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IT’S TRUE!
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https://consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.uk/sfc/design-cycle-walk-inverleith-row-goldenacre-path/
They're coming thick and fast at the moment.
Segregated path on Inverleith Place! Very good news when linked to Carrington Road plan.
While everyone if focussed on Roseburn-Leith are the council building a segregated network elsewhere by stealth?
Exciting stuff!
However, I don't like the idea that the bulk of Edinburgh's new segregated route network is going to be built by a traffic consultancy company who don't seem to be horrendously good at it.
At the risk of sounding like a "concerned resident" I genuinely don't believe a bidirectional cycle track like that fits the character of the area, and I think it'll be unsafe. Inverleith Place is incredibly wide - in fact I think it's the most excessively wide roads I've seen in Edinburgh for the level of traffic it receives. Surely it can't be much more expensive to put unidirectional tracks down both sides? It would be much safer, I'd argue prettier due to symmetry and avoids the need for silly shared space rubbish at junctions. It's acceptable for short links but on longer stretches we may as well start as we mean to go on and do it properly.
I've heard that Edinburgh's strategy is "bidirectional, then build another one on the other side if it gets too busy" - fair enough, but we already have enough bother with drivers not seeing bikes - are we really sure that, especially on streets with lots of parked cars, they're going to look both ways when turning left? I don't want Edinburgh lanes to become known for being less safe than the road.
Having said that I'll obviously be registering my broad support in the consultation and making my comments there.
Surely the mini roundabout needs to go! That particular bit looks a mess. It can be pretty busy with pedestrians there, that's going to a be a horrible conflict zone.
This looks pretty good to me on the whole. Seems a shame not to go all the way to the end of Warriston Gardens, but it's a narrower, much quieter street.
I wonder if all the driveways on the north side of the road was the reason for going bidirectional.
Also sending more cyclists 'officially' through the same park whose "Friends of" managed to get a teensy tarmacced desire line path ripped up not so long ago. Mixed messages ahoy!
@Frenchy I would imagine so, yes. Only 1 driveway on the south side I think (at the block of newer flats)
And another at the northwest corner of the Botanics site.
It's easy win stuff, given how super-wide Inverleith Place is, but still welcome: get folk used to seeing these segregated lanes around town and they might be less resistant to (or even in favour of) them appearing on arterial roads.
Surely the mini roundabout needs to go!
I'd agree with that. The only reason that roundabout is there is to aid traffic flow for people avoiding Inverleith Row, which essentially acknowledges the fact that this leisure/residential area is being used as a rat-run.
There is a heck of a lot of parking in this area. They could convert some of it into bike parking (e.g. at the Botanics entrance) and noone would even notice.
"Seems a shame not to go all the way to the end of Warriston Gardens, but it's a narrower, much quieter street."
It also only has houses on one side of it. I'd like to know how utilised the parking there is. Maybe it serves as overflow parking for the playing fields/cemetery/bowling club (all have private parking)?
Is Golden Acre Playing Fields council owned? Looking at Google's satellite images, there is already a path halfway along the southern edge. Would it make sense to run the route along this, extend it to the entrance and only remove the 15 spaces east of there?
EDIT: Having said all that, maybe it isn't necessary as it isn't a through road.
Goldenacre is private, Heriot's.
"Is Golden Acre Playing Fields council owned? Looking at Google's satellite images, there is already a path halfway along the southern edge. "
If you've ever cycled that path, you'll realise it won't make any sense to run the route that way. Try it sometime! :-)
IMO, the only problem with Inverleith Place is the lousy road surface in the west bound lane.
Because of this, I find myself riding in the middle of the lane. And, because of that, I've had run ins with incompetent and emotionally immature drivers who think I care enough to spite them.
Just fix the road, paint a bit of it pink. Job done.
A bollard or two at one of the ends would do the job for a lot cheaper
I'm adding a voice to those of @jonty http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=17097#post-235222 and @gibbo above. I don't think it's necessary or desirable always to go for a full segregated track. In this area the roads are immensely wide, not too busy, and like jonty says, segregated infrastructure would be somehow out of place here. A good surface, and good, wide, on-road cycle lanes would be fantastic. The lanes would be outside the parking bays with good door zone separation. Cycle lanes here would have lots of other advantages; easy to give priority to cycles at side roads; less expensive and quicker (these reasons shouldn't be dismissed where appropriate, money could go to where segregation is really needed on arterials); less likely to meet local resistance (again, important for getting stuff actually done); routes can take a more natural line with no awkward (and dangerous) crossing of carriageways; it will get more people and families out on bikes, visibly and quickly, which will add to the pressure to get more segregated routes where they are needed.
If these roads are not to be segregated (fair enough) then there needs to be measures to ensure that it is physically impossible for motors to travel faster than 20mph on them.
And as jonty hints, made into no-through roads for motors.
Irrespective of how wide/quiet a road is, a non-segregated path at the side of the road would still be somewhere you'd be wary of taking a child in the way that a segregated lane beside a wide-quiet road would not.
"Surely the mini roundabout needs to go!"
Are eastbound cyclists expected to make three crossings and 8 ~90 degree turns here?
Are eastbound cyclists expected to make three crossings and 8 ~90 degree turns here?
No, they'll stay on the south side of the road - same as westbound cyclists (but in the opposite direction, of course).
Why is shared use plastered all over the north side? The cycle markings alongside the zebra crossings look much narrower than the 2 way lane.
Why is shared use plastered all over the north side?
Makes it easier for people coming from Arboretum Place to get onto the segregated path. Symmetry? Agreed on the width of the crossings, but don't know enough to say if this is a feature or a bug.
I'm ambivalent on the roundabout, what are the sight lines like? It's not a million miles away from some things we saw in Holland, and maybe it's good that they are trying it out here to give confidence for other locations. If we're thinking about this route in isolation then I think making a crossroads with the cycle lane with priority on a raised table would be better
There is some discussion on applying Dutch roundabout principles to British mini-roundabouts on this blog: http://pedestrianiselondon.tumblr.com/post/24151812132/roundabouts
The sight lines are rubbish, in car (ignoring signs) it's possible to not even realise there's a zebra crossing until you're fully on the roundabout and turning. I'd argue that the new configuration is definitely better as seeing the first zebra and the one at the other side creates predictability that you're going to hit one after turning.
I certainly appreciate the innovative spirit in junction design which has been lacking in other consultations. Though there's definitely space for proper segregation like on Leith Walk at the junction I think.
@Rob's link applies, in its first diagram, Dutch thinking to a British mini roundabout like the one on this route. Every effort should be made to see if this style (Rob's link) could be used at Inverleith and then become an exemplar for other roundabouts in the city. People will say there isn't enough space, but you don't know unless you've tried, and now that 'traffic flow' doesn't seem to be the overriding factor here at last, the amount allocated to motorised traffic can be reduced. The whole thing could probably be modelled on the road first.
The proposed shared space on each corner is just asking for pedestrian conflict, and the distance to the parallel zebra is too far for any reasonable 'desire line' route through the junction. Rob's linked diagram solves these problems, in addition to providing one-way cycle lanes/tracks on each side of the road, rather than the two-way compromise being proposed.
I should mention that the zebra crossing I was referring to is on the western arm of the mini roundabout but not shown on the "existing" plans.
Spokes's comments:-
Spokes strongly supports the proposed improvements to Quiet Route 20.
The re-routing along Inverleith Place provides what looks to be a comfortable and convenient route that will attract new cyclists to use the North Edinburgh Path Network and access the Botanics , Inverleith Park, Stockbridge and other facilities in the area.
The proposal for a segregated route along Inverleith Place is very welcome as this road is often heavily trafficked and is currently not attractive to cyclists other than the bold and brave.
Linking to Carrington Road via the North West corner of Inverleith Park provides a reasonable and far more achievable alternative than continuing to the end of Inverleith Place and using East Fettes Avenue – another busy road.
A) Care will need to be taken at the cross-ways in Inverleith Park as this could become a busy spot and cyclists may be coming quite quickly southwards down the hill. More space may need to be provided here.
B) The changes at the mini roundabout to provide “tiger” crossings at each arm will make it attractive to less able cyclists but more confident cyclists may choose to use the road. Access to/from the cycleway to the roadway should therefore be made easy.
The Toucan Crossing of Inverleith Row will be a boon to all – much needed for pedestrians and cyclists but also will help motorists giving a break in the traffic stream to allow turning into and out of Inverleith Place at busy times.
C) The shared use path along Inverleith Row is a good size for sharing the space with pedestrians, however the 0.5m wide separation from the roadway traffic is not ideal for less able cyclists and can be a problem at night with cyclists facing into oncoming traffic and lights dazzling. Please would you explain what form the 0.5m separation takes.
D) The white line separation of pedestrians and cyclists may make pedestrians feel more at ease and it is sensible not to have the cycleway immediately adjacent to house entrances/driveways, but it does not make best use of the space. Faster cyclists may choose to use the road. The layout should be reconsidered.
E) The ramped access to the Goldenacre Path definitely needs improvement.
F) Consideration needs to be given to the continuation of the route through to the St Mark’s Path and linking to the East Entrance of the Botanics. The “dog-leg” (going down the Goldenacre and up the Warriston Path) is inconvenient and the junction requires more space and improved visibility to accommodate the larger number of users following these route improvements.
G) Signage needs to direct people along the existing route via Eildon Street to the Botanics East Entrance and route improvements along that section should be considered as it will form a useful link route – also to the Rocheid Path and Inverleith Terrace.
Done, finally. Just in the nick of time...
Following the earlier consultation on the route design proposals a consultation report has been completed which summarises the findings of the consultation and the Council’s responses to them. This can now be accessed via the following link;
https://consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.uk/sfc/design-cycle-walk-inverleith-row-goldenacre-path/
Unfortunately due to a current lack of resources this scheme has been placed on hold. We will ensure that you are kept up-to-date with any future developments regarding the scheme.
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