eurgh. Cardownie. the man of many parties and no visible principles.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure
Scottish Govmt announces £10m for pop up cycle/walking lanes
(3659 posts)-
Posted 2 years ago #
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Did nobody stop to think...
Clearly he didn't when he claimed that cyclists would be forced into the flow of traffic despite already being there due to the car parking.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I've used that bit of SfP.
It's an otherwise dead bit of roadspace right next to a pelican crossing (note the zigzag lines), so why not turn it over to peds? Just beyond it the road goes down to one lane anyway, so the alternative would just encourage cars (and cyclists) to scoot up the inside lane and try to filter into the main lane of traffic with the usual nonsense that causes.
Like all of these things, it's instructive to imagine these areas as pavement, rather than tarmac. In this instance, I'd hope the bit of kerb at the crossing would build out too, but that's not practical just now given the position of the button for the crossing.
Ideally, I wouldn't have that left-most kerb there but without it I'm sure a driver would reverse into it like a private parking space.
Posted 2 years ago # -
There is now another push on by people wanting rid of it. From Facebook -
URGENT HELP NEEDED THIS MORNING - FUTURE OF LANARK ROAD HANGS IN THE BALANCE
*The following post is from our friends in SWEM. It would appear the citywide cycling lobby was s mobilising to pressure the Council into retaining the segregated cycle lane. They would appreciate our help in emailing all councillors TODAY to support their case.
It would also be appreciated if those emailing could also call for the Council to follow the clearly expressed wishes of the 17,600 respondents to the Council’s SfP retention consultation - and the 17k or so signing the petition against permanency. We can’t allow the Council to become captured by minority interests - those of the fewer than 1% of all journey miles that are cycled by disproportionately male, white, affluent cyclists*
We need everyone to write to local councillors this morning - details below.
The Council meets tomorrow (Thursday) to make its final decision on the removal or retention of the Lanark Road scheme.
But lobby groups are placing pressure on councillors to backtrack. This evening a coalition of cycling lobby groups from Corstorphine, Blackford, Holyrood, Marchmont and Portobello are coming to Lanark Road to do a cycle protest against the council’s amendment to remove the Lanark Road scheme. (Please note, we ask that no one attempts to interfere with this cycle protest or engage with it in any way, for everyone’s safety, unless of course you are joining them!)
Local councillors claim they have received many more complaints about the removal of Lanark Road cycle lanes than about their installation.
But the facts about the Lanark Road scheme have not changed:
• the public consultation result was decisive (68% against)
• there have been two serious accidents in the last three weeks
• people needing kerbside access are being discriminated against
• it remains doubtful that justifying the scheme for public health reasons is lawful
We need this road to be safe for everyone but especially the 1,000+ children accessing clubs and nurseries every week.
Based on feedback from this group and our recent survey, we are proposing consideration of measures to prioritise safety for pedestrians and wheelchair users and create a safer environment for all those using the main carriageway:
• retaining the 30mph with urgent enforcement of this with reactivation of the speed cameras and introduction of vehicle activated speed signals
• pedestrian crossings (light assisted and traffic islands) need to be installed in various locations and proper dropped kerbs for wheelchair and buggy accessibility to and from pavements and traffic refuges
• proper built-out pavement to narrow some junctions at side streets so they are safer for pedestrians to cross and cyclists
• sight lines improved at junctions with retaining the double yellow lines at junctions
• a review of the bus lane to ensure that bus users are prioritised in a way that does not increase congestion and emissions
• road resurfacing as this was the cause of the recent ambulance attendance to a cyclist
• consideration of cycle lanes going round kerb-side parked carsPosted 2 years ago # -
If nothing else we seem to be shifting the Overton window.
With the exception of the last point all those proposed interventions are perfectly reasonable/desirable and notably don't preclude proper segregated cycle lanes either
Posted 2 years ago # -
“
Please note, we ask that no one attempts to interfere with this cycle protest or engage with it in any way, for everyone’s safety, unless of course you are joining them!
“
Don’t know if the last part means they realise some of their followers might support keeping the lanes(?)
Posted 2 years ago # -
Tee hee. Evil Cycling Lobby entryists in SWEM; who would have thought it...
Posted 2 years ago # -
“
it remains doubtful that justifying the scheme for public health reasons is lawful“
Presume that’s a reference to ‘Covid emergency measures’? Isn’t continuation a means to seeing if things c/should be better/permanent and perfectly legal?
Posted 2 years ago # -
“
We need this road to be safe for everyone but especially the 1,000+ children accessing clubs and nurseries every week.
“
This is weaselly (and a bit contradictory if they really care about child safety) and demonstrates the fundamental problem - ‘they’ are merely trying to maintain/restore the status quo and are unwilling to accept that things have/do change and that different/better is desirable/possible.
Posted 2 years ago # -
“
disproportionately male, white, affluent cyclists*
“
Which is changing of course - and needs to change more.
All about retaining the car-centric status quo.
Other places are managing to shift things, and Edinburgh seemed to be moving in that direction until some councillors decided to ignore the advice of officials.
‘Representing their voters’ is one thing, but they also need to be able to lead/explain.
* As opposed to disproportionately male, white, affluent car drivers.
Posted 2 years ago # -
@MediumDave
If nothing else we seem to be shifting the Overton window.
Agreed. If we think back to the last time Concerned Residents got together to oppose cycle lanes at Roseburn their position was that there was nothing wrong, no need to make any changes and everything was fine.
Now, at least in public, these groups have had to acknowledge that perhaps things aren’t all rosy and have, however grudgingly, said that things need to change.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Had to look it up
Posted 2 years ago # -
Indeed, it's a classic "Won't somebody please think of the children?!" ploy
Keenan defined "Lovejoy's Law" as a warning that the phrase is a probable diversion from a weak logical stance, writing that true empathy toward children involved rational argument rather than manipulation.
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_of_the_children#Lovejoy's_Law"
Can anyone shed any light on the "two serious accidents in the last three weeks"? I've so far found no mention in the EEN, local online news sources, or the Police Scotland news feed. The nearest I can find is a report of a traffic warden on a motor scooter being squashed outside the Sainsbury's petrol station on Lanark Road West on 4th July when a driver ran in to the back of a queue of stationery traffic. I can't see that having anything whatsoever to do with the cycle lanes east of Gillespie Road. Oh, there is a Tweet about an accident on 30th May "involving a car parked in a floating space" - which again sounds like a driver not paying attention to where they're going.)
Posted 2 years ago # -
Sainsbury’s or jet garage as was has no cycle lane whatsoever
It is in fact A Lie
Posted 2 years ago # -
Not sure if it was the May 30th one, or separate, but I was told recently about a collision where a child ran between two cars from the floating car parking and was then hit by a cyclist. Child and cyclist both received minor injuries, I think.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I also saw a tweet about a dog being struck by a cyclist recently, when the owner was getting it out of the car.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Some way up thread there was some discussion about the claim of 45% residents not having access to a car. The explanation for this is in the Q&A section for tomorrow’s council meeting:
The 45% is based on the 2019 citywide travel behaviour survey of 5,172 residents undertaken across all wards. Results of the market research survey were weighted by the age and gender of respondents to give a result that was broadly representative of the Edinburgh population. It would have been possible to similarly weight the results of the Market Research Survey by car ownership of respondents. If weighting is applied, support for all types of measure increases – e.g. 1% up for protected cycle lanes, 3% up for extra space in the city centre.
However, in order to avoid any concerns that officers had attempted to manipulate the results of the survey, this weighting was not carried out.Posted 2 years ago # -
My understanding is that two drivers crashed into stationary vehicles, one of which was at the far end of the hundreds of meters of parking beside the canal. And a cyclist and child were in collision by the park, but neither seriously injured.
It's too soon to tell. The plural of anecdote is not data.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Posted 2 years ago #
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"We can't have bike lanes because drivers keep crashing"
Would that be a fair summary?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Maybe they should speak to the residents of Lower Granton Road at Wardie Bay, who have drivers crashing into parked cars every week.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Slightly related to previous discussions
Posted 2 years ago # -
Positive citizen action ahoy!
Posted 2 years ago # -
That hedge has encroached regularly on the footway ever since it was planted. I've reported it more than once over the years.
Posted 2 years ago # -
It's by no means the only one on Comiston Road, either. The bus stop opposite Charnwood (ex Tusitala) is regularly in danger of being engulfed in privet.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Not bad, how much have the roads cost in maintenance?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Nothing obviously -
‘Why doesn’t the council spend money on fixing potholes instead?’
Posted 2 years ago # -
Yes, you see by building these lanes and having lots of people cycling in them, instead of driving on the roads there has been an increased capacity to address potholes Victor.
Victor - I don’t believe it.
Posted 2 years ago # -
“
We do not lack public space.
We lack imagination!
“
https://mobile.twitter.com/fietsprofessor/status/1372186425756635138
Video
Posted 2 years ago #
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