We sit on the Glasgow City Council Active Travel Forum run by Cllr Anna Richardson, which meets five times a year, and brings organisations working in and concerned about active travel together to highlight, plan and discuss active travel strategy with the council.
GoBike were instrumental in the inital set up of what was originially the Glasgow Cycling Forum. Here’s a little history:
The Glasgow Cycling Forum was formed in 2010 after an approach from GoBike to Bailie Jim McNally, who chaired the Roads & Transportation Committee of Glasgow City Council. The aim was to emulate the Edinburgh Cycle Forum that had been successfully bringing together the local council and cycle user groups. A prompt response was received from Councillor Matt Kerr, who was then Bailie McNally’s depute, but, more importantly, is a keen cyclist, commutes by bike and was, in his teens, a keen racer with Fullarton Wheelers. He chaired the forum meetings for the early years, and then occasionally Frank McAveety, after his appointment as “Cycling Csar” took over. In 2016, after Frank’s appointment as Council Leader, Councillor Martin McElroy (who also often uses his bike) became the main focus for cycling in the Council.
The Forum had a bumpy start and fizzled out in 2017, but is now meeting again and has made some progress. Council officials whose remit includes cycling are meeting, often for the first time, at these meetings. The cycle organisations represented includes Cycling UK, Sustrans, Freewheel North, Bike for Good as well as GoBike.
On 15 April 2016 we issued this open letter to the City Council asking for updates on:
- Briefing of the latest Strategic Plan for Cycling to city council staff
- Implementation of the 20mph speed limit in the city centre
- Hours of operation of Bus Lanes (consulted on in 2014)
- Continuation of the policy to install Advanced Stop Lines at traffic light junctions
- Plus an innovative idea to improve cycling on the Broomielaw.
At the first meeting in September 2014, focusing on the purpose of the forum, attendees were asked to submit their responses to Glasgow City Council’s Strategic Plan for Cycling 2010 – 2020. This ambitious document has as its vision “Cycling will be the biggest participation activity in the city by 2020.” Despite this, there was no ongoing discussion of the plan at the forum. GoBike’s response was submitted in October 2014. It is attached here, with the minutes and also a paper by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health.
The updated Strategic Plan for Cycling 2015-2025 is here.
The Active Travel Forum info, minutes and agendas can all be found here.
Previous minutes of the Glasgow Cycling Forum: