CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Cycling News

"Major bicycle route upgrade in Edinburgh gets under way"

(24 posts)

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  1. cc
    Member

    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.

    Posted 12 years ago #
  2. amir
    Member

    "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 #
  3. cc
    Member

    @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 #
  4. SRD
    Moderator

    Graphic that story links to is interesting: change of pace in daily transport.

    Supposed to be a link to the route, but isn't.

    Posted 12 years ago #
  5. cc
    Member

    Ah, yes, here's the Scotsman's graphic.

    http://thesteamie.scotsman.com/viewpost.aspx?id=573

    Posted 12 years ago #
  6. kaputnik
    Moderator

    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 #
  7. kaputnik
    Moderator

    SRD's link could be subtitled "or why the last 15 years of transport policy has utterly failed"

    Posted 12 years ago #
  8. Dave
    Member

    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 #
  9. custard
    Member

    @ kaputnik
    thought the same myself today!

    Posted 12 years ago #
  10. kaputnik
    Moderator

    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 #
  11. custard
    Member

    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 #
  12. wingpig
    Member

    "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 #
  13. custard
    Member

    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 #
  14. spudgt2
    Member

    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 #
  15. cc
    Member

    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 #
  16. steveo
    Member

    I went past the tram sub station on the way to the sorting office, "upgrades" kaputnik mentioned above...

    Posted 12 years ago #
  17. custard
    Member

    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 pointless

    Posted 11 years ago #
  18. Dave
    Member

    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 11 years ago #
  19. custard
    Member

    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 exist

    Posted 11 years ago #
  20. Arellcat
    Moderator

    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 11 years ago #
  21. LivM
    Member

    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 11 years ago #
  22. crowriver
    Member

    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 11 years ago #
  23. Tulyar
    Member

    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 11 years ago #
  24. Dave
    Member

    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 11 years ago #

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