Cyclists left furious at 'ridiculous' pole blocking route for nearly 6 months

13 March 2024 , 23:00

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Cyclists in Edinburgh are outraged because a key cycling route has remained shut due to a "ridiculous" lamppost in the way (Image: EdinburghLive)

Fed-up cyclists have slammed a "ridiculous" lamppost that has been blocking a major cycling route in a city.

In October, locals spoke of how the lamppost suddenly appeared in the middle of the path as it was erected along with a new development on a busy road in Edinburgh. The council said the street light would be removed after it was put in the centre of a three-way bike lane. Five months later, locals are still waiting for access. They have added their "Give Back This Space" poster to the fenced-off zone.

Scott Richards said: "It is hard to think of the words because it looks so ridiculous. It is clearly dangerous, it is an intersection of three cycle paths and the pole is smack right in the middle of that so that feels like a pretty dangerous situation. Especially at night when you have limited vision.

"Overall, it is unsightly, it's dangerous and nothing is happening and what is even more worrying is that, this was reported five months ago and absolutely nothing has been done to solve it." Edinburgh resident, Peace Akpore, has been living in the city for two years and since his big move has enjoyed the cycling infrastructure but has told us he has seen people avoiding the lane.

Locals believe it's more dangerous (EdinburghLive)

"The barricaded square is very large and that is not good at all, I feel if they made it smaller the pole wouldn't be as bad and it could be moved in due course," he said. "As a cyclist, you want to follow the lanes but I have cycled past this on numerous occasions and I have seen people going onto the pavement and the road to avoid it. It is dangerous and to hear it has been like this for five months is concerning."

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Ronnie Buchan, a Leith local spoke to Edinburgh Live and didn't believe it is dangerous but believe something should be done soon. He said: "I do not believe they are prioritising this and if the council wants to have a good cycle infrastructure they have to work hard on it.

"It isn't dangerous as you can avoid it but you shouldn't have to. It is sending out the wrong signals and the council needs to fix it soon." A council spokesperson said: "We are currently waiting on our contractor SFN obtaining an Authority to Work permit from Edinburgh Trams."

Ryan Fahey