Edinburgh tram designs criticised after new figures show number of cyclists who fell off their bikes last year due to the tracks

More than 30 cyclists fell off due to the tramlines in 2019.

Edinburgh’s controversial trams were responsible for more than 30 cyclists falling off their bikes in 2019, new figures have revealed.

The numbers suggest the problem of cyclists negotiating tramlines and suffering falls is getting worse when comparing the number of falls last year with figures from a study undertaken between 2009 and 2016 where cyclists fell on average 27 times per year.

The statistics, obtained by the Evening News using Freedom of Information laws, also show that trams have been involved in crashes with other road users just under once a month on average since they started running in 2014.

More than 30 cyclists fell off their bikes due to the trams

Critics of the trams, which cost Edinburgh City Council more than £1 billion, say the project ignored warnings over the design of the tramlines which have led to high numbers of incidents.

The council said that lessons had been learned since the original tram project, while transport and environment convenor Lesley Macinnes said people should be patient and wait for the tram “to become part of the environment”.

Figures show the most dangerous month of the year to be a cyclist close to the tramlines was September when six cyclists fell foul of the notoriously slippy tracks.

July and August also saw five accidents linked to the tram rails, with only one incident in January, February, March, April and June.

More than 30 cyclists fell off their bikes due to the trams

Trams should have been segregated

Retired orthopaedic surgeon and cycling campaigner with Spokes Edinburgh, Chris Oliver, said the council were warned about the safety of the rails before they were constructed.

He said: “Before the trams were built we went to the council and said we can tell you how to design this well and they didn’t want to know or consider it.

“They never built a proper segregated tramline. It should be better segregated and it is still pretty dangerous.

More than 30 cyclists fell off their bikes due to the trams

“The council just didn’t investigate or listen to advice about good infrastructure.”

The professor said that many of the injuries suffered by cyclists due to the tram rails were due to having to change direction suddenly to avoid other road users around the trams.

Prof Oliver led a study which showed 191 cyclists had been injured on the tracks between May 2009 and April 2016, with more than 60 suffering fractures or dislocations.

He said: “They were often forced to change direction either because of a vehicle close to the tramline or changing direction to make a safe move across the tramlines.

“The current infrastructure forces cyclists to take action to avoid a crash and it is often a taxi.

“The council are trying very hard for the city centre but it is the area around the trams elsewhere in the city that is bad.

“The people who are involved in these accidents have their confidence knocked and about a third of people never go back to cycling again. It just puts them off and puts them off the activity forever.”

Green councillor Gavin Corbett, who cycles every day in the city, said lessons seem to have been learned with plans for a segregated cycle lane alongside the trams on Leith Walk.

He said: “A fast-growing city like Edinburgh needs a good tram system to deal with sheer volume and it also needs a vastly improved cycle network to make it so much easier for people to choose to cycle. But the two don’t mix easily.

“Even with 40 years’ experience cycling I still find it unnerving at Haymarket or the West End or at the Mound, coming too close to tram tracks. It’s not unique to Edinburgh. Years ago, cycling in the Danish city of Aarhus, I broke a rib after my bike wheel got jammed in a tram track.

“In the short term, layout and design can make things better and, to some extent, some of those lessons seem to be learned for the tram extension to Leith. But the real game-changer is proper segregated cycle-ways to keep bikes separate from trams and any other traffic.”

Trams will 'take time' to become part of the environment

Transport and environment convener councillor Lesley Macinnes said cyclists need to patient and allow the trams to become part of the road environment.

She said: “Cycle safety is of utmost importance to us and over the last few years we have been working to deliver a phased programme of cycle safety improvements along the tram route.

“As part of this we’ve already significantly enhanced road markings, signage and signalling beside the line and are progressing with the third phase of the scheme, which will include changes to junctions, increasing safety and prioritising people on bikes.

“Like other European and UK cities with trams, it takes time for the tram to become part of the environment.

“It’s essential that we balance the safety of pedestrians and cyclists with the development of the network though, and our plans to create a people-friendly environment as part of projects like City Centre Transformation will be conducive to travel on foot, bike and public transport.

“We’ve worked extremely hard to ensure cycling provision is integral to the Trams to Newhaven project, which will incorporate segregated cycle lanes on Leith Walk and an onward cycle route to Ocean Terminal, and have involved local cycling groups throughout.

“Once complete, this route will feed into broader plans to transform walking and cycling provision across the city, including the City Centre West to East Cycle Link.”

A spokeswoman for Edinburgh Trams said: “Edinburgh Trams closely monitor and record road traffic collisions which involve tram vehicles.

“We operate within areas of the city centre where there is considerable volumes of traffic.

“On occasions other road users have misjudged the space the tram requires and minor scrapes and bumps can happen.

“Our drivers are trained to the highest standard using industry best practice and taught to drive to conditions taking cognisance of other road users.”

'Haymarket is very dangerous'

For many commuters the Capital’s tram rails can be easily avoided either by taking other forms of public transport or different routes, but for some they are unavoidable.

Calum Mackinnon lives in Linlithgow and cycles to or from work most days every week and last year fell foul of the tramlines near Haymarket.

The 45-year-old who is a confident cyclist who regularly does more than 10 miles a day to work, said his experience left him shaken.

He said: “I was coming down towards Haymarket and the problem you have frequently is that cars and taxis who are unable to get into the drop-off area at the station stop on the road.

“You have to go into the tram tracks and you have to take it at too fast a speed and an angle, and that is when it becomes dangerous.

“My back wheel slipped and then I was too straight and the front wheel went from underneath me.

“I was worried what would hit me from behind but luckily I had slid down the tramline so traffic went around me.”

Mr Mackinnon said the rails around Haymarket is the worst for cyclists.

He said: “It is horrendous. There is no other route and you have no choice but to take on these tram tracks.

“The design of it is horrible. There is the conflict with buses and cars and there is not a lot of time to adapt what you are doing. You are stuffed, basically.

“Trams are brilliant and it is a great way of getting out of the city but that particular bit of infrastructure doesn’t work and has not been thought through properly.”

Tragic history of tram accidents

Tragedy struck the city’s tram network in June 2017 when cyclist Zhi Min Soh died after her wheel became stuck in the tracks and was hit by a minibus on Princes Street, at its junction with Lothian Road

Ms Soh, 23, from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, was a medical student at Edinburgh University.

She was described as “talented and thoughtful”. The university said it had lost “a bright star of the future”.

At the time, it was claimed warnings about tram track safety risks in Edinburgh for cyclists have been ignored by the council.

Rail investigators have called for louder warning horns to be fitted to Edinburgh trams following the death of a pedestrian.

In September the following year, Carlos Correa Palacio, 53, died after being hit at the Saughton tram stop in Broomhouse Drive.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) later advised Edinburgh Trams Limited to increase the sound pressure levels of the horns.

Mr Palacio was the first fatality directly involving a Scottish tram since 1959.

The RAIB report stated that Mr Correa, was seemingly unaware that the tram was approaching.