em></p> <p>I spent a while, unsuccessfully, trying to find clipless pedals with reflectors, as I am paranoid about someone driving into me and then getting off by saying "Yes, I realise he had two front lights, two rear lights, a front reflector, a rear reflector, reflectors in his spokes and several items of reflective clothing but <em>I'd've seen him if he had pedal reflectors</em>." </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=2#post-316334 Thu, 24 Oct 2019 17:27:55 +0000 I were right about that saddle 316334@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>On the matter of reflectors I am a bad bad boy. But then no roadie has ever ever had them on their clippy-ins have they? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=2#post-316333 Thu, 24 Oct 2019 17:26:16 +0000 crowriver 316333@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Relevant rule in Highway Code merely states this:</p> <p>---</p> <p>Rule 60</p> <p>At night your cycle MUST have white front and red rear lights lit. It MUST also be fitted with a red rear reflector (and amber pedal reflectors, if manufactured after 1/10/85). </p> <p>---</p> <p>Everything else is "should" i.e. optional. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=2#post-316332 Thu, 24 Oct 2019 16:58:19 +0000 Arellcat 316332@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>This bunch can get in the sea too.</em></p> <p>I realise this is not a railway question, or even a question at all, but Be Bright Be Seen makes me all uneasy. I am very minded to ask Streets Ahead exactly why cyclists riding outwith hours of daylight should be <strike>required</strike> <strike>exhorted</strike> strongly encouraged to wear magical clothing that is not required by law.</p> <p><strong>For drivers:</strong><br /> <ul><li>When turning right into, or turning right out of junctions, look closely for approaching cyclists</li><li>Before turning right, always wait until there is a clearly visible safe gap between you and approaching traffic.</li></ul></p> <p><strong>For cyclists:</strong><br /> <ul><li>Use front and rear lights at dusk, night and dawn. If you don't use lights at night, you could receive a £30 fine.</li><li><strike>Stand out. Wear reflective or light-coloured clothing, especially when cycling at night, so that drivers can see you</strike></li><li>All cycles must be fitted with a rear red reflector, and amber pedal reflectors</li></ul></p> <p>I fear I will one day be asked to promote BBBS at work. I also have one of the fluorescent waterproof rucksack covers which, I discovered recently having deployed it as a basket cover on the Elephant Bike, is not in fact waterproof. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19906&page=2#post-316329 Thu, 24 Oct 2019 16:26:00 +0000 crowriver 316329@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"I can't see why they would object to the line's closure"</p> <p>I'm sure they won't - for the right level of compensation. Which I presume is one of several sticking points. </p>