Tuesday August 4th 2026
Summerhall junction diagram
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Joe Sullivan
A new junction layout in Edinburgh has struck up a debate from road users online, with the council saying the changes make it “safer and easier.”
The council’s announcement of ‘two-stage’ right turns opening up for cyclists at the Summerhall junction has brought in nearly 100,000 views on Facebook, as well as almost 500 comments.
In the new layout, cyclists turning to Hope Park Terrace from Summerhall Crescent and from Hope Park Crescent to Melville Drive will no longer hug the right side of the turn lane.
Cyclists turning right will now move to the left-hand side of the road before making their turn, waiting for a separate signal phase.
On their green signal, they will proceed straight on to a waiting area at the near corner of the junction, and then wait for another signal phase to cross the other road and finish their turn.
An animated video attached to the council’s post remarked the layout was ‘very straightforward to use’ – but many residents have doubts about the new setup.
Posting on Facebook the council wrote: “Two stage right turns for cyclists have been installed at the Summerhall junction. This will make it safer and easier to:
“Turn right onto Hope Park Terrace from Summerhall Crescent and turn right on to Melville Drive from Hope Park Crescent.
“Cyclists should stay left on the road and complete their right turn in two easy stages.”
However, not all road users agreed with the simplicity of the new layout as it was met with fierce backlash in the comments section.
One quipped: “You expect cyclists to stop at two red lights?”
Another, who said they had been a commuting cyclist for 59 years, said the new layout seemed unintuitive and annoying.
They wrote: “If I were approaching that junction and intending to turn right, I’d manoeuvre into the right hand lane and turn right on the green bicycle light.
“I’d not be pleased at having to wait 2 phases of the lights to perform that turn.”
More commented that they doubted cyclists were likely to use the turn, or comply with traffic laws.
One wrote: “No cyclist is going to do this”, following up the comment with a tilted-head crying laugh emoji.
Another commented: “Most cyclists don’t follow the ‘rules’ as it is. Do you really believe this will work, or that any cyclists at all will even attempt to do it?”, followed by three normal cry laughing emojis.
Some expressed confusion about whether it is the best solution for it.
One said the need to make a post and add a video may have meant the council have ‘over-cooked’ the scheme.
They added: “Why wouldn’t you just turn right on the filter lane? Plus, most of the drivers I see would go when the green “go for bikes” light comes on?
“Just make the filter lane safer, wider maybe?
A few commenters defended the new layout.
One self-described ‘car driver and cyclist’ implored residents to give the junction a shot before driving, trying to bridge the gap between sceptics and supporters.
They wrote: “This method is used in Denmark (famously great for cyclists) at every single junction.
“It took me about 10 seconds to get used to, as a car driver and a cyclist, and it works brilliantly. Try it, you might be surprised.”
Another commented that city residents may need time to get used to the layout.
They wrote: “Very similar to the ‘hook turn’ used by all vehicles – including cycles – in Melbourne to turn right in streets with tramlines.
“It’ll take a while for cyclists and motorists to adapt to this.”
And, one cyclist said they would outright refuse to use the new turning system, and instead make normal right turns from the turn lane.
Edinburgh has had at least one signalised two-stage right turn for cyclists for almost a decade.
The first was installed in October 2017 at the McDonald Road junction in Leith, with others being booked into future plans for road improvements in the city.
When fully built out, with two-stage right turns in each direction, setups like these work almost like a signalised traffic circle for cyclists around the edge of a junction.
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