CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Events, rides etc.

GSR Opening Celebration - Provisionally 27th May 8am

(53 posts)
  • Started 9 years ago by HankChief
  • Latest reply from rbrtwtmn

12

  1. HankChief
    Member

    As an alternative / addition to PY...

    Would people like to come to Gogar Station Road one morning next week to see the completed work?

    GSR - Yellow lines go in by HankChief, on Flickr

    Work is nearly finished (currently line painting) and we are planning an unofficial 'celebration' - date is about to be finalised (Wednesday is hot favorite!).

    Meet at 8am at the wee cottage just North of Chicken farm Googlemaps for a 8.15 ride along it?

    Trying to get some media interest / CEC to make it a bigger party.

    Coffee is bring your own or try the burger van at the top of GSR - can't say I've ever tried it though, but if it's open it will be cheaper than PY :)

    Posted 9 years ago #

  2. DaveC
    Member

    Err which way should we enter to meet up in the middle of now where? My obvious route would be south from the A8 after cycling through Newbridge and Kirkliston along the old railway. Would the plan to be to cycle back up to RBS or the other way to wards the city centre?

    Dave C

    Posted 9 years ago #

  3. HankChief
    Member

    @DaveC The plan would be to ride North from the meeting point to RBS. It's only half a mile so not biggy if you then turn round and head South to the canal.

    The resurfacing stops at the Railway bridge, and once you are past the river bridge ( heading South) you get the existing shared used pavement up to the canal.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  4. kaputnik
    Moderator

    I'm happy to show the direction of the cut-through from GSR, under the bypass and to Edinburgh Park Station where you can pick up the path alongside the tram as far as Balgreen, from where you can cut through to Roseburn Park, Haymarket and then toon.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  5. gembo
    Member

    Looks possible though will make me late in to work. Is the google street photo that hank chief posted the spot where you can cut through under the bypass?

    That is the meeting point? But snack bar man elsewhere.? With the elephant and the bad baby (children's book by elfrida vipond illustrated by the genius that is Raymond Briggs)

    Posted 9 years ago #

  6. HankChief
    Member

    Gembo: the street view is the meeting place. As you can see it is also used as an overflow carpark for RBS.

    There is a footpath from there under the Bypass but it's not recommended as it is across a bumpy field.

    The smoother cut through (that Kappers refers to) is just South of there: go over the 2 bridges (railway & river), then turn left at the bottom of the hill.streetview

    The Burger van is right at the very top/ Southern end of GSR (near the park & ride) on the old Calder Road. streetview

    Posted 9 years ago #

  7. algo
    Member

    I will endeavour to come to this… The route I think HankChief and Kaputnik are referring to is this one:

    (click on pic to go to google)

    Posted 9 years ago #

  8. chdot
    Admin

    I wonder how many users of GSR know that there are two bridges over water.

    And that it is the same burn both times.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  9. DaveC
    Member

    Hmm, not sure then, as I'd be riding south from the Bank, then north with CCE peeps and then just turning round and heading south again.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  10. HankChief
    Member

    @chdot. I didn't realise it was the same burn. (I remember being asked many years ago for the name of the burn that runs past Gogarburn!)

    I also didn't realise the slope in GSR from the chicken farm down to RBS. It wasn't apparent when you were bumping along but now that it is smooth it is obvious.

    @DaveC - multiple options for heading into town. A8 buslanes through Corstorphine or Family Network Route 9 starting at the RBS end. Tram side path as shown above or the canal starting up up the hill over the M8.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  11. gembo
    Member

    @daveC the new Tarmac short, u will only be dicking about for a mile or so. Then I will chum you into Edinburgh. I would like the start to be earlier as it is not near my work but as a democrat I go with the flow.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  12. kaputnik
    Moderator

    shall I bring a ribbon for hankchief to formally cut?

    Posted 9 years ago #

  13. HankChief
    Member

    You bring the ribbon and I'll bring the oversized scissors :)

    Definitely on for Wednesday so the 'provisional' can come out of the thread heading.

    I've invited a few councillors tonight and had a few say they'll try to make it - we shall see.

    @gembo - sorry, start time was a balancing act - with a variety of distances to get to work post event.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  14. HankChief
    Member

    I sent a few invites out last night and it looks like we will have 4 councillors coming along so far.

    Unfortunately the Minister is already committed.

    Here's where the road has got to tonight... Still needs some more paint to mark the right hand cycle lane but looking good.

    GSR : Still needing white paint on RH cycle lane but no centre line by HankChief, on Flickr

    Posted 9 years ago #

  15. Greenroofer
    Member

    Notice too the nice bright double yellow lines in the bike lanes. The red chips are very red. I'm not completely sure if they are stone, tbh. I think they may be red plastic.

    Why can't all (unsegregated) bike lanes be like this?

    Posted 9 years ago #

  16. Arellcat
    Moderator

    I shall endeavour to come along to the grand opening too. After a recent jaunt out along the Long Dalmahoy Road, some smooth tarmac would be welcome!

    Posted 9 years ago #

  17. AIMC
    Member

    Cycled along this road tonight. Car drivers keeping left and driving over cycle lane. Should they be in the middle of the road?

    Posted 9 years ago #

  18. ih
    Member

    It doesn't look mandatory from photos, so it's largely up to the drivers where they position themselves!

    Posted 9 years ago #

  19. HankChief
    Member

    It's that uncertainty about positioning for their own and oncoming cars that should reduce the speeds on the road, rather than the lanes being a utopia of car free cycling.

    Time will tell but must be better than reinstating a single centre line as before.
    Speed bumps and chicanes could have been used but they bring a significant amount of unnecessary conflict.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  20. chdot
    Admin

    Or just keep the road closed!

    Posted 9 years ago #

  21. acsimpson
    Member

    @AIMC, according to the rubbish driving thread they currently should neither be on the cycle lane nor in the middle of the road. Such is the nature of a closed road.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  22. Snowy
    Member

    GSR does suffer from a fundamental lack of space, but it's essentially a beefed up country lane and was never intended to support the traffic volumes taking a shortcut from the A71 down to a major corporate HQ and the airport.
    Having used the temporary closure as an opportunity to explore the area, it strikes me that GSR could easily be a one way southbound road for cars, but with a northbound contraflow for cyclists.
    This would hardly affect northbound cars on GSR coming from the A71 - they can achieve the same result with only a few hundred yards extra travel by coming down the bypass.
    Local traffic already seems to use Roddinglaw Rd / Gogarstone Rd for the purpose of accessing the A8 so no impact there.
    This would remove almost all competition for space on GSR. The downside might be that the southbound cars would once again speed along GSR in close proximity between 2 lanes of bikes, with nothing to moderate their speed.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  23. Tulyar
    Member

    Wow big change from last time I explored that - tempting - so what is the grand opening about?

    28th is booked for Tip-ex (dedicated show for tippers and related trucks - skip lorries etc) seminar on CLOCS.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  24. HankChief
    Member

    @Snowy: spot on analysis.

    The only thing I would add is the appetite to make such a change. I'm not sure that would be a battle we could win. Locals, though traffic & the potential development of David Murray's Garden District would all have been against us.

    @Tulyar: Summary - it's significant improvement to a stretch of road that's been hostile to cycle on for years = A lot of love for it.

    It's been 10 years since a Global HQ was built nearby, which increased traffic in its own right and built a bridge over the A8 which allowed Westbound A8 traffic to access GSR and added to the traffic.

    Since then it's not been a pleasant road to cycle on. It was the source of regular grumbles amongst the cyclists that used it with tales of close passes and driver aggression. There was some engagement with the council but not enough to turn the dial - the problem being that you would only get short snippets of conversation as people came & went in the changing room.

    3 years ago someone (who's on here) set up a Bicycle User Group at work, which similar to CCE allowed for the joining up of ideas and grumbles so that pressure can be exerted to fix them.

    After some good success with onsite issues, the problem of GSR was agreed to be tackled and there started a concerted campaign to persuade CEC to act. A lot of emails have been written by a lot people.

    Those who have used it are genuinely pleased that we don't have to dodge the potholes anymore, which in winter was particularly scary. Hopefully the close passes & speeds should reduce too.

    It is a relief that with the exception of a nasty road rage incident last year, we have managed to get through the last few years without a serious incident caused by the state of the road.

    The celebration is a chance to recognise the improvement is welcomed by those that use it. Yes, it could be better but at least we aren't still waiting for it.

    A bit of PR for this sort of thing won't go a miss both to persuade CEC (& other LAs) to do more like it but also reinforce the message that close passes are dangerous and unacceptable.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  25. biketrain
    Member

    @Hankchief. I should be along on Wednesday before joining the peleton back to town.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  26. HankChief
    Member

    They have been busy painting over the weekend and the road is now open.

    Lighter traffic than normal today but that will only ramp up once drivers realise its open.

    Very nice to cycle on.

    Hope to see some of you tomorrow for our opening celebration - 8am at the chicken farm.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  27. chdot
    Admin

    "8am at the chicken farm"

    Which way will the wind be blowing?

    Posted 9 years ago #

  28. shuggiet
    Member

    Well done @hankchief and @greenroofer and others.. Cycled along it this morning in a convoy of 4 bikes, with only 2 cars ( 1 in each direction) through the length of GSR. The car that needed to overtake, moved right over to the other cycle lane, and did it at a slow speed. so 100% success for bike/ car interaction so far!

    Won't be able to join you tomorrow, so good luck!

    Posted 9 years ago #

  29. Greenroofer
    Member

    Well, here's the video you've been waiting for. The most interesting cycling video ever. I've even published it in full HD.

    The road is lovely now: simply having a smooth surface makes it much pleasanter.

    The idiotic overtake at the end shows that it's not all sweetness and light, though.

    Enjoy!

    [+] Embed the video | Video DownloadGet the Video Plugin

    Posted 9 years ago #

  30. HankChief
    Member

    Thanks for those who came out this morning.

    We got a good crowd and it was great to show it to Andrew Burns and Lesley Hinds - it became clear to both of them why we made such a fuss.

    We'll have to see what the EEN (& commentators) make of it...

    Gogar Station Road Opening event by HankChief, on Flickr

    Posted 9 years ago #

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