We’ve written about the Roseburn Path before, but this blog from local resident Eilidh Troup focuses on the school run aspect. If we’re not designing routes that children can use, then we aren’t really designing for mass cycling at all 

A new cycle path has been proposed to link the West and East sides of Edinburgh, through the centre along George Street. I am excited at the prospect of the new segregated cycle lane from Roseburn to Haymarket. This section is completely separated from the road. This will provide a safe cycle route for many of the children at my daughter’s school (Roseburn Primary). The map below shows the school and catchment boundary in blue and the proposed cycle path in green.

Roseburn route map
Map of Roseburn Primary school catchement, and cycle path. Blue: school & catchment boundary; green: proposed cycle path; pink: rat run which will be closed as part of the cycle path development; yellow: lollypop crossing

There is an ongoing issue at the school with busy traffic and dangerous parking outside the school. I feel the school is stuck in a vicious circle as parents drive children to school to keep them safe from traffic and so create more traffic which puts parents off letting children walk or cycle to school The catchment area is small, so walking and cycling should be good options for the children, and this would reduce the danger from parents driving and dropping children off.

Currently, the options for cycling from Haymarket to Roseburn are poor, with either the busy main road or the route I used to take along Haymarket Yards, Balbirnie Place and Russell Road.  This second route has dangerous sections with tram tracks, a section with no cycle path at all, and 2 busy roads to cross. The new cycle path would be a vast improvement and I would be happy to let my child cycle on it.

The new cycle path will be 2-way and separated from the road by a paved area. It will look something like this:

Edinburgh Council’s transport committee will be meeting to discuss this proposal on the 30th Aug 2016. If you live in Edinburgh and you’d like to support the cycle path, please contact your local councillor to make your views known.

 

The Roseburn-Leith Cycle Path – A Safer Route to Roseburn Primary School