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.
"as a Brit I found that the hardest part was going to the *head* of the queue, instead of going all the way to the end."
London public transport seems to be one of the few instances where the etiquette of queuing turns into a free-for-all.
This queuing idea seems to be unknown in much of Scandinavia, as a recent visit to Finland and Estonia revealed: a London style scramble to board buses, etc. without even waiting for passengers to disembark...
Video of the bus stop bypass in action:
https://mobile.twitter.com/edinreporter/status/923210573722079232
I cycled it southbound for the first time this morning, joining from Pilrig Street after seeing the "not in use" signs were away. It was fairly pleasant.
1) At the first bus stop bypass the three pedestrians, that were standing in the lane, moved off it as I approached. Smiles and "thank-you"s
2)At the Albert Street "give way" there were two vehicles waiting to join Leith Walk, and the second one had left the bike lane section clear. Possibly the natural gap he'd leave anyway, but I like to give the benefit of the doubt...he got a wee wave of thanks :)
3) At the second bus stop bypass at Magnet, more people were standing in the bike lane, and one in particular showed no intention of moving out of it whatsoever. I went round her on the tactiles.
I'm not sure what info is at the bus stop, but perhaps clearer instruction to waiting bus passengers would be helpful...
4) The light timings were in my favour when I rejoined the main carriageway after crossing Brunswick street, so there were no cars to consider....
I did note that on the way down (Northwards)in the evening yesterday (after seeing twitter chat that it was open) that the "not in use" sign about 3/4 of the way down, high on the lamppost was still there - that combined with the narrow pavement thanks to the Shrubhill works boarding, might have explained the grumpiness of a couple of peds at that point....
On the whole though, I liked it. I can see it's value more when Leith Walk is really busy, with multiple buses and tail-backs / double parkers. Provided it's kept clear...
Noticed this morning that the two commercial bins which were always plonked in the cyclepath outside the CoOp before the path opened are now masquerading as bikes, having been placed in the spaces between the three new bike racks!
My experience of Leith Walk this morning - Going southbound I witnessed a horrific punishment pass because the cyclist in front of me chose not to use the segregated lane. Sadly I didn't have my camera running as otherwise it would have definitely warranted a police report.
On my return journey I decided to give the segregated path a go and avoid punishment passes. Of the roughly 10 pedestrians that I passed on that short stretch, I'd say about half were in the cycle lane. Some moved out when they heard my bell, others didn't. At least I didn't get any abuse but that may have been because I didn't go above 10mph and was extra cautious passing people in the lane. So not really suitable for my usual cycle journeys.
So, I'm sorry to say that at this stage the segregated lanes have made life worse for me. Use the lane and have to travel very slowly, don't use it and incur the wrath of the hard pressed motorist. I appreciate that things may change as people get used to the new infrastructure and that the lanes weren't installed for reasonably confident cyclists like me anyway.
I'll be taking the boy to Nursery tomorrow, will try Brunswick Road > Leith Walk lanes as an alternative to Easter Road > Dalmeny Street cobble-a-geddon.
Sounds bad, Luath.
Have to say that until the segregated cycle tracks were installed I used to avoid that stretch of Leith Walk altogether because of close passes, double parking, folk pulling out without looking, etc. Oh and the shocking cratered road surface (now fixed?). Believe it or not used to go half way down McDonald Road, then the bridge at Dryden Terrace to Dryden Street, cross Pilrig Steet to Cambridge Avenue. Foot of the Walk seems a little bit calmer usually, but would prefer segregated tracks there too frankly.
I cycled down Leith walk on Saturday ( the bus undertaking post) but did not notice any separate cycle lane where is the access point? After the bus thing I took the nerp path back home on Sunday.
Luath - out of interest, do you know (what makes you sure) that the 'punishment pass' was that rather than pure incompetence?
@rbrtwtmn it was very obvious. Driver pulled out of a side street in front of us then stopped at the lights shortly after, half in the ASZ. Revved engine and crept forward when the other cyclist moved in front, hence my decision to stay behind them. As the lights went green the cyclist got away quickly, the driver accelerated hard right up behind him then swerved at the last instant and passed really close, waving his arm and pointing in the direction of the cycle lane, then cut in hard once in front. Seconds later he then turned off left and stopped to play the flashy light game with another motorist, so clearly not in a rush, just didn't like cyclists using 'his' road space.
So Aye, there's still a sign high up a post at Shrubhill saying "Cycle Lane Not in Use" which is confusing, if it is supposed to be open...
So my Northbound experience tonight.....
Folk at bus stop happily moved out the way
Guy walking slowly up the middle of the lane looked nonplussed by me being there (at this point I've come to a stop ahead of him, but he still doesn't deviate, so round him I go...)
And almost at the end of it (admiring the wheely bins in the bike racks as noted above)..a hipster guy bounds out of a taxi, rushing to get to the cashpoint outside Scotmid..requiring an almighty emergency stop. Worth it for the "whoah, sorry dude" from him.
Early days.....
@Ed1 Going northbound (downhill) you have to join the segregated path at McDonald Road - well, it's at least most obvious how to join it at that point.
Last night there were keep left signs on lamp posts (on the pavement) going downhill. Not sure their purpose. Why does it feel as if travelling Leith Walk is a daily game of divination and interpretation rather than clear signs?
@dougal The obvious answer to your question is that the council are literally making it up as they go along
I've tried it in both directions now on the elephany bike with the boy on board. It's easier uphill as you're going slower so there's less conflict, and it's also greatly appreciated for us slower moving, child-carrying objects when going up the way. If you want to go fast downhill you can always go on the road.
Some of the details though, like this "salmon run" into Iona Street are just silly;
Salmon Silliness by andy a, on Flickr
Are drivers supposed to park perpendicular to the pavement there?
@Frenchy I suppose in theory, yes, but if 1 goes nose-on they all follow suit.
@kaputnik: I think I was blocked by that very same car on Wednesday night.
"
Dear Stakeholder
Stakeholder Update 115 - Leith Programme
Leith Programme – Phase 4 (Iona Street to Brunswick Street)
To confirm that the segregated cycleway, including the bus stop bypasses, and the 2-stage right turn for cyclists at the McDonald Road/Brunswick Road junction were opened for use on Wednesday 25th October.
As of next week, w/c 30th October, the Contractor will be visible on site as they make good any defective works, within remote worksites. Any impact on pedestrians and cyclists will be kept to an absolute minimum.
There will also be works carried out next week to replace the bus shelter at Albert Street and install the bus tracker at this location. Unfortunately, we were unable to coordinate the sub-contractor to complete these works earlier, and so there will be an impact on the cycleway at this location which, again, we will try to keep to a minimum and ensure that the route is maintained.
Finally, there has been a small site compound set up within the parking bays at Albert Street to accommodate the Contractor while they complete remaining works, which we anticipate will be for around 3-4 weeks.
Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact the Leith Programme Email address: leith.programme@edinburgh.gov.uk
Kind regards
Michael
Michael Motion
Leith Programme Project Team
Turner & Townsend Limited
"
Ahahaha! That bus stop's been closed for about a fortnight, and now they re-open it so they can immediately close it and replace. Priceless.
No fear of enforcement on Shrub Pl this afternoon
4 vehicles parked on double reds, one of them a black Land Rover that is always parked within eyeshot of the tailend fish and chip shop.
Imagine being so wedded to parking outside your work that every waking moment you have to keep one eye glancing out of the shop window to run over and 'claim you were loading'. I couldn't take that constant low level stress.
Generally the cycle lane "on the pavement" is being respected and not bumped up on to. Success.
Also noticed a CCTV survey being discretely carried out of the Brunswick Rd junction.
"No fear of enforcement on Shrub Pl this afternoon"
Don't think Sunday parking restrictions are due to come into force for quite a while yet? So would be surprised to see parking attendants on a Sunday.
"Generally the cycle lane "on the pavement" is being respected and not bumped up on to. Success."
Good! Let's hope it stays that way...
Double reds apply at all times
That's what I thought too, but do parking attendants work Sundays?
(Presumably they will after Sunday parking restrictions are in force)
I suspect it's left to PC Copper on the Sabbath? Good luck with that...
I've seen wardens out on a Sunday before (and saw a car ticketed for DYL parking just yesterday in fact) but obviously fewer than usual.
My only parking ticket ever was at 4am on a Sunday morning, on a DYL on Caledonian Crescent
They at least back then had a couple of people out on scooters outside of CPZ hours
I cycled this route the last couple of days (uphill). Mostly seemed to work fine. Even at the busy stop, bussists (bussers?) were waiting either side of the path. Even double parkers (4 of them today) were limiting themselves to the section with bus lane, effectively creating a pseudo bike lane just to the right of the real one.
Yesterday I used the 2 stage right into McDonald Road which was fine, but gave me flashbacks of previous incidents after moving to the front at Brunswick Road. Today I opted to turn right (from the left lane) during the advanced green. Worked fine but was made a little more interesting by the driver who took the green bike as his cue to floor it. I think my preferred approach will be to shuffle to the right lane while the light is red then make the turn promptly during the advanced green.
Is 4 way "green scramble" for bikes allowed under UK law?
The two stage right turn doesn't seem to be intuitive in such an isolated setting.
It could easily be introduced with a lights re-phasing.
Are lower level lights for bikes legal yet? Should make confusion with car lights less common/defensible.
Tried the 2-stage right turn the other day.
It takes FOR.EVER to do it the recommended way, but it's OK for less confident folks I guess.
Next time, I'll try Rob's latter technique (the 4-way scramble?)
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