Dedicated off-road cycle path from Portobello to Leith

[wangi]

[admin: split from the Cycling on the Promenade thread]
North pavement of Seafield Rd from the railway bridge to Seafield St / Marine Dr is going to be designated as shared use for cyclists & pedestrians. It is already shared use from the end of the Prom to the bridge.

Honestly I'd have preferred to see the "Sewage Works Path" upgraded...

Uncertain if the widening of pavements discussed is only on the section being changed now, or the full length of pavement that is shared use.

http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh/Wide ... 6808385.jp

CYCLISTS are to be given access to more of the city's pavements in a bid create an off-road cycle route between Leith and Portobello.
Part of Seafield Road will see its pavement widened to more than 11ft to allow both cyclists and pedestrians to use it.
...

From reports to the Transport, Infrastructure and Environment Committee on 2 Aug: Item 20 - Seafield Road and Craigleith to Botanic Gardens Cycle Route - Commencement of Statutory Procedures to Permit Use of Footways by Cyclists.

Thread on CityCyclingEdinburgh: http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpres ... hp?id=3483
L/

[Porty]

Couldn't agree more about upgrading the sewage path. I have long thought that this should be done in conjunction with widening the shared footpath from the end of of the Prom to the sewage path entrance. I would also recommend that they remove the signage posts from the middle of the pavement!

[wangi]

North pavement of Seafield Rd from the railway bridge to Seafield St / Marine Dr is going to be designated as shared use for cyclists & pedestrians. It is already shared use from the end of the Prom to the bridge.

Honestly I'd have preferred to see the "Sewage Works Path" upgraded...

Uncertain if the widening of pavements discussed is only on the section being changed now, or the full length of pavement that is shared use.

And that plan to allow cycling on pavement of Seafield Road has now been approved (after the work was completed): http://www.greenerleith.org/greener-lei ... roved.html

Leith to Portobello cycle path improvements approved

Today councillors gave full planning permission to proposals to upgrade the cycle path from Leith Links to Portobello, with work now due to start in the new year on a new ramp out of Leith Links and up to the railway line.

You can see a detailed map of the Leith Links end of the proposed works here.

This means that the cycle route eastwards from Leith will be much improved. The new path will be tarmac, and not mud, it will be wider, and it will connect properly with Seafield Street and a wider, shared use pavement along Seafield Road that links up with the Portobello promenade. It will also be lit at night for the length of the whole route.

...

[Franck]

And that plan to allow cycling on pavement of Seafield Road has now been approved (after the work was completed):

Excellent.That's my daily route and it can quite hairy (especially during hurricane bawbag).

[Grunk]

I don't actually like shared pavements, as cyclists and pedestrians tend to get in the way of each other.

Really what you want in a cycle path is a transport conduit that you can cycle down without fear of a pedestrian or dog suddenly deciding to veer off into your path. Now this idea, works well in other countries, where there is a clear demarcation between the section of the path to be used by cyclist and the section to be used by pedestrians.

But I can't help but feel that a better way to do cycle paths in Edinburgh, is to have a section of curbing dividing the main road and the cycle path, whilst keeping the footpath raised. This would allow the cycle path remain seperate from the road (and t-junction traffic lights) whilst encouraging the pedestrians/dog walkers to remain clear of the cycle path.

I imagine if I cycle that route, I'll remain on the road.

[wangi]

I imagine if I cycle that route, I'll remain on the road.

Problem is the road is now quite narrow...

[seashell]

We drove along the Seafield section the other day, and not only is the road narrow, it is in bad repair and the "new" wider pavement is either not yet finished or they've done a terrible job on it. It doesn't look as if either drivers or cyclists are going to be happy. A proper, dedicated cycle route would have been much better instead of this half-hearted compromise. Given the amount of traffic on that road, narrowing it really doesn't make much sense.

[rmolehusband]

We drove along the Seafield section the other day, and not only is the road narrow, it is in bad repair and the "new" wider pavement is either not yet finished or they've done a terrible job on it.

They contractors overran by a few weeks and I suspect it's not properly finished yet. Hopefully will be tidied up in the new year.

It doesn't look as if either drivers or cyclists are going to be happy. A proper, dedicated cycle route would have been much better instead of this half-hearted compromise. Given the amount of traffic on that road, narrowing it really doesn't make much sense.

I haven't cycled the new path yet. I tend to be on the road from Filyside going toward Leith but I suspect that with the new narrowed road I'll use now the path. It is a shame that a better solution couldn't be found but, as a regular cyclist and motorist on that route, I think it is progress in the right direction. The crucial thing is that it gives those who didn't feel safe/comfortable cycling on the road an alternative.

I've driven it a few times during/after the works and I don't think the narrower road will make much difference, that section of road still won't be the bottleneck. The space has come from the central partition and the parking restrictions in from of the tenement Cycling past that tenement used to be a bit hairy because of the parked cars, I suspect the road is actually wider now.

There is a plan to link all of this up to Leith Links, see the link for some details as well as some some suggestions as to why the separate 'railway path' option wasn't used.

http://www.greenerleith.org/greener-lei ... roved.html

[rmolehusband]

Cycling past that tenement used to be a bit hairy because of the parked cars, I suspect the road is actually wider now

Scratch that, the parked cars were back this morning,

[wangi]

LEITH TO PORTOBELLO CYCLING IMPROVEMENTS (PHASE TWO)

The City of Edinburgh Council, in partnership with Sustrans, is developing a scheme to further enhance cycling and walking provision between Leith and Portobello. This scheme supports walking and cycling policies detailed in the Council’s current Local Transport Strategy and Active Travel Action Plan.

The proposed works include:

• · resurfacing and widening of the existing foot/cycle path along the north side of Leith Links, between St. Mary’s Primary School and the ramp to the former railway embankment near Seafield Place;
  · minor improvements for cyclists on Seafield Road at the Seafield Street junction;
  · resurfacing and widening of the existing shared use cycleway on Seafield Road East, between Seafield Road (‘S’ bend) and the Portobello Promenade access

In addition, improvements for pedestrians and cyclists at the Seafield Road/Seafield Road East ‘S’ bend are currently being investigated. This will seek to resurface and widen the shared use cycleway at this narrow corner.

The proposed improvements for Leith Links and Seafield Road East are shown in the attached plan. It is currently anticipated that work on this scheme will commence on site in February 2014, and will last for approximately six weeks. Further information on construction dates and any access restrictions during construction will be available in January 2014.

We would welcome any comments or suggestions relating to the proposals – please forward these to CyclingProjects.Consultation@edinburgh.gov.uk or alternatively call 0131 469 3592.

The closing date for any comments is Friday 20th December 2013. A response will be provided to all enquiries/comments after this date.

Please forward this information on to any other parties who you feel may be interested in the proposals.

Attached drawings (click for larger size):





PDF versions at http://talkporty.org/hosted/lcn10ph2/

[twellys]

Apparently Sustrans are in favour of turning the path south of the sewage works into a cycle path, so avoiding Seafield Road between Seafield Street to the bridge.

However Edinburgh Council for some reason have not added this to the improvements at this time.

[Max Blinkhorn]

Thinking that any cyclist on that path by the railway stretch would be vulnerable. It would need to be lit too. If the path were extended into Leith docks to come out by the Casino (spit) that would work very well. There is space. Take it on to Ocean Terminal then Newhaven after that.

[twellys]

Agreed. Again apparently Sustrans would like a cycle path from Cramond to Musselburgh, ideally by the sea. Howewer they need to negotiate with National Rail, Forth Ports, etc., which takes time.

[Bazza]

@twellys: the council didn't just decide not to use that single-track path behind the railway track. It's on railway land, and is not available for the council to use. I was sceptical about the widened pavement they put in instead, but it works really well.

[Bazza]

But these design changes to my mind are tackling the wrong problems, welcome though they are.

The section through the car park at the foot of bath street can be dangerous, and cars can also block the cycle path at the north end.

The section past the school on Leith Links is very narrow, and has very annoying barriers. When kids are going in to school in the mornings, it gets very busy, and trying to take a bike through the crowd is not easy!

And then the path is supposed to carry on to the Water of Leith. That section takes you right in to a rat run through the heart of Leith. The drivers that use it are fast and aggressive, and the road surface is god-awful. THAT is what I would tackle first. I'd put a segregated bike path down Links Place, and I'd block off the rat-run on Queen Charlotte street, so that it wasn't a through road. All you'd need to block the rat-run would be a single metal bollard, so not expensive.

[twellys]

The problem with Queen Charlotte Street is the Leith Police Station is on that street. However I share your concern of the narrow streets behind the Shore. Hoping that, with the roadworks ended on the junction with Constitution Street, there will be less cars going down the rat-run.

@Bazza: Yes, I'm just passing on third hand information from my wife's relation. Her relation is/was high up in Sustrans, but her relation doesn't report back what the council's views/decisions. That's all.

Cheers.