http://www.scotsman.com/news/major-bicycle-route-upgrade-in-edinburgh-gets-under-way-1-2205605
I wouldn't have called it "major", myself, but there is an election and a ride on parliament coming up.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Cycling News
"Major bicycle route upgrade in Edinburgh gets under way"
(24 posts)-
Posted 12 years ago #
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"A second phase of the work in the summer will see improvements for cyclists and pedestrians at the Mayfield Road/West Mains Road junction outside the King’s Buildings campus."
This can't come sooner for me. I turn right into the campus everyday here and it always makes me nervous. It doesn't help that the white lines down the middle were not reinstated since repairs were down a few years ago [shouldn't the council crack down on utilities on things like this - basic safety].
Posted 12 years ago # -
@amir yes, true, a genuinely safer arrangement for cycling into and out of the KB campus would be very welcome.
I know how dangerous the roads round KB can be - my car was written off there when another car rammed into the back of it at full speed. The driver of the other car appeared so preoccupied with people waiting to come out of KB that she forgot to look and see my car already on the road right in front of her. If I'd been cycling then I'd have been killed; as it was I just got a bit of whiplash and a new car.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Ah, yes, here's the Scotsman's graphic.
Posted 12 years ago # -
I spotted interesting new "upgrade" works today on the Broomhouse path parallel to the tram line.
Just before the junctions on the path, they've laid down a small, chamfered central kerb with ridges slabs on either side. The ridges run parallel to the path on the cycling side and perpendicular on the walking side. I assume to set up a rumble-strip to remind you when you're on the "wrong" side. Rather than to remind you you are approaching a junction.
I was amused that this investment has been seen as a priority. when there are still large holes and diversions in the path courtesy of the tram works.
Posted 12 years ago # -
SRD's link could be subtitled "or why the last 15 years of transport policy has utterly failed"
Posted 12 years ago # -
I always thought they had the ridges the wrong way around on those tactile slabs. Who wants to risk being tramlined by a slippery parallel ridge when you can just bzzzap over the perpendicular ones?
Also - have we started down the dismal approach of segregating the paths then? Sigh. The unsegregated ones work so much better (with the sole exception of MMW).
Posted 12 years ago # -
@ kaputnik
thought the same myself today!Posted 12 years ago # -
it's a particularly lightly used path (by both pedestrians and cyclists) too. Not a major conflict zone.
Some works to provide better connectivity (i.e. the ability to get on/offto the path from the road without resorting to bunny hops into and out of traffic!) might have been a lot more useful.
Or removing the random mid-path obstructions (speed cameras, lamp posts...)
Or better aligned and priorities crossings - crossing cycle here designed purely to fit allow as many cars through as possible. Pressing the button to cross does not provide "on demand" crossing, it just means that the lights will go green for you at the next phase in the cycle. That can be 3 minutes sometimes once all the car phases are through.
Or altering the newly constructed access road into the tram substation to give the cycle path priority over it, rather than dropping kerbs and having to run over a bit of roadway, it should be constant path, with any traffic having to stop and give way to pedestrians / cyclists and crossing when its clear.
But no, lets tackle a non-existant conflict issue instead. This IS Edinburgh...
Posted 12 years ago # -
i still dont understand why they didnt shunt a bike lane over by the tramlines and give it a feed over the bridges that will be there,with slip feeds to the roads if required
Posted 12 years ago # -
"i still dont understand why they didnt shunt a bike lane over by the tramlines and give it a feed over the bridges that will be there,with slip feeds to the roads if required"
Presumably adding a few metres' width to a bridge capable of (eventually) supporting a tram or (way back in Yore) a #22 every few minutes was deemed too expensive and was therefore not considered. Presumably the alternatives (strapping a lightweight extra few metres onto the side (such as has been done to many other bridges elsewhere in the city and the world) or building a wee extra span for peds and cycles (like the Coltbridge-St Georges bridge over the Roseburn path)) were deemed not important enough to bother spending any time considering.
Posted 12 years ago # -
yup.as you say,no need for massive works
ped/bike traffic doesnt need super strength building.
seems a great way to create a bike lane that works.
could even have created a bike park & ride!Posted 12 years ago # -
Is this corridor just a matter of painting the road and adding more signage or is there actual infrastructure change? I'm a bit confused by it?
Posted 12 years ago # -
They're painting the road and restricting parking a bit more. Unfortunately they've also introduced extra car parking spaces right where people used to cycle, narrowing the road and forcing bikes out into scary traffic.
The residents consultation leaflet can be downloaded here and more detailed drawings are here.
Posted 12 years ago # -
I went past the tram sub station on the way to the sorting office, "upgrades" kaputnik mentioned above...
Posted 12 years ago # -
right,perhaps im missing the point?
while fitting these,they leave a kerb width gap at either side
also today with a wet path it let to a definate tramline effect on the wider 35c tyres. not a pleasant of confidence inspiring feeling
so its 'safer' to jump to the ped side. even more so on the downhill to the road junctions.seems pointlessPosted 12 years ago # -
The idea is that people will 'prefer' the tramlines to the rumble strips, so it will remind cyclists to stay on the correct side.
However, I've had one "off" too many due to tramlining and always cross on the pedestrian side to avoid a crash (unless I know in advance that the tacticle paving is old and insipid).
The mad thing is, it would work perfectly if the bike side was smooth, and the ped side had a rumble strip. Really, a prime example of something thought up by a non cyclist who didn't take the trouble to observe the world around them.
Posted 12 years ago # -
okay,who do i contact regarding these?
I have been 'messing' around with these over my commute
the tramline section is dangerous/not fit for purpose
the raised kerb in the centre is madness
I'm actually very annoed with these. its a solution to a problem that doesnt existPosted 12 years ago # -
Custard & Kaputnik, have a look at the DfT guidance on tacile paving surfaces, pp53-63, Segregated Shared Cycle Track/Footway Surface and Central Delineator Strip.
Posted 12 years ago # -
I would also guess that pushchairs and wheelchairs would find a tramlines (or preferably, smooth) surface easier than a rumble strip . Seems like it really is the wrong way round for many users :/
Posted 12 years ago # -
They're painting the road and restricting parking a bit more. Unfortunately they've also introduced extra car parking spaces right where people used to cycle, narrowing the road and forcing bikes out into scary traffic.
Had a look at some of the plans for central Edinburgh.
I don't mean to be churlish, it's positive that the Council are doing something to cater for cyclists, but this is a very contingent 'improvement'.
First off, we are still having to share space with buses and taxis in the new lanes, for the most part.
Secondly, the 'exclusivity' of the lanes is restricted to peak commuting times ie, 7.30-9.30am; 4.00-6.30pm. I presume anyone cycling outwith those times will have to share the lane with assorted beamers, white vans and HGVs?
Thirdly, the council have tried too hard to accommodate every conceivable road user. I note a new official taxi rank has been plonked right in the bike/bus/taxi lane on George IV Bridge, for example. Also the previously mentioned additional parking spaces, etc.
It's a mish-mash of compromised good intentions, basically. Typical UK cycling infrastructure, in fact: well meaning, but ultimately of limited utility.
Sigh.
Posted 12 years ago # -
The tramlines are preferred by those with wheelchairs and prams, who cross to the cycle side for the easier path. There was a vaguely cogent argument for the ridges running across the path on the walking side which I'll need to look out but few were engaged to really lobby for the commonsense here.
BUT there are very strict dimensions for the height and shape used, and several cyclists falls have lead to claims upheld because the wrong profile and spec has been used by the contractor (and possibly specified by the designer). I know there was a programme of testing and research carried out about 20 years ago at TRL for the DETR, supervised by Gordon Harland. I've been trying for around 3 years to get details but TRL cannot find the stuff in their records and DfT.... This could prove invaluable in getting better standards for any vertical displacement which knocks tyres sideways (eg level crossings, cracks running along the carriageway, poor joints in trench reinstatement, and tram lines). Essentially anything greater than 5mm and up to 20mm is a serious hazard if struck at an oblique angle. More than 20mm - should be so obvious that you avoid it anyway - almost a kerb.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Ironic, the people on the pedestrian side prefer a smooth run on the cycle side and cyclists prefer a rumble strip to coming off on wet tramlines...
Posted 12 years ago #
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