SpokesLothian
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spokes.org.uk
SpokesLothian
@spokes.org.uk
1.5K followers 65 following 780 posts
Spokes, the Lothian Cycle Campaign:
fights for better conditions for everyday journeys by bike, particularly Edinburgh & Lothian. Also lobby Scot Gov.
We also encourage more councils, govt depts, politicians, professionals etc to move to bsky!
Posts Replies Media Videos
spokes.org.uk
🙋 Spokes Action-Update members' email circular

--> www.spokes.org.uk/wp-content/u...

includes:

#DundeeStreet (urgent!)
📈 #ClimateCrisis
🚲<-->🚉 #BikeRail

@edi.bike @blackfordsaferoutes.co.uk @merchistoncc.bsky.social @sccscot.bsky.social @helenrambler.bsky.social @edfoc.bsky.social @sw20.info
Join spokes to get on the mailing list for Action Update circulars... http://www.spokes.org.uk/membership/ start of circular... Spokes Action-Update 08.01.26 spokes.org.uk St Martins Centre, 232 Dalry Road EH11 2JG 0131.313.2114 bluesky: @spokes.org.uk 0. Finding your councillors In Edinburgh, find your ward & councillors by typing your postcode on this page [or edinburgh.gov.uk : Council & Committees : Find your Councillor]. Everyone has either 3 or 4 councillors, usually from assorted parties. For any Council, and to find MSPs, you can use writetothem.com. 1. Welcome to 2026! There’s a major article on our website on what we may expect for cycling-related development in Edinburgh in 2026. Some is pretty definite, some is ‘expected’ and some will depend on bids from the Council for Scottish Government active travel funding. The article includes...  A start to implementing the council’s ‘Primary Cycle Network’ of segregated routes on main roads. As the Council’s active travel delivery plan 2021-2030 rightly says, these “are usually the most direct, flattest and socially safe routes.“  Upgrading the Travelling Safely bollarded routes on Duddingston Road, Duddingston Road West, Seafield Street, A1 (including London Road)  A start on Dundee/Fountainbridge scheme (see 2 below) if consultation and traffic orders go relatively smoothly. Please respond by 12 January!!  Fully segregated onroad route Cameron Toll - Bioquarter  Meadows to Canal - Kings Theatre section work starts on Jan 12; main route construction due December 2026  Foot of Walk to Dock Street – completion & opening  Lothian Road boulevard – initial outline plans  A8, CCWEL cycling & bus facilities extension from Roseburn to Gogar – initial outline plans  7-7-7 Bus-lane experiment, Balerno to Musselburgh 6. New Train Fleets Transport Scotland is in the process of procuring two new train fleets... • long distance Inter-City trains to replace the existing HST fleet linking Edinburgh and Glasgow to Inverness and Aberdeen • local electric/battery hybrid trains for lines to Dundee via Fife Circle and for the Borders railway. Electrification work to Fife is about to start. Clearly the design of this new rolling stock will have a profound effect on bike/rail opportunities for years to come on routes affecting many journeys to/from our local area. It has been publicly stated that bike carriage will be included but, as far as we are aware, there has been no consultation on designs, or what types of bikes and accessories will be catered for. If you have views on what should be covered, please email your MSPs asking them to take up your concerns and get back to you. Send us any useful replies. Do consider mentioning the economic benefits of bike tourism, as this has been a winning argument in the past – for example in getting the West Highland bike coaches and retro-fitting the HST fleet to Inverness and Aberdeen. Note also that Spokes is looking for a new bike/rail campaigner – see 5.1 above. 4. Climate Emergency With world politics in turmoil, the growing climate emergency is often way down in public debate. Severe weather episodes hit the headlines briefly, but don’t bring long-term climate action. Yet, in Britain, 2025 was the hottest year on record [Met Office]. Heat and drought in 2025 cost UK arable farmers over £800m in lost crops, following 2024’s lost harvests caused by extreme, persistent rain leading to flooded and waterlogged fields. Internationally, the current tensions over Greenland are heightened by the melting of Arctic Ice, itself due to global heating, leading to new shipping routes and conflict over new sources of minerals and oil. UN Secretary General António Guterres has warned that “devastating consequences” are now inevitable. Nonetheless, efforts to pressurise politicians and energise the public by NGOs, scientists, those most affected and others, continue, and must continue... 4.1 Draft Scottish Climate Change Plan – consultation ends 29.1.26 + SCCS response The Scottish Government is consulting on its 2026-2040 Climate Change Plan. You may recall that the previous Plan (2018-2032) included the ‘commitment’ to cut car-km 20% by 2030. A commitment which later became a ‘target’ and which then in 2025 was scrapped altogether, despite government-commissioned research showing how it could be achieved. Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS) has submitted this response to the new consultation, and with a key-issues summary. On transport, whilst praising the Scottish Government’s intentions on EVs, they say it is “weak on both modal shift and increasing and improving public and active travel options. And there is no action to cut emissions from aviation or shipping.” WHAT YOU CAN DO • Please make your own response to the draft – it can be brief! SCCS has produced this excellent page of helpful advice on how to respond, and with other useful links. • Spokes hopes to respond to the consultation and, if you decide to send in your own detailed …
January 10, 2026 at 1:01 PM
spokes.org.uk
#RoadSafetyStrategy @ukparliament.parliament.uk

promises 'cognitive test' as recommended by Inquiry following #XanderIrvine killed on #MorningsideRoad

@drscottarthurmp.bsky.social @liliangreenwood.bsky.social
@edi.bike @cllrbenparker.bsky.social @bjpaddy.bsky.social @livingstreetsedi.bsky.social
Parliament QA.. Scott Arthur Labour, Edinburgh South West I welcome the strategy published yesterday. It will save lives and, as a secondary impact, reduce insurance premiums, which is a non-trivial challenge for many people. I want to talk about the notion of a cognitive test that is set out in the strategy. In 2020, Xander Irvine, who was just three years old, was looking through a shop window in Edinburgh with his mother, when a car mounted the pavement, killing him and injuring his mother. The driver was aged 91 and she died around a year later of natural causes. Despite having dementia, she was able to renew her driving licence just a few months before the accident. The fatal accident inquiry was clear in its recommendation that cognitive tests should be introduced. I believe that all deaths on our roads are preventable; this death was absolutely preventable. The strategy talks about “developing options”, but will the Minister go further today and guarantee that we will deliver in this area? Will she go even further and talk about a timeline for delivering that change? Lilian Greenwood Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport), Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury I dealt with the prevention of future deaths report relating to the utterly heartbreaking case that my hon. Friend refers to. While there is not currently a suitable test of cognitive ability to drive safely, I recognise the need for us to do further work on the issue. We plan to reconvene the older drivers taskforce and expert groups on this subject to consider suitable options. I do not intend to delay—I intend to take evidence and to take action. BBC report, with picture of Xander... Woman, 91, who killed toddler should not have been driving - inquiry Young boy with shoulder length blonde hair, wearing a blue fleece sweater with dinosaurs, smiling standing in front of a patch of flowers.Image source, Police Scotland Published 22 October 2024 A 91-year-old woman with dementia who killed a toddler should not have been allowed to drive, an inquiry has ruled. Edith Duncan's Kia veered off Morningside Road in Edinburgh, hitting three-year-old Xander Irvine and his mother Victoria before crashing into a shop in June 2020. A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) said Mrs Duncan, who was charged over the crash and died in May 2021, had "significantly impaired cognitive ability" as a result of her illness and was unfit to drive or hold a driving licence. It called for the system that determines whether a person is fit to drive to be changed as a "matter of priority", requiring drivers over the age of 80 to take a cognitive test before their licence can be renewed.
January 10, 2026 at 12:45 PM
spokes.org.uk
👍 Congrats local MP @cajardinemp.bsky.social coming off X

along with #UKParlt's @sarahowen.org.uk & #WomenAndEqualities cttee

🤔 Any other #Edinburgh/#Lothians MP/MSP ?

----------------

@edi.bike @parliament.scot @ukparliament.parliament.uk @edinburghcouncil.bsky.social @edinreporter.bsky.social
X Commons women and equalities committee to stop using X amid AI-altered images row Exclusive: Move follows outcry over use of Grok to digitally remove clothing from images of women and children Picture of committee chair, Sarah Owen MP Guardian article explaining why the Commons Women & Equalities Committee is leaving X... The decision by the women and equalities committee is the first significant move by a Westminster organisation to exit X. It is understood the committee took the decision at a meeting on Wednesday. It will keep its X account, which has about 27,000 followers, in existence but dormant, to ensure no one else can take it over. While the decision concerns only the committee’s account, some individual members, including Owen, have already stopped using X. Another, the Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine, said she was leaving the platform, calling the images generated by Grok “the last straw”. Jardine said she had taken the view that X was a good way to communicate with constituents. “But I cannot in all conscience continue to use a platform which seems unwilling to act against this grossly offensive and abusive online behaviour towards women and girls,” she said. Owen also plans to write to the Cabinet Office and to Ofcom to urge action against X. She said: “I personally came off X in 2024 after the platform and its owner promoted and paid creators of far-right racist and misogynistic material. The committee heard at the end of last year on inquiries about community cohesion that X posts regularly break UK law on hate speech. “In recent days, X and xAI have allowed the creation and sharing of AI deepfakes, non-consensual intimate imagery, and child sexual abuse material – all areas identified as online violence against women and girls by our committee. “We do not view it as appropriate to use such a platform to share our work. I hope that the government, Ofcom and relevant law enforcement agencies work quickly to make X immediately abide by UK law on online safety and non-consensual intimate image abuse, to be held to account for its failures and if it refuses to abide by our laws, it must be appropriately sanctioned.”
January 9, 2026 at 6:58 PM
spokes.org.uk
#KingsTheatre roadworks start Mon 12 Jan

🙋 Look out for signed 🚲 diversion (may vary at times)

Note: main Meadows-Canal work late 2026

@edi.bike @robbieainsworth.bsky.social @stephenjenkinson.bsky.social @cllrcmiller.bsky.social @finlaymcf.bsky.social @edfoc.bsky.social @thecockburn.bsky.social
Contractor letter with details of the works... Our Ref: HG/B62909 Monday 05 January 2026 FAO: Residents and Local Businesses Dear all, RE: King’s Theatre Public Realm Improvement Project Luddon Construction Limited have been appointed by the City of Edinburgh Council to carry out public realm improvements in your area. This project will deliver elements of the King’s Theatre redevelopment and the Council-led Meadows to Union Canal projects to improve walking, wheeling and cycling as well as access to the theatre. Work will start on Monday 12 January. To safely carry out the work, we will use temporary local restrictions on both pavements and roads. These will include: - closing Valleyfield Street at Leven Terrace for the duration of the project - closing Gilmore Place at Lochrin Buildings when needed during the initial phases, and for resurfacing work on Gilmore Place. Signs will show the diversion routes for road users. This will include a diversion for cyclists using the National Cycle Network route 75. Monday 12 January - start on the east side of Leven Street (red area highlighted overleaf). We are planning to finish the pavement work by Monday 2 March 2026. Monday 2 March to Friday 17 April - pavement work on the west side of Leven Street starts (blue area overleaf), moving southwards. We will make every effort to reduce disruption to residents and local businesses. The site team will keep you updated at each stage and make sure that you still have access to your property. The works will move along the street so that we are not working outside your property for the full duration. Access for emergency vehicles will be provided at all times. Refuse and recycling collections will continue as normal and will not be affected by the work. We apologise for any inconvenience these essential improvements may cause and thank you in advance for your patience and cooperation. We are confident the completed project will provide lasting benefits to residents and local busin… Council website page for Meadows to Canal Meadows to Union Canal In this section… Why we are improving walking, wheeling and cycling More information about the proposals Improving the area around the King's Theatre How we are consulting and engaging You are here: Next steps Next steps We are currently finalising the detailed designs of the route, which have been informed by feedback to the last consultation. We continue to engage with the local community and stakeholders, and are working closely with other nearby projects Improving Lothian Road Dalry Town Centre Dundee Street to Fountainbridge Construction is currently planned for the second half of 2026. This is dependent on the statutory orders having been processed by then. As part of the King’s Theatre refurbishment, we will deliver some parts ahead of the rest of the project, including better pavements and access in front of the Theatre. This is planned to finish in early 2026. Thank you page from Kings Theatre - picture of actors clapping A heartfelt thanks to all those who have helped to make the transformation of the King’s Theatre possible. Map of the eventual Meadows-Canal route, for your interest. Note: IT IS NOT THE CURRENT DIVERSION ROUTE !! The diversion route will be signed and may vary as the Kings Theatre works proceed. Meadows to Union Canal In this section… You are here: Why we are improving walking, wheeling and cycling More information about the proposals Improving the area around the King's Theatre How we are consulting and engaging Next steps Why we are improving walking, wheeling and cycling We are improving walking, wheeling and cycling between the Meadows and the Union Canal, following the route of National Cycle Network 75 (NCN75). We are also resurfacing some roads in the area. Improving the route will provide a safer journey for anyone walking or cycling and for those with restricted mobility. We will also improve public spaces along the route. We developed the design with significant input from key stakeholders and the local community. The most recent consultation was in 2019. As this was just before the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to pause the project until summer 2024. Benefits of developing this route The project will improve the connection between the Meadows and the Union Canal which are two key sections of the city’s active travel network and part of the National Cycle Network Route 75. It will provide a safe, direct route between the two cycle friendly destinations for all cyclists make it a more pleasant area to walk or wheel through encourage more people to choose walking, wheeling or cycling
January 9, 2026 at 2:48 PM
spokes.org.uk
#DundeeStreet #Fountainbridge 🚶👩‍🦼🚲 consultn

👍 Excellent submission from @blackfordsaferoutes.co.uk

🙋 Please do respond yourself - it matters!
[no need for detail if short of time]

Online QA--> consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.uk/sfc/dundee-s...

@johnrobson87.bsky.social @robbieainsworth.bsky.social
Intro to their response... Dundee Street and Fountainbridge active travel consultation – response Overview The council are proposing to improve walking, wheeling and cycling along Dundee Street and Fountainbridge, as well as surrounding streets connecting to the Union Canal. The changes will be transformative and create safer, more attractive streets for everyone. The aim is to create: walking and street improvements a high-quality, direct, cycling route to provide an alternative to the busy and shared Union Canal path a connection between the Telfer Subway and the Union Canal via Gibson Terrace, improving connections to the surrounding network from Roseburn, the Canal, the Meadows and beyond The Dundee St and Fountainbridge consultation is open until the 12 Jan 2026.
January 7, 2026 at 5:02 PM
spokes.org.uk
🚲 commuting survey

We've had a request from (US) cycling author #SamTracy to publicise this survey for a planned book (not just USA, we think)

SURVEY --> s.surveyplanet.com/f451kkqy

@edi.bike @edfoc.bsky.social @carltonreid.com @lauralaker.bsky.social
Bike Commuter Survey Do you get around by bike? Have any thoughts to share on the topic? If so, I’d love to hear from you! I am writing a new book on bicycle transportation, to more fully document this everyday but easily overlooked experience—who’s riding; why we do so; how things tend to go. The few recent books on this topic tend to be academic, or first-person narratives; I hope to write one that better reflects broader numbers of bike commuters’ actual experiences. Beyond expanding the popular understanding, I want to capture a moment in time—for posterity, if we’re lucky, but foremost for the benefit of those around us who may be commute-curious. This book will invite any and all to join us in our daily journeys. It’s never been difficult to find advice on bike commuting: surprising numbers of people are happy to share their opinions. The mileage varies greatly, of course; from earnest suggestions or expressions of concern to the far simpler ‘get off the road.’ Yet moving beyond generalities—for or against—is harder. This project will canvas the participants themselves: to see what people are actually doing, and what we might learn. The approach I’m taking here mimics what I did with my last book, Riding More with Less: A Future for Bike Repair, which enlisted a survey of community bike shops to document resourceful approaches to maintenance. That effort yielded a wealth of key insights, which together really brought the topic to life; this new book will apply a similar lens to bicycle transportation.
January 5, 2026 at 7:49 PM
spokes.org.uk
Hi fbosche.bsky.social

Thanks; we reported what we think the council is planning

🤔Are your 3 cllrs all arguing for #ColintonRoad 🚲facilities?
Why not ask them & post replies?

Find emails HERE-> democracy.edinburgh.gov.uk/mgFindMember...

And ask local MP @drscottarthurmp.bsky.social to push them?
post from person wanting bike facilities in Colinton area Spokes article re 2026 expectations... 2025–>2026 : What for Edinburgh Cycling Policy & Action? Will 2026 see Edinburgh City‘s new ‘Primary Cycle Network’ definition start to turn from policy into reality? And what of the City’s hugely ambitious 30% by 2030 traffic-reduction aims? What other decisions or actions may we see in the coming year?
January 3, 2026 at 8:36 PM
spokes.org.uk
#Edinburgh #Cycling developments 2026 (?)

Our thoughts--> www.spokes.org.uk/2026/01/2025...

🤔 #MainRoad protected lanes
🤔 #Tram
🤔 #PrincesStreet
🤔 #BraidEstate
🤔 Plans: #CCWEL extension, #LothianRoad
🤔 #DemandManagement: #TrafficFilters #charging
🤔 #BusLanes
🤔 Use of officer time
... and much more
Start of Spokes article... 2025–>2026 : What for Edinburgh Cycling Policy & Action? Will 2026 see Edinburgh City‘s new ‘Primary Cycle Network’ definition start to turn from policy into reality? And what of the City’s hugely ambitious 30% by 2030 traffic-reduction aims? What other decisions or actions may we see in the coming year? Picture of a bollarded route due to be upgraded in 2026 as part of the main-road 'Primary Cycle Network' Picture of Foot of Walk to Dock Street under construction - opening in 2026 Huge amounts of precious time having to be spent by officers in reassuring & re-reassuring worried councillors on issues where evidence is already pretty solid... In conclusion, a random thought Looking back on the stories above, one has to be struck by the huge amount of precious officer time that is devoted to handling the concerns of councillors worried by objections which in the end often prove either irrelevant or largely unfounded. Time which could be spent far more productively. Here are some examples… There is no better example than the saga of the Travelling Safely experimental Orders and the role of the TRO subcommittee (see ‘2025’ near the start of this article), resulting in additional meetings and literally hundreds of pages of reports [e.g. this 682-page download for their third meeting covering much of the same ground] The Braid Estate story (see above) is another – huge amounts of time in meetings, massive reports, preparation of traffic orders, finding contractors, abortive costs – all in aid of a messy compromise experiment, unwanted by many, and which may now not happen Most recently, the decision of TRO Sub to postpone a decision on whether to allow east-bound cycling in Rose Street, where westbound has been legal for decades. Officers now have to prepare a report on issues such as whether bikes may collide with cafe tables or get through any roadworks that might happen, even though the existing west-bound cycling works perfectly well. Is there a solution to this tragic time-wasting, delaying projects which are far more safety and environmentally significant? Certainly, objections must be heard, and councillors must interrogate officers. Some objections do have real substance. But when evidence is clear, and plainly laid out by officers when questioned at Committee (as, largely, in the above examples) surely there must be a mechanism for making councillors think twice. Is yet another investigation, more reports, more meetings, mor…
January 3, 2026 at 6:03 PM
spokes.org.uk
#WaterOfLeith

Also top prize @gregorsteele.bsky.social in our 2025 'Fave #BikeRide' comp!
-> www.spokes.org.uk/2025/10/my-f...

@edi.bike @wolct.bsky.social @alyall.bsky.social @bjpaddy.bsky.social @hannahkateboast.bsky.social @wavenode.bsky.social @helenrambler.bsky.social @thecockburn.bsky.social
Gavin Corbett‬ ‪@gavincorbett.bsky.social‬ · 19h As chair of @wolct.bsky.social I agree wholeheartedly with @walkhighlands.co.uk choice of walk of the month! Picture of the path beside the river First prize – Gregor Steele, Carluke – Quietly to the City This is a simple ride, along the Water of Leith path from Balerno to the Canal Basin, but full of meaning. It’s functional, avoids the A70, and is also “a sensory treat” all the way. Gregor’s “absolute highlight” is the incredible Colinton tunnel, where he recommends dismounting to discover how the painting of the tunnel is inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem, From a Railway Carriage.
January 2, 2026 at 12:39 PM
spokes.org.uk
Our 4 most popular 2025 posts

1. #SpokesBulletin 2025
--> bsky.app/profile/did:...

2. Favourite #BikeRide comp
--> bsky.app/profile/did:...

3. #SpokesMap #Edinburgh 2025
--> bsky.app/profile/did:...

4. #Tram consultation: Spokes response
--> bsky.app/profile/did:...

@edi.bike @edfoc.bsky.social
Page 1 of spokes bulletin #139 Favourite bike ride, start of website article, linked from the post picture of part of the map, in Dalry / West End area picture from our tramline submission, showing how to connect Roseburn path over main railway line to the new canal link
December 24, 2025 at 12:21 PM
spokes.org.uk
😍 50 people we connected with on @bsky.app in 2025

🤔 Are you there?
🤔 How many can you name?

😍 Best time to find us: Thurs 11am

@edi.bike @helenrambler.bsky.social @edfoc.bsky.social @sw20.info @edtiss.bsky.social @davidfkey.bsky.social

Thanks @olof-loves-ai.bsky.social
HT @threadinburgh.scot
Picture of top 50 profile pictures of people in our conversations graphs of when we post, day of week and time of day Words we used - most common 'edibike'
December 24, 2025 at 12:06 PM
spokes.org.uk
👍 Your 🚲 goes free on #ScotRail

🤩 Now you can too (if lucky!)
HERE-> www.scotrail.co.uk/form/win-tra...

🌲 Xmas present we'd like: #ScotRail come onto @bsky.app!!

@edi.bike @networkrailscot.bsky.social @railfuture.bsky.social @rmtunion.bsky.social @clondoner92.bsky.social @crisortunity.bsky.social
Scotrail free ticket offer advert from their website
December 22, 2025 at 11:53 AM
spokes.org.uk
The Dangers of Rose Street

.. & Transport Sub

--> www.spokes.org.uk/2025/12/the-...

@edi.bike @stephenjenkinson.bsky.social @finlaymcf.bsky.social @cllrcmiller.bsky.social @leftwing66.bsky.social @chasbooth.bsky.social @edinreporter.bsky.social @kevin-lang.bsky.social @alexstaniforth.bsky.social
Start of Spokes article... The Dangers of Rose Street In the last ten years there have been three separate pedestrian-injury crashes reported in Rose Street, with seven persons injured in total, several seriously, all due to drivers of motor vehicles. There have been even more pedestrian injuries at the intersections of Rose Street with north-south streets such as Hanover Street. Meanwhile, despite east to west cycling having been legal for many years, there were no Rose Street pedestrian injuries involving cyclists. Yet members of the Council’s notorious TRO Subcommittee decided (on a casting vote) that the comprehensive safety audit already undertaken to allow two-way cycle use was insufficient to pass the necessary Order without “further investigation.” Whilst the debate was only on the cycling Order, one would hope that councillors (and objectors) concerned with pedestrian safety would have taken the opportunity to suggest that the Transport Committee looks into the real dangers evidenced by 7 injured pedestrians. Yet only one councillor, Cllr Staniforth, raised this disparity of concern. Now hard-pressed council officers, rather than investigating real dangers, will have to spend more hours on another Rose Street report, to further reassure councillors on concerns such as the dangers arising when walkers and cyclists have to pass cafe chairs and tables, or street narrowings when roadworks etc are underway. Astonishingly, pedestrians and cyclists currently do somehow manage to cope with these fearsome hazards when travelling east to west! photo of Rose Street bike parking outside Tiso shop Evening News picture of Rose Street with emergency vehicles following a pedestrian being hit by a van https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle-in-edinburgh-city-centre-near-jenners-department-store-2960767
December 19, 2025 at 11:23 AM
spokes.org.uk
? Live in or visit #NorthEdinburgh in #Pennywell area?

🙋 Pls do this 🚲👩‍🦼🚶survey--> app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/sustrans/n...

Related--> bsky.app/profile/spok...

@edi.bike @brianmilne80.bsky.social @nialla.bsky.social @helenrambler.bsky.social @edfoc.bsky.social @thebikestation.bsky.social
Copied from facebook. Also a picture of a boy scooting on cycleway and man on footway with dog Walk Wheel Cycle Trust Scotland 4 December at 17:47 · Are you a North Edinburgh resident who lives near Pennywell Road? Complete this survey for the chance to win a £50 shopping voucher 👇 Walk Wheel Cycle Trust are working with the City of Edinburgh Council to improve walking, wheeling and cycling conditions for local residents in North Edinburgh. We want to hear your views on how we can make the local area better for everyone 💬
December 17, 2025 at 6:09 PM
spokes.org.uk
#Congestion

👍 Important asks by #SEStran* for #Holyrood2026
--> sestran.gov.uk/wp-content/u...

@edi.bike @transform.scot @stephenjenkinson.bsky.social @sw20.info @furtherfrom.bsky.social @sannedd.bsky.social @paulwhite-cpt.bsky.social @alastairdalton.bsky.social

(*still not on @bsky.app)
Congestion page... Solution There needs to be a multi-pronged approach to tackle congestion, including: • Strengthening the role of the Roadworks Commissioner and regional transport partnerships to coordinate roadworks regionally • Bolstering parking and bus lane compliance by ensuring that enforcement legislation and penalties are designed to achieve the required outcomes • Investing in bus priority measures • Progressing demand management legislation that requires local authorities to take specific actions by a deadline, similar to the prohibition of pavement parking in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 Invest in infrastructure that prioritises buses and sustainable travel Following on from investment and improvements in public transport, deliver measures to reduce car dependency, including pricing mechanisms and targeted disincentives Cover page of SEStran manifesto asks.. Transforming South East Scotland’s transport system SEStran’s asks for the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections
December 17, 2025 at 2:56 PM
spokes.org.uk
#20splenty

Important ideas & data here, but we could publicise it so much more effectively if @landorlinks.bsky.social allowed use of video slide-grabs (for non-commercial purposes) without need to seek permission

@20splenty.bsky.social @adrianberendt.bsky.social @edi.bike @suenicholls.bsky.social
December 17, 2025 at 2:22 PM
spokes.org.uk
#Train survey for disabled people 👩‍🦼🚆
-> www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/atftrainss...

This is to help research by @descot.bsky.social & @transportscotland.bsky.social

🙋 if you have #BikeRail access problems unrelated to disability, the survey is not for you, but you can email [email protected]
Example question from the survey. What are the most important things for you to think about when planning a train journey? Please tick your top 3 important things. How much it will cost. ☐ How long it will take. ☐ That the train will arrive when it is supposed to. ☐ That there is a good space for me and my equipment on the train. ☐ That I can get on and off the train easily. ☐ That there is staff to help me. ☐ That I can bring an assistance animal. ☐ That there are toilets at the station or on the train. ☐ That there are Changing Places toilets at the station. ☐ That the station is accessible. ☐ That it is easy to get another train or public transport service to complete my journey ☐ That it is easy to find the information I need. ☐ Other. Please type or write it below. ☐
December 16, 2025 at 8:59 PM
spokes.org.uk
#EdinWebCast

Cyclist one-ways exemption

Cllr Graham proposes postpone Rose St decision, seconded Cllr Osler

🙄 Vote 4-4 then casting vote postpones Rose St

Weird voting: 1 Libdem for, one against

Spokes view:
🙄 crazy lengthy debate re 🚲'dangers' despite existing cycling; no talk of the 🚘🚚dangers
Cllr Graham Edi.Bike posts table showing massive dangers of motor vehicles to pedestrians compared to minimal cyclist dangers Naturally, rather than taking the opportunity to champion the rights of those travelling actively and noise up the council for less vehicular intrusion on Rose St, Living Streets Edinburgh have penned an objection to the proposed introduction of two-way cycling on Rose St, ignoring the many examples from across Europe where pedestrians and cyclists manage to coexist in the same space. Such spaces include, but are not limited to, the very street they're claiming shouldn't have two-way cycling access, on which cycling is already permitted. Final perceptive comment from edi.bike It's exhausting to see so much hand-waving from folks over something with so little impact.
December 16, 2025 at 12:02 PM
spokes.org.uk
#EdinWebCast

Cyclist one-ways exemption

Cllr Osler proposes to postpone Rose St for further consideration

Cllr Staniforth supports full Order. He uses Rose St & says no problems. Would like to consider restrictions on motor vehicles!

Cllr Lang supports the Order, given existing, it makes sense
December 16, 2025 at 11:48 AM
spokes.org.uk
#EdinWebCast

Cyclist one-ways exemption

Q: Cllr Osler still worried re safety, e.g. when road narrowed for works
A: Safety Audit includes a 'stage 3' audit once scheme in place and if worried persist, then a 'stage 4'
The existing report already considered narrowings for works
December 16, 2025 at 11:41 AM
spokes.org.uk
#EdinWebCast

Cyclist one-ways exemption

Q: Cllr Doggart now says Rose St "looks like" pedestrian street; has safety audit considered this?
A: Officers confident safety audit is satisfactory. Note again that cycling is already allowed

Q: why the order?
A: Council policy to make 1-ways 2-way 🚲
cllr doggart cllr osler
December 16, 2025 at 11:33 AM
spokes.org.uk
#EdinWebCast

Cyclist one-ways exemption

Q: Cllr Osler asks re cyclists diverting to Rose St when busy elsewhere
A: Rose St not attractive as an E-W route and would not be promoted as such

Q: Cllr Graham - what about works like Jenners narrowing the street
A: If temp measures needed, will be done
Cllr Osler
December 16, 2025 at 11:27 AM
spokes.org.uk
#EdinWebCast

Cyclist one-ways exemption

Q: Cllr Fullerton worried re 3 or 4 cyclists side-by-side
A: Cycling already allowed, and no problems

Q: Cllr Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill asks for signage to reassure mobility-impaired users & others
A: Will consider a 'shared space' campaign
Cllr Kayleigh Kinross-O'Neill Cllr Fullerton
December 16, 2025 at 11:24 AM
spokes.org.uk
#EdinWebCast

Cyclist one-ways exemption

Q: Cllr Osler concern re more conflict with tables/ chairs etc
A: Not expecting significant increase in 🚲. Safety Audit done. Busy areas contribute to cyclists being extra careful. Officers confident of safety

Cllr Work wants more signs
A: yes if needed
Cllr Osler Cllr Work
December 16, 2025 at 11:16 AM
spokes.org.uk
TRO Subcttee 16.12.25 #EdinWebCast

Cyclist exemption to one-way streets

Q: Cllr Doggart says #RoseStreet is pedestrianised, worries re pedestrian safety
A: Vehicles are allowed, including one-way cycling already

Q: Cllr Doggart says contraflow cycling dangerous due to delivery bikes
Officer proposes the report Cllr Doggart
December 16, 2025 at 11:10 AM