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Iain Owenson

@angrycyclist.bsky.social
58 followers 87 following 74 posts

Active Travel / Urban designer - Edinburgh

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Reposted by Iain Owenson
Real Gaz on a proper bike: gazza_d@toot.bike @gazza-d.bsky.social · 23h
Attitudes like this are why we need mandatory speed limiters in vehicles. Does clever boy here just shoplift because he feels a price has no relation to worth? Only when driving do people feel it's fine to ignore the law and be completely anti social. And yes speeding is anti social.
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Reposted by Iain Owenson
sbarlster @sbarlster.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
We could choose to speed limit and geo fence vehicles in our cities, but our govs choose not to. Think about why that is?
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
If i was a pedestrian there I’d be walking on the cycleway away from heavy traffic
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Once again paint (and flexi bollards) are not protection
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Looking at the damage it must have been some impact so I imagine they would still have been damaged had they been infilled with asphalt, albeit to a lesser extent. Whereas a fully bedded kerb and teardrop shaped island would have a much better chance of deflecting an errant vehicle
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Yup. Anything but reallocating road space which might upset drivers / voters. We don’t need more research either. We know how to make safer streets. We just need to build them.
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
@edi.bike buy cheap, buy twice
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Rejoice all. The streets are safe! Drivers are getting… checks notes… “Creative arts-based engagement.” www.transport.gov.scot/news/investi...
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Surely the adjacent Sciennes Road could have been continuous and one way too
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The drawing looked okay but this is not what has been built
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Living Streets have carried out extensive research on these showing what does / doesn’t work and what conditions need to be met for them to work effectively. I don’t know why CEC are so averse to using the entry kerbs
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Looks like the raised table part is a different material from the footway again adding to ambiguity.
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
A few things I can see from here… The kerb has a radius on it so not truly continuous. This leads to ambiguity over who has priority. The ramps are shallow and made of asphalt rather than concrete ’Dutch’ entry kerbs which are more effective at slowing vehicles.
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Excellent stuff! Just noticed how poor the ‘continuous’ footway are too
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Reposted by Iain Owenson
🚲 edi.bike | weekly news digest @edi.bike · 17/09/2026
Made a video on it! www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWiR...
youtube.com
edi.bike: Summerhall Upgrades and Issues, September 2026
YouTube video by edi․bike
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
He was at the cycling Scotland conference earlier today telling us all it’s Westminsters fault we can’t have multi year funding for active travel projects. Unclear why this doesn’t apply to road building or any other government funded projects
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
This current traffic sewer passes through a higher population density and more trip generators than the alternatives. It wasn’t even considered as an option in the original feasibility study
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
This is the route I’ve been saying all along however I suspect this is where the real NIMBYism lies rather than Roseburn Path. CEC won’t want to upset the new towners.
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
This needs to be ingrained in policy. Where roads maintenance / public travel investment is carried out then the circulation plan must be considered. Eg. floating bus stops, fully protected junctions, continuous footways, parking reduction, traffic calming, school streets etc. /end
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
The circulation plan has been approved by council and I know there are plans for more ‘consultation’ but surely on local level we can have the foresight to begin to implement the changes needed.
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
The circulation plan shows this as a primary public transport corridor and a primary cycle corridor. Investment in the former needs to consider the latter. Any other intervention will be detrimental to the long term objectives.
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
This contradiction seems to be a recurring theme recently with CEC where AT, pedestrian, public transport, vehicle movement interventions are lacking coordination.
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
If so then on one drawing you have a note saying bus build out removed to improve cycle continuity and on the next drawing you have a note saying new pavement buildout to improve pedestrian experience (at the expense of cycle movement)
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Thanks Claire. I’m not sure what the aims of this proposal are but I assume it’s bus / patronage improvements. 1/n
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Are you removing a bus stop build out because it blocks a cycleway to add another bus stop build out one stop along therefore blocking a cycleway? Classic CEC. The design needs to be changed to make the new bus stop build out “floating”.
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
£2m added to the Sherrifhall junction pot
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Just incase you thought there was any chance of seeing any sort of meaningful change on our streets this side of the next millennium.
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Wowzer! £68m announced by the Scottish Government today for active travel across the whole of Scotland next year. Equivalent to a whole £2m per local authority! For context Edinburgh alone requires £824 million–£1.124 billion to deliver its active travel commitments.
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Reposted by Iain Owenson
Alex Staniforth @alexstaniforth.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
But it’ll be fine because he banned disposable barbecues.
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Or this… maps.app.goo.gl/jmyi3Engh59f...
maps.app.goo.gl
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Yep. Glasgow embeds its bolt-on kerbs within the roads surface course providing additional strength. Edinburgh just does everything with the minimal effort which inevitably leads to additional maintenance issues further down the line.
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Standard road gully grating rather than cycle friendly grating in the cycleway too ffs.
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Not sure those glue on kerbs are offering much protection either
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Even more frustrating that labour are joint 3rd largest party (with greens also on 11 seats). Make it make sense! Local politics huh
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Why has north bridge been fully reopened to traffic with no changes to the road layout when this is in your City Mobility Plan? @stephenjenkinson.bsky.social @edinburghcouncil.bsky.social
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
To spend this much and make no changes to the layout (other than removing bus stops) galvanises CEC position as a pro-car and anti pedestrian / cycle council. For me, all active travel and traffic reduction strategies / policies are now fully in the bin.
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Most of the bridges across the River Clyde to Glasgow city centre now have segregated cyleways. Edinburgh is supposed to be stopping through traffic in its city centre so why open two traffic lanes that have been closed for 8 years?
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
I remember reading this stuff full of hope thinking Edinburgh was about to see some big changes like in Paris or London. What a fool. 3 years on virtually zero progress has been made. £M worth of reports and studies sitting on a shelf gathering dust in CEC basement. This is what disenfranchised me.
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
This made me go look at the Meadows to George St proposals here. Why do they have an advisory cycleway and ASL when there is a segregated cycleway opposite? Surely an even wider footway and shorter crossing makes more sense here.
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
6 months roadworks. No idea on cost but probably around £500k. It’s a good policy from CEC to make changes during maintenance work but I think the point is that the execution could be a lot better and give better value for money interventions.
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Why are we accepting the council should spend significant sums of money and causing major disruption on extensive junction alterations and only providing the bare minimum for cycling? Similar to the London Road works on 2024.
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
If it’s only road maintenance budget then fair enough but if AT budget is being spent here then I’d have concerns. Also I don’t agree traffic orders are needed. What orders would be needed to change to a protected layout compared to the changes they have just made?
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
A junction suitable for all ages and abilities should separate cyclists and traffic either spatially or by time (separate phase). The CEC layout does neither (except for early release). This puts cyclists who want to go ahead arriving at the junction during the signal phase at risk of a left hook.
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Here’s what you could have won! (no drivers were inconvenienced in the production of this layout)
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
I think it’s mainly to do with capital funding and political will. Glasgow has put £120M of its City Deal funding into the avenues programme and is now reaping the benefits. Edinburgh has put its city deal funding into Sherrifhall junction and EV parking.
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
I think people are frustrated that a lot of disruption, time and money was spent on something that offers little (if any) benefit when it could have been spent on something much better. Seems to be a recurring theme in n Edinburgh. Everything’s a compromise. All to minimise impact on drivers.
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
“They said the eight years of works on the bridge had “provided an opportunity to observe bus operations” Did the eight years not allow you to observe traffic operations as well?
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Well done CEC, another own goal. Not only have you failed to deliver any active travel improvements (contradicting your own circulation plan), somehow you manage to make things worse for bus passengers www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/no-plan...
edinburghnews.scotsman.com
No plans to reinstate bus stops on North Bridge when route reopens fully to traffic
The historic bridge is set to fully reopen to traffic and pedestrians by the end of July
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Iain Owenson @angrycyclist.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
They’ve actually managed to add in new parking / loading where currently there is none with vehicles crossing cycleway and putting cyclists in door zone. I genuinely wonder if anyone at CEC has read cycling by design 2021
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