Not much on the main agenda [PDF] for the City of Edinburgh Council's Transport and Environment Committee ('TEC') in the way of cycling-adjacent reports for September, but as it turns out, plenty to discuss from the more minor parts of its workload.
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A quick summary can be found on Bluesky in this thread by Spokes »
📋 Work Programme [PDF] »
Cllr Booth raised a question regarding TEC's Work Programme: this includes a report on the cycle hire scheme coming in 2027 - which will be after the two year trial concludes. The Councillor asked whether there will be updates to TEC during the trial, noting that there have been teething problems for Voi resulting in as low as three bikes available over the weekend preceding the committee meeting, and bikes being shown outside of the permitted zone in the app - and asking for occasional updates in the committee's Business Bulletin. This was confirmed and the Convener suggested this would be around every six months, giving the scheme time to 'bed in'.
📄 PDF »
The Business Bulletin is home to more minor items that don't warrant a full report, or further updates on more significant past reports.
On 10 October 2024, a report on incorrect parking on the tram line was considered by Committee. Committee requested that officers engage with relevant ward councillors and Community Councils along the route on how Sheffield bike stands could be deployed along Leith Walk on larger spaces between the bike lane and carriageway to assist both as a physical barrier and promote active travel. This has now been progressed to identify suitable locations. Out of 11 potential locations initially identified, seven have been deemed appropriate for the installation of bike stands following site visits and technical assessments.
These locations have now been added to the rolling programme of citywide public bike parking installations and prioritised in line with the recently developed Citywide Public Bike Parking Strategy. None of the locations were prioritised for delivery during the next annual roll out, in part due to the presence of existing bike stands at nearby Locations.
A follow-up question on this item was asked by Cllr Kinross-O'Neill: the Culture and Communities Committee recently approved a Parks and green spaces management policy that restricts the locking of cycles to benches, posts, fences and other infrastructure; while this may be welcome in addressing potential footway clutter, there appear to be no plans to introduce additional cycle parking to compensate for this loss of amenity. The Councillor asked whether TEC can consider this, or whether it is a Culture and Communities Committee issue.
Officers advised that their team will discuss, and potentially add further locations to the rolling programme of cycle parking installation.
A sinkhole was first noted on the public right of way between Longstone Road and Stenhouse Mill Lane in May 2024 (following a period of heavy rain). The Council engaged Mott McDonald to provide technical support and have been working with them since May 2024 to look at technical solutions. NatureScot are involved because of the presence of otters and requested that any works take place within a window of September to December. This is outside of the breeding season. SEPA have recently confirmed that a CAR licence is required for controlled water activities. Given their licencing backlog, approval may not be received before the end of the Fisheries works window (June–December). The Council is still working to this schedule but without a timely licence the work will need to be moved to next year. Tenders have now been submitted for consideration, but they have still to be reviewed. There is no contractual exposure at this stage. Of prices returned, the range between the lowest and highest is around £300,000 to £350,000. However, there is currently no available or committed budget to cover the lowest quote should that be deemed to be acceptable from a price and quality perspective. The Council If works are not possible in the coming months temporary protective measures (e.g. concrete bag works) will be used to safeguard the wall during the winter. The pedestrian diversion will remain in place at this stage.
Not discussed at Committee but notable for users of this active travel link.
Normally only discussed if there are positions, amendments or questions - but all items for scrutiny tabled for Thursday's meeting were discussed, as they all had items to deal with.
📄 Report » [PDF]
Includes responses to motions by Councillor Booth on Liveable Neighbourhoods and Delays to Delivery of Active Travel Investment Programme – further detail on the Leith Connections Low Traffic Neighbourhood, addressing of delays in Active Travel projects at the Council, and more.
Confirmation at Committee that the 'A8 Sustainable Transport Corridor' project has received funding from Transport Scotland for initial design work and community engagement, which will take place this financial year (as it is a single-year funding package), and that the £140k of funds assigned to the additional works on the Liveable Neighbourhood in Leith do not include the moving of the existing bus gate, which will require a Traffic Regulation Order to undertake.
📄 Report » [PDF]
Response to Motion by Councillor Mowat – includes some very interesting monitoring and impact data about approval ratings following the delivery of CCWEL, increases in cycling and retail spending in the area, and reductions in traffic across the project’s route.
In response to this incredibly positive and comprehensive report on the successes of the City Centre West to East Link ('CCWEL'), the Conservative group fielded ward Councillor Joanne Mowat to plead the case for the 'five hundred residents penned in to their homes' when events are on at Murrayfield by the existence of a cycle lane near their properties. Thoughts and prayers with this isolated community at what must be a very difficult time, though not as difficult a time as I had keeping a straight face throughout this contribution.
In questions, Cllr Lang asked for the top three learnings Officers would take forward for other projects, as he did not feel this was obvious from the report; Officers highlighted:
Cllr Macinnes asked a great question about how the CCWEL story - significant initial community resistance, followed by quite a quick realisation of the benefits and a 'change of heart' for residents and traders alike following implementation and bedding in - could be captured as a case study for future projects. Head of Transport Deborah Paton responded that there are mechanisms through which a case study could be produced and shared, and that CCWEL's arc is one also seen elsewhere and discussed at the Cycling Scotland conference, in terms of how to get alongside residents and traders during the initial pain and disruption of local changes during construction. Officers added that CCWEL provides very powerful information when producing similar schemes, that can be pointed to when working with local communities.
📄 Report » [PDF]
Response to motion by Councillor Booth; in recent weeks, CEC has been approached by Transport Scotland to get Council Officers involved in a working group on regulatory review on road user charging — a technical group not making decisions, but contributing local authority expertise into the regulatory review. This could, with time, lead to the ability for the Council to introduce demand management tools to tackle urban congestion, such as a congestion charge in the city.
A Green group addendum looked to open up a line of dialogue with Glasgow City Council, who have also publicly expressed an interest in demand management schemes for private vehicle use, ahead of the regulatory review; recognising that there are many conversations and consultations to shape what solutions in this space might look like, and waiting to have those until a review is completed could set back achieving climate targets and reductions in car miles travelled even further.
As ever, the Car lobby Conservative group aimed to move the report without the addendum, but the Convener accepted the Green addendum in full stating that he did not see the harm in continuing conversations around this subject even at an early stage and did not consider it a waste of time to remain open to the possibilities. This was carried by a vote of 9 to 2.
The Transport & Enviroment Committee next meets on the 13th November 2025.