CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
Recently mentioned in another thread: RHS & East Fortune
The Zoo didn't used to, until we got on their case. they've never improved their parking though. The only good thing about it is that it's right out front, so everyone can see us gliding easily in, while they hunt for a spot.
A couple of weeks ago I suggested to the Cockburn Association that they should too. No change to their website yet.
Nice idea for a thread - maybe use it to contact the various organisations about the lack of 'arriving by bike' instructions?
I seem to remember struggling to find anything at East Fortune to lock my bike to last time I visited, although that was 2 or 3 years ago. Should have locked it to the Vulcan :)
Does the Bus Station have any racks?
Despite being well-equipped with racks Jupiter Artland doesn't specifically mention approach-by-cycling on the website...
I used to live near Jupiter and think the only approaches are from the main A71, or a very circuitous route round the backroads from Canal and Clifton Road. The road past the house is closed from the Bonnington Farm end and is private access only.
Just sent to National Museums of Scotland:
"Hi there
I’ve got my ticket to come to the Airshow on the 25th July, but I appear to be arriving (together with a few others) by a transport mode that hasn’t been considered. There are no details of routes to arrive at the show by bike, and while we can plan this adequately ourselves (which involves also checking the routes you’re telling people to drive so we can avoid the most congested roads) there is also no information on bike parking. Will we be able to take the bikes into the venue to lock up somewhere securely, or is somewhere being provided for secure parking outside the perimeter fence?
I remember there being a few bike racks outside the ‘reception’ the last time I visited and wondered if these would still be available (noting that there may not be enough spaces for the number of people I would imagine will ride there!). It does seem a slight gap in the transport planning when presumably you don’t want everyone arriving by car (obviously the majority arriving in such a way gives you the higher parking revenue).
Many thanks for any guidance you can provide on how and where bikes will be accommodated.
Regards
WC"
"Dear Anthony,
Many thanks for your email, which I have passed onto the events administrator for Airshow for assistance.
Best regards,"
@kaputnik the farm road which turns off thewilkieston to new bridge road, just after wilkieston is a private road and access is denied but actually I have been along it on bicycle and it is not a big deal. Cars definitely not allowed. Canal to Ratho then back road would require a map if unfamiliar with the routes for sure.
Got a row the last time I went for not dismounting soon enough, was looking for the old racks that used to be ne'er the cafe.
Cheaper to take out a year membership for the family than to buy single tix. This also gets you in to a winter event after the place shuts in the autumn. But the year we were members it was a washout on the night of the winter event so we did not go in the end. Easy cycle from Balerno.
Pretty good (and very quick) response from NMS *applause*:
"Dear Mr Robson
Thank you very much for your email. I admit we have not included information about travelling to the site via bicycle on the day of the Airshow and this is clearly an omission on our part for which I apologise. In reality we only have half a dozen or so cyclists each year for the Airshow, but this is no reason not to include the information, in fact such information might encourage others to cycle to the museum, which we firmly support.
On the day you will enter the Museum on the same route as all traffic, via the ticket desks at the runway entrances just off the B1347 (Just North of the Normal Museum entrance – if you travel toward the Merryhatton Garden Centre from Haddington). There will be lots of signposting on the day for you to follow. Once you present your tickets you can bring your bicycle onto the main museum site and lock it to the bike racks you noted next to our shop.
If you tell me where you are travelling from I will endeavour to provide you with an appropriate cycle route.
Incidentally, with reference to your penultimate comment, we pay a fairly substantial sum of money to hire the runway next to the museum for car parking and generally try our best to cover our costs. In reality, however, we do not make any money on car parking.
I hope this is helpful and apologise once again for the omission.
I look forward to hearing from you so we can try to plan a route for you."
And another note to my response to that email saying that there would be bike information going onto the website. Good work NMS (and hopefully I didn't come across as too much of a whingeing cyclist!).
a very good letter indeed! well done.
Who's next?
Don't know if this is the 'precise' place.
http://eastlothian.cyclestreets.net/journey/to/56.005863,-2.714392/Museum+of+Flight
But you/they could fix it.
In reality we only have half a dozen or so cyclists each year for the Airshow
PROVE THEM WRONG PEOPLE!
It's a bit of a Catch 22 - "we don't provide for / encourage cyclists as they never come anyway" - yet they wonder why they don't come!
Murrayfield Stadium (if you like wheelbenders):
http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=9426#post-99239
I can also think of the NEC as an example of bikes not existing:
http://www.thenec.co.uk/travel
I did e-mail them before and never did a response. The bike racks when I last visited were wheelbenders in a remote car park, and were full of motorbikes.
Rather disappontingly the Airshow site still doesn't have any bike info on it.
Not to do with info re access, but thread reminded me..
I was at Decathlon on Sunday, and there is plenty bike parking provided, none of it used, but... two bikes were chained to the wire fence outside of Tesco?
Don't know why, but this slightly (ok, really) annoyed me , in a if I saw someone parking in a disabled bay without a badge type of way. THe cycle parking was less that 10 meters away! Did they really have to save themselves the 8 or 10 seconds it would have taken them to walk from the covered parking?
That's weird. I'd always choose covered proper parking over the fence personally!
Anyone have any experience of taking a bike there?
There's bike parking on chambers street, if that's what you're asking. But I think the formal racks are at either end of the street, rather than in the middle.
Bike parking is by the statue in front of the NMS. I had a few days of parking up there while on jury service and it couldn't have been easier. Don't know if they give any instructions on their website though.
@Baldcyclist: I'm wary of using the covered bike parking at Decathlon as some people seem to treat it as a trolley park and I don't want my bike bashed!
Thanks SRD and PS. No, they don't give any info on their website, I think I'll drop them a note.
Was hoping that they'd have some 'internal' bike parking, but Chamber St will do.
@cb - if you're there on jury duty, don't forget to claim your cycle mileage...
The Sainsbury near Ikea is enormous, hundreds of car spaces, not a single bike space. Is that even legal? I emailed them and was told it was up to manager discretion. I was surprised and wondered if the same goes for other planning matters such as disabled bays, road widths, trolley rack quantities, car park spaces. You'd think they'd have a design plan they roll out to all stores. Then I recalled how I always have to lock to a tree at meadowbank Sainsbury.
On the upside, they once sold me a great cycle jacket for half price and at the Ikea Sainsbury (unlike Meadowbank) there's a trolley bumper rail to lock to right outside the shop.
Mr Srd and I have been composing a blogpost about how the Craigleith sainsbury's has great bike racks, is located just off the NEPN, and it still nearly impossible to safely get to or away from by bike. classic case of 'box ticking' without actually thinking about how bikes would actually get there.
@stickman/baldycylist
Never spotted the covered parking at decathlon - at hermiston gait? Decathlon are happy to let you bring your bike in. They label it up now, they never used to. nice.
I would save my ire for decthlon policy of wanting you to use self checkout so only ever having one member of staff on the till. Causes mental traffic jams at lunch time or other busy periods.
@gkgk Meadowsainsburybank had a rack (slightly useless and only space for six) fitted a year or so ago to complement the trolley bumpers.
Thanks wingpig, glad to hear it. I actually like the rail at the Ikea Saisnbury but not the sense of marginalisation. If they had little "You're welcome to lock the bike here" signs, it'd be perfect. A covered bike rack 200m away would be a poor third behind the current situation.
SRD - I have the opposite view of Craigleith. The bike rack is away round the corner, out of sight. Once you lok up you have to walk 20m, past lots of other better locking points.
I suppose the safe route thing depends where you are going but for stockbridge, Leith etc, Craigleith Hill Ave is terrific for the journey to Craigleith, and returning, you have downhill advantage on the main road down into S.Bridge, and there's the cycle path option, wheeching you toward Leith.
I don't mind the sainsbury's parking too much. yes, it could be around the corner, and closer to the door, but that area tends to be full of pedestrians. when I'm trying to load up the kids, I'm usually grateful for the relative peace and quiet.
anyway, here's my comment on why a toucan crossing and some bike racks does not equal 'infrastructure': http://deceasedcanine.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/when-is-infrastructure-not.html
Entering Craigleith from the NEPN:
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