CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure

LEITH TO PORTOBELLO CYCLING IMPROVEMENTS (PHASE TWO)

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  1. chdot
    Admin

    "

    The City of Edinburgh Council, in partnership with Sustrans, is developing a scheme to further enhance cycling and walking provision between Leith and Portobello. This scheme supports walking and cycling policies detailed in the Council’s current Local Transport Strategy and Active Travel Action Plan.

    The proposed works include:

    · resurfacing and widening of the existing foot/cycle path along the north side of Leith Links, between St. Mary’s Primary School and the ramp to the former railway embankment near Seafield Place;
    · minor improvements for cyclists on Seafield Road at the Seafield Street junction;
    · resurfacing and widening of the existing shared use cycleway on Seafield Road East, between Seafield Road (‘S’ bend) and the Portobello Promenade access

    In addition, improvements for pedestrians and cyclists at the Seafield Road/Seafield Road East ‘S’ bend are currently being investigated. This will seek to resurface and widen the shared use cycleway at this narrow corner.

    The proposed improvements for Leith Links and Seafield Road East are shown in the attached plan. It is currently anticipated that work on this scheme will commence on site in February 2014, and will last for approximately six weeks. Further information on construction dates and any access restrictions during construction will be available in January 2014.

    We would welcome any comments or suggestions relating to the proposals – please forward these to CyclingProjects.Consultation@edinburgh.gov.uk or alternatively call 0131 469 3592.

    The closing date for any comments is Friday 20th December 2013. A response will be provided to all enquiries/comments after this date.

    Please forward this information on to any other parties who you feel may be interested in the proposals.

    "

    Posted 10 years ago #

  2. wingpig
    Member

    Excellent. Give us a shout when the plans are available.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  3. wangi
    Member

    I've posted the plans which were attached to that email to http://talkporty.org/hosted/lcn10ph2/

    Posted 10 years ago #

  4. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    Good stuff, cheers wangi. Definitely spots that need to be widened, and heartening to see a feasibility study for removing the barrier on the bridge, presumably with a view to widening there as well.

    Baby steps, but slowly and surely getting to create a proper route...

    Posted 10 years ago #

  5. crowriver
    Member

    Fantastic news! I will look at the plans in detail.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  6. crowriver
    Member

    Having scrutinised the drawings, the main issue still appears to be the horrendous bottleneck at the railway bridge on Seafield Road. Proposals are a bit short on detail: "Feasibility for replacing the safety barrier is being carried out".

    Also, I presume street lamps, speed limit signs etc. on Seafield Road East will be moved? Currently they act as an obstacle course. Similarly I presume the chicanes on the Leith Links path will be revised/removed?

    Posted 10 years ago #

  7. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Thoughts;

    Seafield Road east widening is appoximately 54% at the measured (widest) point, tapering at either end. This makes the path 3.5m wide at the measured point, but still with a 3.04m central painted "reservation". So it would be very easy to make it even wider (I assume they're widening to the bare minimum of the regulations).

    At Leith Links, why on earth are they creating an unneccessary right-angle junction where there is an existing smoouth flow line from the ramp to the Leith Links Path? Rhetorical question, I can imagine exactly why they are doing this - but we really must resist the council's designers/planners obsession with building obstacles, bollards and pointless junctions into everything. Bikes aren't cars, they don't move and flow like them and they don't need to be engineered for in the same way.

    The bridge could be widened easily as is by removing the horrendous barrier / hazard warning chevrons, which is cantilevered out from the pavement side. Current detail is vague and needs much more than an aspiration to investigate.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  8. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    "Current detail is vague and needs much more than an aspiration to investigate."

    But that's more than there has ever been before, and as this is a planning stage allowing submissions about it the case can (finally) be made directly. So I remain encouraged.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  9. kaputnik
    Moderator

    @WC Indeed, but I shall hold my breath just incase they come back and decide it's too much bother/expensve.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  10. crowriver
    Member

    I shall hold my breath just incase they come back and decide it's too much bother/expensve.

    Indeed. The example would be the watering down of proposals for segrgated infrastructure on Leith Walk to make way for motorised traffic filter lanes. All in the name of easing traffic flow.

    Good stuff above BTW. This is shaping into a nice script for a consultation response (before 20 December remember).

    Posted 10 years ago #

  11. Focus
    Member

    It would certainly be nice to have more room on the bridge. Sometimes I take the road, sometimes the path, depending on traffic. The path would be much more pleasant if it were easier to a) see round the bend better and b) have more room to pass oncoming peds or bikes.

    Just a couple of days ago, I was approaching the bridge (towards Porty) just as a couple of dog walkers had come off it. Maybe he was frowning at whatever they were chatting about but I wondered if he even realised I was allowed on there?

    Another thing which isn't made clear is just where the shared use ends as you are heading into town . I assume it's at the Seafield junction as there are no shared use signs from then on, but there's actually no end of route signage (something I notice quite a lot these days). Perhaps the council think they have addressed that now with the sign pointing over the road at the junction but it's still not perfect in my mind.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  12. wangi
    Member

    "I can confirm that the chicanes outside of St.Mary’s Primary School are being looked at as part of the scheme"

    Posted 10 years ago #

  13. crowriver
    Member

    I wonder what these might be: "· minor improvements for cyclists on Seafield Road at the Seafield Street junction;"

    Posted 10 years ago #

  14. Vez
    Member

    The 'minor' is a great example of downward management of expectations. I'd like to think it was speeding up the world's slowest toucan crossing, or preventing car parking in the approach to the ASZ on Seafield Street. But they'd probably count as major. Maybe it's a 1% discount in the cafe.

    Posted 10 years ago #

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