Edinburgh cycle path dubbed ‘an accident waiting to happen’ tops list of ‘10 worst bike lanes in the world’

It’s been dubbed “an accident waiting to happen” – and now a notorious Edinburgh bike lane has been named as the worst in the world.

The 'zig-zag' cycle path on Leith Walk has been ridiculed by many locals since its introduction in 2022 – among them John McLellan, who describes it in his Evening News column this week as “a real-life Grand Theft Auto with scoring for near misses with pedestrians”.

According to urban cycling publication the Discerning Cyclist, the “moronic” cycle lane favours the needs of motorists over cyclists. And now it has topped the popular website’s list of the 10 Worst Bike Lanes in the World – ahead of poorly-designed cycle lanes in England, the United States, Romania, Hungary and Colombia.

The zig-zag cycle lane on Leith Walk in Edinburgh has been named as the worst bike lane in the world.

In its description of the Leith Walk bike lane, the Discerning Cyclist says: “First up, it’s this ‘moronic’ cycle lane from Edinburgh, Scotland. This one gets our goat – it’s not something you’d expect to deal with when driving a car along the road, so why do cyclists have to put up with this kind of ill-thought-out infrastructure? Heaven only knows. The design is thanks to the route needing to pass bus stops and loading bays, apparently!

“Some super internet sleuthing reveals that Edinburgh City Council saw the error of their ways and submitted plans to alter the route in 2023.”