Edinburgh's longest bike lane, the City Centre West-East Link (CCWEL), has finally been officially opened by the council, a whole decade after it was first suggested.
Even though cyclists have been using it for several months, the official opening only took place on Wednesday, March 20. The project faced many hurdles, including objections from unhappy locals and businesses affected by the construction, which led to delays. The cost of the project also skyrocketed from £8m to a whopping £23m.
A local councillor wasn't too pleased with the work, saying contractors had made a "pigs ear" of the installation and that it had been a "very poor experience" for those living along the route between Roseburn and George Street. But at the launch, active travel minister Patrick Harvie praised the project as a success and called for fewer "barriers" in future so similar projects can be completed more quickly.
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Edinburgh transport convener Scott Arthur said it was the "end of an era" after 10 years in the making. His predecessor, former councillor and transport convener Lesley Hinds, said it was "great to see something you've made a decision about come to fruition". She remembered the "very contentious" process of "hours of meetings to try and bring people together", reports Edinburgh Live.
Cllr Arthur described the two-mile segregated cycle path as a "game-changer" for the city, saying it was "the start of connecting things up" to link all the bike routes in the capital. The next big step will be making George Street pedestrian-only - a key part of the CCWEL - but work to turn it into a 'cycle street' won't be done until about 2027, according to current plans.
Cycling group Spokes said there's been lots of support for the project but some people in the Roseburn area weren't happy because businesses there were badly affected. They even tried to get money from the council to makeup for it, but they didn't succeed. Spokes remembered how there were "heated meetings of the local community council, with lots of people against the plan" during the consultation process and said most of the delays were caused by "a very experienced campaigner".
The group said in the end they "would have liked a direct route to and along Princes Street" but what was agreed on was a "huge leap forward" for cycling in Edinburgh. Conservative city centre councillor Jo Mowat said many of the problems that were predicted when the scheme was first talked about "have happened".
Cllr Mowat said: "I've had a steady stream of complaints about how the project has been carried out; the quality of the work, having to go back and do things again, digging up the road, talking to officers about signs. I've often had to be the last resort." She said a complete mess was made during the building phase at some parts. "Bishops Walk was dug-up three times," she said, "it's a small bit but it took them three times to get that right.
"It was just really poor finish and workmanship. All the Copenhagen junctions at Roseberry Crescent and West Coates, they were laid with the wrong concrete - they had to be dug up too." The council confirmed some continuous footway side road crossings had to be redone as concrete was 'installed incorrectly' but the cost of this was met by the contractor.
Cllr Mowat added: "I think it's really hard to know if its' been worthwhile... the proof of the pudding will be when we monitor it and see if there are there more cyclists using it. In a country where we have little control over the weather actually from October to March - so for at least six months of the year - I just don't think it is pleasant to cycle because it is dark and it's wet and splashy. Is that a realistic option? ".
Asked if he was confident the project would result in an influx of people choosing to get around the city by bike, Mr Harvie said: "There is an old phrase; build it and they will come. It tends to be the experience we have. Some of the projects in my own community have seen triple figure percentage increases in people using the active travel routes once you make them safe, designed to a high standard and accessible."
He said: "We need to congratulate and thank the people who have made it happen. We also need to learn from projects like this; how do we do this faster? That's one of the big themes for the Scottish Government at the moment. The new Infrastructure Fund is intended to enable local authorities to bring forward their active travel projects and deliver them fast, and remove some of those barriers in the way.
"There genuinely is a huge appetite for people being able to use their communities safely, having streets, communities, towns and cities that are attractive places to spend time in and if we can unlock that potential, if we can harness that enthusiasm we can enable people to transform their communities."
Cllr Arthur said: "We can learn from this without a doubt. This is Edinburgh's first real on-street segregated cycle route and the standard of the work is fantastic and an exemplar of what we want to do going forward. There's going to be more of this in the coming weeks, months and years. This has been 10 years in the making but it feels like a real tipping point today - this has opened but we've now got a pipeline of projects coming forward."