The story so far...
BIKE NETWORK THREATENED
Under the Council’s Mobility Plan, the city’s future ‘Primary
Cycle Network’ will mainly comprise segregated bike lanes on
main roads. It was widely expected that the ‘Travelling Safely’
(covid) bike lanes would form the initial embryonic network, as
we highlighted in the 2025 Bulletin (extract here).
However, the TRO Subcommittee must first make permanent
the existing Experimental Traffic Orders (ETROs) which enable
the bike lanes through parking and loading restrictions.
The first ETRO, for East Edinburgh, expires soon. Officers
recommended approval, but to our surprise and shock, due to
an intervention by Cllr Kevin Lang, the May 12 TRO Sub put off
a decision. Exactly the same happened at a specially-called
meeting on 7 August! The final hope to save the East lanes
(which include School Safe Routes) is at their 4 September
meeting. The West and North ETROs are also on the agenda!
Led by Edi.Bike and Spokes, 18 Edinburgh active travel groups
have written to urge councillors to approve the ETROs.
Without approval, the East order will fall – the routes, used
by commuters, school pupils and leisure cyclists, will go - and
the same will likely happen to west, north and south.
Please contact your councillors to ensure the ETROs are approved.
More info: spokes.org.uk, blog Edinburgh Groups Unite
Officers recommend making the Travelling Safely East Area schemes permanent
Traffic Regulation Orders Sub-Committee
10.00am, Thursday, 4 September 2025
Travelling Safely East Area – ETRO/21/28A
Decision/scrutiny Decision
Wards 11 – City Centre; 12 – Leith Walk
13 – Leith; 14 – Craigentinny / Duddingston
17 – Portobello / Craigmillar
1. Recommendations
1.1 Traffic Regulation Orders Sub-Committee is asked to:
1.1.1 Set aside the objections received to ETRO/21/28A; and
1.1.2 Agree to make the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) into a
permanent Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) with amendments to
ETRO/21/28A as in the report to Committee on 12 May 2025 (see Appendix
1).
Report says the cycle lane 'defenders' are not a significant risk to road safety
4.10 In addition, these units have also been installed at many other similar locations, as
part of separate programmes of work to widen pedestrian areas outside schools
and as part of the Corstorphine Connections and Leith Connections projects.
4.11 Since these types of units started being installed in Edinburgh in 2020, the Council
has received 28 claims for personal injury and three claims for vehicle damage
relating to them. Eight of these claims relate to incidents that occurred in 2020, 17
to incidents in 2021, five to incidents in 2022 and one to an incident in 2023. No
claims have been received for any incidents occurring since 2023. Eighty percent of
claims therefore relate to the 2021-22 period when most of the units were being
installed and there has only been one claim received for an incident occurring within
the last three years.
4.12 Table 1 below compares the numbers of personal injury and vehicle damage claims
that have been received by the Council for incidents relating to these units with the
total numbers of claims for incidents relating to all types of street infrastructure.
Table 1 Personal injury and vehicle damage claims
Year of Incident
Claims relating to soft
segregation units
Claims relating to all street
infrastructure
Personal injury Vehicle Damage Personal injury Vehicle Damage
2020 6 2 102 385
2021 16 1 119 449
2022 5 - 142 488
2023 1 - 188 949
2024 - - 162 737
2025 - - 68 183
TOTAL 28 3 781 3,191
Note - pursuers have 3 years from the date of an incident to present a claim for personal injury and 5
years for vehicle damage so the above figures could potentially increase.
4.13 Where specific locations of concern have been identified, either through the receipt
of an incident claim or through other means, the positioning of the soft segregation
units was reviewed and modified, where it was considered that this could reduce the
potential for similar incidents…
#TravellingSafely East
Report--> democracy.edinburgh.gov.uk/documents/s8...
🙋 Last chance for #TROSub to make the 🚲 lanes permanent before #ETRO expires
Story so far & joint @edi.bike letter
--> www.spokes.org.uk/2025/08/edin...
@sw20.info @edfoc.bsky.social @blackfordsaferoutes.co.uk
