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Hi all,
Car going in for repair at Straiton/Loanhead so going to cycle on into work after drop off. Having not cycled that route before is the best route into town just as you would drive it? or is there a cyclepath/better route into town?
Thanks,
Mark.
If you're a semi-confident cyclist on the road, bus lanes into town are the most direct route and I've never had any problems, even fully loaded back from IKEA with panniers and trailer.
The roundabouts around the junction with the bypass are a bit 'orrible. You may want to hit the pavement for that bit.
Or to avoid that bit completely you could take the newish cyclepath under the bypass then into town on Lasswade Road.
Thanks kaputnik. Semi-confident (I have to pass through haymarket everyday on the bike!) so I think I will just head along on the bus route and see how I go.
thanks cb - looking at that route now :-)
Alnwickhill Road is very slightly nicer than Liberton Road.
If you take the Loanhead cycle path (see @cb post), you pop out on Lasswade Road. The bit of Lasswade Road between the bypass and the Murrays roadabouts is closed to traffic but there is a path through that seems to be cycleable (done it twice now).
There's also a path directly from Straiton just by the McDonalds roadabout(passing the pond) to the Loanhead-Gilmerton path. I've not cycled it so cannot say how cycleable it is.
Should (still) be fine - haven't used it for a while.
I did the eastern half on Sunday having just explored Straiton Pond; it was indeed fine.
Found this old thread searching for Straiton.
The Straiton Pond path has the most terrible barrier at the West end: https://www.fixmystreet.com/report/524727
Even the council seems to have noticed it's bad, but instead of fixing it they put up a sign "For bicycle access: push front wheel through corner gap in railing before opening swing gate".
That doesn't work with my bike, and when I have a trailer (to IKEA) there is no way I could ever hope to get through this.
I have had a Twitter argument with them for about a year now as they just wouldn't believe that my bike doesn't fit through. At one point some officials happened to be there and I showed them that I can't get through, but they were just dismissive and said I should find a different route then.
What's the best way of getting something changed?
This doesn't help with getting the gate changed, but is it not possible to access the path later by crossing the grass from Edgefield Link (as named on OSM; it's "Edgefield Relief Road" on Google Maps)?
There is a path with steps but the ground to the west slopes fairly gently. Not sure how solid under-tyre it is.
@cb I found the bit at the Edgefield Relieve Rd, but when I had to go there in December the field was a big muddy soggy swamp, no way to cycle across and even pushing the bike was a struggle.
That field is perfect for off-road motorbikes and seems to be well-used to get into the Nature reserve, but for bicycles it's unsuitable.
It's very efficient filtered permeability that motorbikes get through but bicycles (and families with buggies?) can't.
Stephan. From your photo, the chicane looks prehistoric. What's it for? To stop motorcycle access? What would happen if they just got rid of it?
@ih I assume it is to stop motorbikes, but it's pointless as motorbikes can get into the Nature Reserve across the muddy field, or they just come in from Lasswade Road or Roslin.
The weird thing is that there is a huge sign that this is the cycle path to Gilmerton & beyond and Loanhead/Roslin:
https://goo.gl/maps/rqcDwwdaeNn
Here is the field that @chdot mentioned and how motorbikes get into the Nature Reserve - tracks visible on the grass: https://goo.gl/maps/bc6kbofddjs
There is another path but has steps (you can just see them in the background): https://goo.gl/maps/C2aW4g4iubJ2
Re motorbikes, the Transport Scotland access control design guidelines say (emphasis mine):
"Controls designed to exclude motorcycles are ineffective in practice and impede wheelchair users and cyclists, including users of tricycles, cycle trailers and tandems."
"Existing controls should be removed or repositioned from locations where they could prevent access for wheelchair and disabled users. Close liaison with the local police is the most effective manner to deter unauthorised vehicles from cycle routes and access controls should be designed for the needs of all users."
@Stephan We can only dream that councils would follow official guidance on cycling infrastructure. In a better world there would be an authority (like Keep Scotland Beautiful) that would audit council compliance with such guidance and set targets for improvement. Instead it's up to individuals to make the case.
Just in -
"
The pedestrian access gate, which has been in place for many years (to prevent motorcycles into the wildlife pond /nature reserve) was recently modified to allow bicycles through, but continue to stop motorcycles (they have a longer wheelbase).
This means that someone turning up with a cycle trailer would either have to unhitch it, lift the bike and trailer over, or find another route.
We are however looking again at this issue.
"
Can confirm that the last time I did an IKEA run with the trailer (about a year ago - ish) that I had to completely unhitch and lift the trailer over the obstruction. Bike just squeezed through.
@chdot "The pedestrian access gate, which has been in place for many years (to prevent motorcycles into the wildlife pond /nature reserve) was recently modified to allow bicycles through,"
NO IT DOESN'T! Sorry for shouting, but I'm getting really really angry about getting the same dismissive response every time. I was there twice since Christmas and tried and it doesn't work.
You can only fit small bicycles through (if you push the front wheel through the bars as the sign tells you), but not a larger frame and/or a suspension fork that doesn't fit through the bars.
@stephan they are the experts after all. Absolutely no need to follow the guidance or test the access properly
@amir Yes, and cyclists wishing to use this path must be athletes who enjoy lifting their bikes and trailers over their head, even when loaded with IKEA shopping.
We don't want any people with bulkier bicycles or families with kids seats in the Nature Reserve, it would distract the off-road motorbike riders who ride across the fields.
Also: "find another route." WHAT ROUTE IS THAT? Across the mudfield? Or cycle along the very busy Loanhead Rd to the Clerk St/The Loan junction to the next access point?
Or down to the huge Straiton double roundabout and avoid the wonderful path completely?
I'm sorry but this reply is just as useless, dismissive and somewhat offensive as the stupid sign on the gate.
I tweeted Transport Scotland a while ago if there is a way to take action if a local authority ignores guidelines and is not responsive. Transport Scotland replied mysteriously that I should contact the local authority, as it's not TS's business.
I'm trying to understand how the system works. So far I watched several parts of that documentary/educational programme on government administration, but it hasn't covered cycle paths yet. It's called "Yes Minister".
Maybe show them how their Invernesian equivalents even more effectively design-out use by motorbikes, bicycles, trikes, wheelchairs and buggies in one implementation:
Stephan - Transport Scotland aren't responsible for what Councils do or don't do. If you wish to complain about a Council failing to provide a service, first you have to contact the Council. If you are not happy with their response, you can complain about that to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.
@slowcoach Thanks, will try the Ombudsman then. Of course TS could have told me who to contact when I asked instead of just sending me in circles...
Stephan - unless you have already gone through the Council complaint system you can't normally go to the Ombudsman (sorry if my wording wasn't clear about that). So TS were probably right to say contact Council first.
@slowcoach - this has been going on for over a year.
More fundamentally, why aren't there legally binding minimum requirements for bicycle paths? This is the signed route to Gilmerton and Straiton, and it should not be up to an individual council officer to decide that only small bicycles are allowed to use it, and not require years of mailing back and forth to even get the problem acknowledged.
Can councils also build bridges over motorways so low that only a Porsche can get through? Or would there perhaps be binding design guidelines?
@Stephan I can sense your frustration after a year of inadequate responses. For bureaucracies, the important thing is following "procedure", so given that all the arguments are on your side, this is what I would do.
Download the Complaints procedure from the council website. Put in a formal complaint (making sure you include the fact that you've been trying to get a satisfactory response for a year by less formal means) explaining that the gate is not useable by any non-standard bike, that the notice they put up is not an adequate response and why, that the gate does not follow recommended design practice, that the mere presence of any gate doesn't follow recommended practice, and you want it removed. Include the other valid points you have raised.
They are obliged to reply to you within a specified time. You may not win first time and you might have to continue with the complaints procedure by appealing against their first response. When you have gone through the procedure, and if you still haven't got a satisfactory response, then you can refer it to the ombudsman.
Good luck, ih.
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