As well as our usual coverage of the City of Edinburgh Council's Transport & Environment Committee, we will also keep an eye on 'full council' meetings like the one that took place on 30th October at the City Chambers, and report back on cycling and cycling-adjacent highlights.
For some reason, the Webcast for the meeting is unavailable through the usual page at time of writing.
On Page 6 of the Agenda pack PDF is agenda item 8.4 By Councillor Cuthbert - "Democratic Engagement on City Mobility Plan and Transport Proposals".
As with other City Mobility Plan ('CMP') motions from the Conservatives, this is another fairly transparent attempt to slow progress and consume officer time on moving forward with the CMP, lest the strategic goals of the council to have a less congested and better functioning transport network make it harder for Bruntsfield Bertie's Beamer to scream about the city centre on his errands.
There was a Labour Administration amendment at page 20 of the Motions & Amendments PDF, an SNP amendment at page 21, and a Lib Dem addendum at page 22.
Unfortunately, due to the lack of a publicly available webcast recording at time of writing, we're not sure of the outcome for this item yet, but will update this post when we know.
In spite of a lack of public webcast, the document with responses to Councillor questions is available, so there's some new information coming out of the meeting regardless.
Cllr Kevin Lang asked for clarification on a number of points regarding the removal of trees along the Roseburn path as part of the proposed North-South tramline alignment slated for the former railway embankment — Question 7, found on 📄 Page 13 of PDF;
Six further questions from Cllr Lang on the new “streamlined” process agreed for the creation of school travel plans at the April meeting of the Transport & Environment committee — Question 8, found on 📄 Page 14 of PDF;
⚠️ Conservatives at it again...
A 'gotcha' of a question from Conservative Cllr Whyte, citing a 'British Standard' that would render certain types of floating bus stop downright illegal and necessary to remove — a real victory for the anti-cycling lobby, were it not for the fact that it's guidance rather than legislation, superseded in Scotland by national 'Cycling by Design' guidelines and Edinburgh's own Street Design guidance documents. A swing and a miss...
Schadenfreude aside, the issue of the careful management of bus stops, cycleways and the access needs of visually impaired citizens are not to be sniffed at - it's good to see the Council's response to these questions cite the excellent work by Living Streets around this issue. Their research [PDF] features a good deal of nuance around the complexities involved and recognises that it's possible to implement measures like bus stop bypasses — planned extensively in new projects like the ongoing Dundee St and Fountainbridge consultation — in a way that is mindful of the needs of all bus stop users and promotes safe crossing points over any cycleway present.
Anecdotally, safe passage through floating bus stops in Edinburgh is certainly possible - we've encountered very few issues along CCWEL and even the much maligned Leith Walk cycleways, though we're glad for all involved that the awful downhill layout at Elm Row has been changed to put a two-way cycleway behind the bus stops there (even though the missing bollards have lead to ongoing parking encroachment into the cycleway).
The reality of these measures on the ground are that life finds a way, and folk learn how to work around each other in such spaces - and we would hope we're also clear that respecting zebra and parallel crossings is a fundamental part of making protected cycleways viable in the city, and we encourage safe and responsible speeds especially when passing through such spaces.
The original points raised and the response — to Question 17 — can be found on 📄 Page 27 of PDF;
There was quite a furore around the Transport Convener's non-attendance at a meeting in Drylaw; the answers to this question from Cllr Kumar go some way to painting a less dramatic picture than the gossip at the time suggested — Question 22, found on 📄 Page 39 of PDF;
A year on from a dreadful fatal accident in the Cowgate - one of Edinburgh's narrowest thoroughfares - there has still been no meaningful action outside of the Edinburgh Festivals traffic reductions, reversed following the end of the summer period. Cllr Macfarlane asks about extending these in Question 27, found on 📄 Page 46 of PDF;
✊🏼 Save the date - Edinburgh Critical Mass will be protesting the lack of action on safety in the Cowgate outside of the Transport & Environment Committee Meeting on 13th November from 8.30am
Some follow-up questions on the 'LTIP' scheme, which sees local resident groups able to request interventions to calm traffic or make local streets safer, outside of wider projects and programmes. Cllr Aston on LTIP asks about projects that aren't taken forward and how they might proceed through other avenues in Question 32, found on 📄 Page 52 of PDF;
🚲 According to the Lib Dems on Bluesky:
At #edinwebcast: Cllr @jackrmcaldwell.bsky.social asks with the bike hire scheme expansion, when docks will be installed to keep pavements clear & improve accessibility both for people navigating around bike stations & using them. Leader pledges review.
Unfortunately with the webcast currently unavailable, we'll have to take their word for it — the question / answer here was not tabled in the formal list.