There are now over 3,300 signatories to the petition against the West Coates cycle track in favour of NCR1, the existing cycle route from Roseburn into the heart of Edinburgh. Edinburgh Central is a key marginal - every vote will count and the candidates know that. 40 residents and traders have written to the Holyrood hopefuls in the strongest terms, seeking to convince them that they should sign the petition, should they wish to secure their vote. Whilst Holyrood would usually regard cycle tracks as a local matter, candidates now know that 50% of the cost of the track will come from the Government, via Sustrans. As such, if they come to office, they would have a part to play in trying to convince the Transport Minister (if it continues to be Derek Mckay, or another SNP politician) that there is no need to blow scarce resources on a track that nobody but Lesley Hinds wants. The candidates will now know that Sustrans have their offices on the route of the track, and that they pulled out of a long-awaited meeting with traders and residents at the last minute last Tuesday, when they became aware of the calibre of the experts ranged against them for the meeting, arguing that “it would now be best to wait for the Council consultation report”. They will now know that Sustrans did this because they were fearful of being proven wrong in their obvious enthusiasm for the scheme- and had nothing to offer in terms of alternatives. The candidates will now appreciate that Sustrans, being funded by the Government, suffer little public scrutiny of their activities, so can throw cash at their own pointless pet projects in the knowledge they will never be challenged over giving the public value for money. The candidates will know too that Sustrans already have a cycle track from Roseburn to Haymarket at their back door, the National Cycle Route 1- and now want a second track at their front door, along Haymarket Terrace. The candidates now know that one cycle track should suffice any cycling quango, as Sustrans fundamentally are, but to have TWO tracks is really just plain greedy- and does not reflect a wise use of public funding in these times of austerity. Candidates now know that £1M could go a long way to filling in potholes and improving black spots for cyclists all over the city. They also know that the campaigners plan their OWN consultation report and plan, that will cost a fraction of the £1M the Council seeks to spend, but will achieve the same end, by making the case for improvements to NCR1. Of course there will be widespread interest locally in exactly what the candidates are saying about the track- since none of them have responded to pressure to sign. Strangely, in a key marginal, most of them have not even bothered to reply to the campaigners. Only Ruth Davidson has taken the trouble to get back to each of the voters. She knows that every vote really counts, and she is not wasting any opportunity. In 2012 the SNP took the seat from Labour with only 237 votes. The favourite to win right now is Sarah Boyack, but Sarah, being Labour, is refusing to go against her colleague, Transport Convener and Edinburgh North & Leith contender, Cllr Lesley Hinds, who is 100% being the track. Her closest competitor, Alison Dickie of the SNP, has been sitting on the fence – and has been there since petitioner Pete Gregson first wrote to her on the 9th February, and Alison has had 3 months to mull over the issues. Yet still she refuses to take a stance, even though her colleague Cllr Frank Ross, Deputy Leader of the Council, was one of the first to sign the petition when it was launched at Xmas 2015. Sadly Alison does not see that supporting the campaign is the one thing that may yet win her the crown of Central Edinburgh. Coming up third in this race is Hannah Bettsworth. This seat is notionally a Lib Dem one and Hannah knows which side her bread is buttered on. She is the only one to come out against the cycle track in her campaign literature and has therefore immediately gained votes. In 2011 the LibDems suffered from the backlash over their marriage to the Tories in Westminster and polled 3,543 fewer than the SNP. Clearly Hannah has done her sums and sees that if those who oppose the track vote for her, she’ll have a good chance of success. Sadly, Hannah espouses local Cllr Paul Edie’s unsatisfactory and divisive scheme which sees the track bypassing Roseburn but still forces it along West Coates and Haymarket – and blows £1M in the process – so she may harvest little support. The candidate who stands to gain most by signing the petition is Conservative Leader Ruth Davidson, who showed up last week for a Roseburn Café fry-up and the above photo-op. She hugged traders and listened to their cycle track woes about the damage the track would do to their business but is unwilling to nail her colours to the mast. If only Ruth could show some of the mettle of her Conservative colleague Cllr Jeremy Balfour, who is 4th on the Tory list for Lothian- but should be, in truth- for his steadfast opposition to the track and profound commitment to social justice, number 1. Jeremy was the man who brought the impending disaster of the track to his constituents’ attention in early December (when the Council neglected to notify the residents of its plans) and was the first to sign the petition. For these actions alone, he is a local hero. So if Ruth really wants to be welcome at the Roseburn Café if she takes a seat there as the local MSP she needs to make a real commitment to the people of Central Edinburgh and show she cares. (And if the track goes ahead, there won’t be a café, so she better note that too.) There could be 3,300 votes in it for her if she does. Then rather than being 4th on the list, she might be 1st. It’s a 4-horse race. And the one who commits to stopping the track will be Queen of Edinburgh Central on Friday. -ends- (600 words) As at 8pm Monday, 40 campaigners have written to the Candidates asking them to sign. The above press release has gone out, along with the politician’s responses, by mass e-mail to the 3,300 petition signers. RESPONSES FROM EDINBURGH CENTRAL CANDIDATES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST- please e-mail postmaster@roseburn32.plus.com if you would like to get these. Please also e-mail if you want to be added to the supporters list, which will get you a fortnightly e-mail update on developments