£150k for cycle ‘corridor’ in Edinburgh

Transport chiefs in Edinburgh are set to spend up to £150,000 on a cycle "corridor" across the south of the city. The route, which will link Edinburgh University's George Square and King's Buildings campuses, is among a range of measures to be put in place as council bosses work towards ambitious targets for promoting cycling in the capital.

The council has committed itself to a goal of 15 per cent of all journeys in the city to be by bike within the next ten years. The figure currently stands at around four per cent for commuters across the city, but almost 20 per cent of those working or studying at King's Buildings travel there by bicycle.

Officials hope to make cycling a more attractive option by improving safety for those on two wheels. However, the cycle lanes are unlikely to be continuous, due to the need for space for parking and loading.

It is a similar idea to the cycle superhighways in London, part of Mayor Boris Johnson’s plans to help new and returning cyclists to keep on pedalling. The idea is to link outer lying residential areas with central London, and they form a key part of the Mayor and TfL’s target to increase cycling in London by 400 per cent by 2025,

The council hopes the scheme will include the creation of a northbound lane between West Mayfield and Duncan Street to help protect people cycling uphill where there is a large difference in the speed between them and cars and buses. There are also plans to introduce traffic measures on roads which link to the cycle corridor, including George IV Bridge and Melville Drive.