CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 16years 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.
Reporting on the results from automatic traffic counters at various NCN sites:
Some big rises, except for here:
"The only anomaly in the results was at the Rodney Street tunnel in Bonnington, where the annual number of cyclists and walkers dipped by almost 20,000 in the space of three years"
I can easily believe that 20 000 people got lost looking for the Rodney Street tunnel and were never seen again.
The number of locations listed is quite small and in slightly odd places. I'm not sure how the sampling is done and it would be nice to see trends over time.
Why would they be surprised?
It's at the bottom of Broughton Street / Picardy Place catastrophe and also the blocked off NCN route through Dublin Street onto St Andrew Square, so for many people it became a dead end.
It almost looks like each year they sample a small number of sites, selected at possibly at random. So we only get a small number of sites to compare with 2012. The way that it's presented is technically unsatisfying.
is the granton site NEPN?
Think this is all from the automatic counters that are in various places inc. MMW.
So are there many counters and the article has been very selective or few counters moved around from year-to-year?
"
THE cycling revolution has led to bike journeys at hot spots in the Lothians more than trebling in recent years, a new report has shown.
"
Right, so that's since CCE started.
QED
I can well imagine people used the Rodney St tunnel when it first became available before quickly realising that it didn't actually go anywhere.
If the Scotland Street tunnel was somehow re-established(now impossible, I understand) then the Rodney St tunnel would unquestionably be better utilised. As it is, it's just a nice piece of infrastructure in search of a destination and purpose.
"So are there many counters and the article has been very selective or few counters moved around from year-to-year?"
Several, yes, no.
In the past there have been problems with batteries, vandalism, collecting and releasing data.
There have also been some counting by people - in addition to the twice a year ones by Spokes at Forrest and Lothian Roads.
Rodney Street Tunnel has only been open for four years.
Since Rodney Street tunnel only connects north Edinburgh with a wall of roadworks, why would anyone ride through it?
Unquestionably it was better to ignore it and commute through the busy Canonmills junction (which had the merit of actually being open).
I can imagine it's nice for people who work right in the centre of town, mind you.
The question on my lips is "how is the notion that we are in the midst of a 'cycling revolution' compatible with the reality that the national cycling modal share has been stuck on 1% for decades?" And maybe "How can Spokes credibly denounce the government's woeful cycling policies when they are claiming in this article that efforts to encourage cycling are working?"
Cycling is up in some parts of Edinburgh/Lothians.
To call that a revolution is pushing it.
To say “It’s all part of this cycling revolution in Scotland" is fanciful (other words are available).
It's good that CEC is spending 6% and I think there are 'results' - but Edinburgh is different...
There are massively more riders than there used to be when I started a few years ago. If the number has increased so much without affecting modal share, presumably that just means there are also a lot more driven journeys?
"Cycling is up in some parts of Edinburgh/Lothians."
I don't think that the article demonstrates that properly. The locations are selected and the comparison years are selected. There is also the question as to what extent more counts means more cyclists (or the same cyclists passing more times).
I don't know, I remember cycling in from Livingston to Holyrood Rd in the early 90s. Often I would never see another cyclist on that journey at peak times. Can you imagine not see'ing any cyclists now?
"There is also the question as to what extent more counts means more cyclists (or the same cyclists passing more times)."
That's a valid point and rather difficult to quantify.
"Cycling is up in some parts of Edinburgh/Lothians."
That's my view based on 'experience' not the article.
One thing I don't understand is that the article talks about counting cyclists and walkers.
That implies actual counts - presume Sustrans actually do some - but can't get walking counts from the 'bike detector' wires in the tarmac(??)
So if the figures are from real counts, that can only be done on a few days and extrapolated - which might be a clue to the RST 'puzzle'.
"
The summit provided these bodies with an opportunity to discuss what more can be done to deliver on the Cycling Action Plan for Scotland's ambition of 10% of journeys being made by bicycle by 2020.
"
That's from the latest letter that Jim Eadie has sent to his 'cycle mailing list' - no doubt including various people here!
I'm sure more people are riding bikes than 5 years ago. I expect that some of the people who were already cycling 5 years ago are doing more journeys/miles. For both new and existing riders some will be changes of mode others will be 'extra' - more leisure?
I think it's true that there are a lot more people cycling to work - two trips a day (in general).
I suspect there is some data as to whether these are instead of bus or car. Obviously it would be 'better' if it was instead of cars.
There have been all sorts of 'leave the car at home' campaigns - which may or may not have made much difference.
Perhaps the recent trend will continue - I'm sure SG will hope it can be done without spending money...
After all the 10% by 2020 is just an "ambition" or "aspiration" not a target!
@chdot
Counting cyclists and walkers together on a path may potentially have been done using an IR beam type of detector? But obviously this wouldn't differentiate.
My bold
"
Bogotá’s CicloRuta is one of the most extensive bicycle path networks in the world. It covers over 211 miles (340 km) and connects citizens to major BRT routes, parks, and community centers. The system is a best practice, not only because it has reduced car dependence and associated emissions, but it has also fundamentally changed behavior in the city – today (2007) 4% of the population use their bikes, an increased from 2% in 2000. The system is both unique and successful because its design took into consideration the topography of the city – the manmade and natural features, such as essential facilities, hills, waterways, and parklands – to create the best possible flow and function.
4% eh?
Wow.
The cicloruta must be really Quality to put so many people off.
"The cicloruta must be really Quality to put so many people off."
No direct comparison with Edinburgh, of course, but I think to get to 4% (doubling from a low base so figures may be unreliable?) they actually took design/implementation seriously.
"
a northern city with a population of 190,000 and a bike mode share of 50 percent
"
http://www.citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11332#post-127917
I guess the important question is how Bogota compares with other... comparable cities. If they all have a 0.01% modal share then 4% is pretty stellar - 40,000% more cyclists!
You must log in to post.
Cycling in Edinburgh Flickr group
Video embedded using Easy Video Embed plugin
posts