Why were cycle lanes on busy Edinburgh road still not cleared of snow after three days?

Council chiefs are facing questions over why cycle lanes on a busy route into and out of the Capital had still not been cleared of snow after three days.

he lanes on Comiston Road, the main A702 road, were installed as part of the Spaces for People programme to make cycling and walking easier during the pandemic.

The lanes on Comiston Road, the main A702 road, were installed as part of the Spaces for People programme to make cycling and walking easier during the pandemic.

But resident Paul Bailey said despite gritting of the roadway and pavements nearby, the cycle lanes were still uncleared after three days.

He emailed transport convener Lesley Macinnes to highlight the problem and calling for it to be dealt with urgently

A cyclist battles with the icy surface in the cycle lane on Comiston Road

He told her: "I notice to the council’s credit that some gritting has been done on some pavements on Comiston Road. However I also notice that none of the cycle lanes on Comiston Road have been cleared at all. May I ask why the cycle lanes on such a major road are being left untreated - even after three days?

“On Wednesday, to my surprise, I met a cyclist attempting to negotiate the icy surface of the cycle lane. A few seconds later the cyclist left the dangerous cycle lane and moved out into the main carriageway.

“This of course leads to another problem; the overtaking car needs to straddle the central white line to give the cyclist room; further up the road where parking is allowed, the main carriageway is even narrower - 3.25 metres.

“Spaces for People was meant to help cyclists and pedestrians. Clearly the orcas [cycle lane separators] are creating a serious problem which needs to be addressed promptly. Waiting until the next review on January 28 is unacceptable when you know about the danger now.”

The cyclist opted to leave the cycle lane and use the main carriageway

Yesterday the Evening News reported how a woman suffered a suspected broken wrist falling on ice in ungritted Braid Road which is closed to traffic to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

A council spokeswoman said icy and snowy conditions had placed extra pressure on services. She said: “Our gritting teams work 24/7 to respond to poor conditions on the city’s roads, cycle paths and pavements. We operate a priority gritting system, treating priority one routes first, which include principal roads, bus routes and roads and pavements leading to hospitals, fire stations care homes, in order to keep the city moving.”

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