This Wednesday residents, cyclists and traders who say they will be affected by the council’s proposed plans to develop a new cycle route from Roseburn to Leith will go to the City Chambers to present their petition to the Transport Convener.
The protest rails against proposals to introduce a new cycle way from Roseburn to Haymarket on the A8. They claim that it will affect businesses, create more congestion, air pollution and will be less safe for pedestrians.
The council’s consultation on the proposals closes today and you can read more about the proposals here.
The route which the council proposes is shown below
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The petition suggests using the existing National Cycle Route 1 as an alternative. The route runs along the off-road paths and low-traffic streets of Balbirnie. The protesters say this will save the council £1 million.
The protesters say that 2,278 people have signed the petition, (although the online version only has 422 signatures we are told there are many more on paper) and that 167 are cyclists.
They tell us: “The petition was started last month and most signatories are from the 6,203 strong adult local population. Spokes have organised their own counter-petition, with 580 signatures in favour. Protesters are thrilled that four times as many oppose the plans as support them. But the petition almost did not happen. Nobody in Roseburn knew about the proposals, due to the fact the Council forgot to inform locals of their plans. It was only due to the efforts of Ward Councillor Jeremy Balfour that the Council agreed to extend its consultation period by a month to 1st Feb.
“Shops will close should the cycle track go ahead- in Roseburn alone, 75% of the parking will be replaced by double red lines, thus preventing traders getting supplies. 34 businesses along the route submitted an open letter to Councillor Hinds on 29 January, published by the Edinburgh Evening News, outlining their concerns. Over a third of the population are elderly and bought homes in the area because of the shops and they are particularly fearful of the Council’s plans. The only businesses getting their own loading bays are Scotmid in Roseburn and Tescos in Haymarket. However, should a car park in one of them, lorries will be unable to unload food.
“The protesters will hear from those representing their voices- Pete Gregson, petitioner, local father and cyclist, fears the congestion, as 1,200 cars and 40 lorries at peak hour are reduced from 4 lanes to 2. The removal of the westbound bus lane heralds chaos , as the 80 buses and 160 lorries vie for road space where previously they had a bus lane – yet Lothian Buses have backed the scheme. He believes air pollution will soon rival that of St John’s Road, Scotland’s worst. Pedestrians will be unsafe, expected to cross back and forth through cycling traffic to get to bus-stops and to cross roads. This is all for the sake of the 40 cyclists using the road at this time.
“Taxi drivers too, are angry at the planned removal of the taxi rank outside Haymarket Station, which threatens the viability of the City’s only integrated transport hub, where trains, taxis, trams and busses all meet. Disabled people will suffer as they will have to journey further from the hub to get to the taxi rank.”
Local businessmen and councillors are expected to speak at the protest.
Businesses from Roseburn to Haymarket have put huge posters in their shop windows. The traders line the path of the proposed one kilometre stretch of cycle track on the A8, which is to form the first leg of the Roseburn to Leith cycle track. They hope these will catch the eye of the drivers of the 2,000 vehicles which travel this road every day.
Petitioner Pete Gregson (and a Spokes member) said: “If the Council has declared war on the car, the best way of reducing congestion in town is not to make it worse. They should consider the Congestion Charge again they lost 12 years ago, but this time I believe this time they’d get it through.”
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We need to get beyond the mindset that folk travelling in their own tin box are in the majority and are more important than the rest of the population. Share the space more effectively and make it easier to cycle and walk.
On behalf of Spokes, we should point out that although Pete Gregson is indeed a Spokes member he is the only one of our 1000 or so members who has informed Spokes of his opposition to the Council’s plan, whereas large numbers have told us they support it.
The Spokes response to the consultation is on this web page…
http://www.spokes.org.uk/2016/01/city-centre-east-west-route
All Spokes members were emailed asking for comments and there was extensive discussion in drawing up our response which we therefore believe represents the views of the great majority of our members.
I lived on roseburn terrace above the bank for 6 years, I saw every possible permutation of motorist disaster, absolute ignorance of signage, traffic signals, and anyone not in a vehicle. This is long long overdue for this wee bit of the street, I note that many of the locals are not opposing this, just business owners that don’t live locally for the majority, the loading only segments are abused by the patrons of the café and deli, a bacon roll is NOT loading by the way. This street needs this, and businesses here were failing well before this proposal, the spar and the restaurant were just 2, but the wine shop and print shop were other victims prior to those. SO its always had its failures, with and without traffic or cyclist lanes. People need to accept that more people travel by bike here now, an inconvenient truth nonetheless.
The plan also includes widening the pavement in Roseburn Terrace and better pedestrian crossings, so it will not just benefit commuters who cycle through, but many of the locals who walk to the shops.
If we want to encourage more people to cycle and leave the car at home, with all the benefits this brings for congestion, pollution and health, we urgently need good direct cycle paths along all the major arterial routes that are attractive for everybody. This plan is a very good step forward.
The existing National Cycle route 1 that the protesters promote is simply too convoluted and has many narrow sections shared with pedestrians; it will not be able to take more cyclists. A couple of users have put together a document outlining the problems with the existing route and why the new direct route would be a huge improvement:
<a href="http://www.chrispaton.co.uk/documents/TheimportanceoftheproposedRoseburntoHaymarketcycleway.pdf"
I’m not a Spokes member, I drive, cycle and take the bus depending on the purpose of the journey, and having looked at the plans in detail I believe they will overall benefit most people.
The link in my previous comment should be:
http://www.chrispaton.co.uk/documents/TheimportanceoftheproposedRoseburntoHaymarketcycleway.pdf
It is worth reading why so many people support the Council’s proposals. Here is a blog article that lists views from many individual people:
https://hankchiefblog.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/why-people-support-a-protected-cycle-lane/
Pedal on Parliament has summarised the main case for support in “Five reasons in five words”:
http://pedalonparliament.org/supporting-edinburghs-east-west-cycle-route-five-reasons-in-five-words/
The proposed plan raises concerns for passing trade and deliveries whom wish to park for short periods of time in Roseburn will no longer be able to do so.
As a local resident it is important we retain the excellent local services we have. Proposals which make it harder for customers to reach local shops by the transport method of their choice will only make it harder for these shops to survive and prosper to the detriment of us all…
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