CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years 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.
resolvedIf you have the time you can buy a day ticket for the bus(or a single if you know this will be your only journey) get off at first stop from the airport then get on the tram.
Not sure about the trains though.
All brilliant though that tram, it is fab.
Hmmm. I've just sat through the discussion at the Housing and Economy Committee discussion on the Edinburgh Airport Access Road.
It wasn't as bad as I feared...
Yes they were talking about building a new road from Gogar Roundabout but there was several comments about making it a public transport corridor.
They also refered to the WETA list of interventions needed in the area which has some decent Active Travel & Public Transport initiatives.
The problem is that they total £28m and there is £47m of out and out road schemes on the list too and the City Deal only has funding for c.£20m. Paul Lawrence mentioned that a prioritisation exercise was currently underway and what ever was chosen would need to generate economic benefit...
No idea how that economic benefit is going to be calculated and whether that will just mean the road schemes get the go ahead...
The general sense of the discussion was just get one with it...
There is a 3 way meeting next week between Edinburgh Airport, Transport Scotland & Edinburgh Council to discuss what can be done and who will pay for it...
All paid for by EA??
@Gembo, I'm maybe misunderstanding - are you saying there's a way to get from city to Airport on tram and/or bus on one £1.70 ticket?
I normally walk the last bit when heading out to airport, so it's of interest, though I do quite like the walk normally.
@gkgk, no, sorry, two 1.70 tix, one on bus from airport to second tram stop. Works best if you buy a day ticket as you are using bus then tram then more buses later
@chdot - the current strategy is for it to be 'developer led' but there was some consideration (but no decision) on whether it should be 'council led'.
It should be noted that they also have some s75 money from 2 hotels built at the Airport.
What would be the worse outcome would be burning the City Deal money on an out and out road scheme...
I could see an outcome where they build a 2 lane road to the airport and claim it is good for public transport as 1 lane would be for buses...
The headline inflates the concern, but this is still a pretty exaggerated justification for a new road -
“
we are probably one major incident away from Scotland’s largest airport being cut off entirely.
“
To be fair there are occasions where getting to the airport is more than a little difficult because of congestion or accidents but then a tram can be boarded from any number of stops which are easily accessible by car/taxi/bus and would be unlikely to be affected by anything happening on the airport road.
Glasgow airport claims it also has not enough road capacity.
Wants ScotGov to build them a rail link first. (Or restore commitment to re-instate plans).
Of course with the (impossible) infinite expansion of air travel they'll need another road too.
@steveo, I did that when airport roads were gridlocked and taxi firms were unable to function.
Edinburgh had the tram and nearby rail link so needs another road
Glasgow has a massive motorway so it needs a rail link.
The Black Cart /White Cart (always forget which one) causes flooding down that way. Ferguslie Park bring built at sea level, just needs the morning rain to flood it. The massive motorway also a slight obstacle for the new railway.
Can I park my bicycle at the Airport for 2 days is there that sort of parking for cyclists
As far as I know, the only cycle parking is these cycle racks here (Street View link).
Apologies for thread bump. Does anyone know if, generally, it's easy enough to get a free space in the airport bike rack? I have a day trip with work on Tuesday and will ideally ride to the airport about 4am and collect bike on return at 7pm. Just want to avoid riding there to then have to about turn and get the bus (home is only 4 mines from airport). I do try and avoid flying for work but not always successful...
Yea there is normally space, even if you have to squeeze the bike in, especially at this time of year
Thanks, I'll give it a punt on my least desirable bike :)
Rode to airport today, back tomorrow from a quick work trip down south. Space in bike rack was easily found and looks secure ish, hopefully all will be there tomorrow evening when I return (using a sold secure silver rock and hope no-one lurks around the airport with bolt cutters). The ride was fine, but not for those averse to poor surfaces (A8 path) and traffic (Corstorphine Road). Also difficult to find an intuitive route from the A8 westbound onto the A8 path without cutting across two lanes of traffic onto Turnhouse Rd or lifting bike down steps to the gyle underpass..
Connectivity between Maybury and the airport junction is rubbish.
One option (a little indirect, and completely unsignposted for anyone unfamiliar with the area (like, I dunno, bike tourists going to/from the airport), but at least you can keep moving/cycling and don't have to try to struggle across the very human-unfriendly Gogar roundabout) for going west would be:
Go onto the footway at the (former) Comet entrance/exit (I think it has drop kerbs, it certainly should), or even at the Marriott Hotel, go beyond the Edinburgh Gateway underpass and then hairpin down the ramp to go through the underpass to the station;
Cycle through the station plaza, carefully ignoring the "no cycling" signs and that they built it a little too crampedly for comfortable shared use (an opportunity badly missed);
Cycle out of the station not-car-park;
Use the fairly mediocre "cycleway" footway along the north side of the A8 until you get to Gogarburn;
Spiral round over the Gogarburn bridge, and then take the dreadful insta-180° hairpin (seriously, who let that bit of golden rule 2 through planning) to rejoin the south side cycleway.
What should have happened when the tramline was being designed was that a parallel cycleway should have been built alongside it from Edinburgh Gateway (I know that came later, but it was in the planning at the same time) right up to the airport. But that would have been too much like common sense, I guess.
Useful stuff daveckyl, I'll keep that in mind. I have the good fortune not to be going that way too often but it's a bloody mess you're right
I love how going eastbound on the north side, once past the Gogar roundabout and approaching the Maybury, you end up in some bushes if you follow the path intuitively.
By the tracks, it looks like many others have made that same mistake...
Is that underpass easily accessible from South Gyle Station? That would be convenient.
@amir: Depends on your definition of 'easy', but yes (route map). There's a path/cycleway alongside South Gyle Broadway but I'm not familiar with its condition. It looks as though there may also be alternative paths into the Gyle Centre car park that might result in a marginally shorter route.
(It might not suit your travel time or route, but trains that don't stop at South Gyle stop at Edinburgh Gateway instead, if that's the direction you are going. I see that there are some through services from the Borders railway that extend but which only go as far as South Gyle, which seems a bit of a missed opportunity, when if they terminated at Edinburgh Gateway instead, this would allow an easy change to the tram to RBS (or even a shortish walk), Ingliston P&R and the Airport.)
Yes, I would be coming on the Borders line. I agree it is nicer to start from Edinburgh Gateway if going west from the big roundabout at the end of the bypass. But through trains are also nicer than changing. The return for me is easier.
Incidentally, I don't suppose you could say use returns to Edinburgh Gateway to get to South Gyle from eg Eskbank, even if the train doesn't go as far as Gateway?
“I don't suppose you could say use returns to Edinburgh Gateway to get to South Gyle from eg Eskbank, even if the train doesn't go as far as Gateway?”
You main ‘don’t stop at Gateway’?
Yes.
You could even get back on at SG and go to EG, unless (unlikely) it was an advance ticket for specific train.
Do you mean returns to Edinburgh Park?
Even that should be ok for SG - legitimately and/or in practice.
you end up in some bushes if you follow the path intuitively
Oh I know those bushes.
Thanks all for an interesting discussion. Arrived back this PM, some observations/thoughts on the experiment. Plane to home in approx 35 mins which is on par with the airlink.
1 - bike was fine, no sign of any security risk. Other bikes in the rack were in exactly the same places so suggests it's not heavily used or used for longer trips.
2 - no signage or indication how one actually leaves the airport on a bike. I just rode the way I'd drive as far as the A8 but can't imagine everyone would feel comfortable with that. Lots of closer than ideal passes from taxis plus I'm not convinced people "expect" to see bikes there.
3 - usual crap surface on A8 path and needlessly indirect routing.
In summary, I'd do it again, but there's no way that things are set up to make riding to the airport a realistic choice (but suggest demand isn't massive either, sadly).
Oh I know those bushes.
I've done that route daily for more than a decade and I still get caught out and end up in the bushes...
The bushes are only marginally worse than the path which requires two almost simultaneous 90 degree turns while watching for traffic coming from 4 or 5 different angles to cross Turnhouse Road. (or taking the mudbath shortcut).
@Davecykl, If you don't like the "cyclists dismount" point* at Edinburgh Gateway then you can come back up to the A90 after going through the underpass and continue on the shared use path on the north side of the road.
Given that they couldn't even manage to build the tram straight enough to avoid snails pace bends it's no wonder they forgot to build a cycle path.
*point because there are no no cycling signs so I have convinced myself that they simply want to ensure that you stop and pay attention before crossing the path between the trains and the trams.
@Amir, as possibly the only regular northbound Edinburgh Gateway commuter I have on occasion found myself with 5 minutes to get between Gateway and South Gyle after a cancellation. The route is easy to find from the out of town platform at SG. Turn right after leaving the platform and pick up a path at the far corner of the car park. It's visible on chdot's map but for some reason OSM isn't routing along it. This run almost parallel to the track and spits you out at the Gyle where you have to fend for yourself to the far corner where the underpass to Gateway starts.
Alternatively if you need to get to the Edinburgh bound platform you would probably be quicker sticking on the A90 until the start of Gyle Park where you can pick up the cycle path to the back gate of the station.
AC - I have high moderate hope that the muddy desire line will be sorted this summer...
(You have also confused A8 with A90 in you posts above - but I agree with everything you have written once that is changed)
Thanks all
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