GoBike Board of Shame Pop Up – University Avenue

The notorious Board of Shame is still out there on it’s Pedal on Parliament weekend adventures, its latest location having been spotted on the equally notorious University Avenue. Highlighting the fact that both the University of Glasgow and Glasgow City Council have drastically failed to uphold active travel policies, the Board marked the Uni failing harshly, and rightly so. A lack of protected space for cycling on University Avenue will create a gap in any chance of a linked up cycling network in Glasgow.

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GoBike Board of Shame Pop Up – Kilmarnock Road Door Zone

GoBike’s Board of Shame is out and about for Pedal on Parliament’s pop-up weekend. Many of you found it yesterday on Kilmarnock Road in the nasty cycle lane painted in the door zone. We have written to the council off the back of the protest. It read:

Roll Up! Roll Up! For Glasgow City Council’s FREE ride of danger rollercoaster THE DOOR ZONE!! Ride in it and get whacked! Ride out of it and get smacked! No height restrictions apply! Mind how you go! Brought to you by GoBike for Pedal on Parliament pop up weekend. #pop2019 #popuppop @gobikeglasgow

We have written to the council off the back of the protest.

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**UPDATE** South West City Way Repairs

Following our GoBike Board of Shame stunt on the SWCW in December, Glasgow City Council have started moving into action on effecting the required repairs and improving the standard of maintenance on the segregated cycle lanes of the South West City Way.

Since our last update, the gritting on the lanes had been much improved and more effective, and we are thankful for the action on that. The repair action is now moving slowly. The first repair began on one of the Shields Road bus stops but was unfortunately then halted for five days with a full blockage of the cycle path remaining in place during that time. It seems that the understanding for the respect for our main commuting route from Glasgow City Council still has some way to go.

This work is now complete though, and we hope that the drainage will be improved there from now on. Elsewhere, near the other Shields Road bus stop, the flooding was drained but swiftly returned, demonstrating that a more permanent repair was required. We have been continuing to ensure that GCC are working on moving forward with the SWCW repairs, and have some of the following info to share with you:

To GCC from GoBike:

We’ve been sent on info from an FOI on the flooding on SWCW that suggests that the bridge would first need strengthening by Network Rail before the required resurfacing can take place. We would imagine that the timeline for this would actually be really significant, and so if this is indeed the case, we would like to suggest the requirement for a program of flooding maintenance at the site until this permanent repair can happen. We have also been made aware though, that heavy machinery such as (…..) vehicles have routinely been seen working on the bridge. Can you explain this?

The FOI also illustrates that there were 13 fault reports specifically on the flooding to the council over a period of a year and a half until the first investigative site visit happened in August 2018. Injuries have occurred at this site due to the neglect to attend to the repair timeously. This week repairs started at the other bus stop on Monday the 7th, which closed off the full cycle lane with barriers blocking cycle lane access, yet no signage and no diversion in place, just a ramp useful only to people with prams and wheelchairs. Work then ceased, incomplete, after the 7th, and the barriers still remain in place, now six days later. I attach an image to illustrate. Frankly, for a flagship route, one of the only truly safe routes we have in the city for people on bikes, the priority for it’s upkeep within the council is quite clearly insufficient.

To GoBike from GCC:

Thank you for your email regarding the South West City Way Cycle route.
 
We are currently investigating what options are available to resolve the issues with the surfacing on the bridge, taking account of the weight restrictions and  work operations that are permitted to be undertaken on the bridge due to its condition.  Vehicles should not be using the cycleway and thank you for bringing this to our attention.  I  will arrange for this issue to be raised with (….) at the next Roads Authorities and Utilies Committee (RAUC) meeting.  The Council is also currently reviewing how these initial complaints were initially dealt with.
 
I can confirm repairs at the bus stop south of the railway bridge started on site on 7th January 2019. The works were to amend the drainage channel inlets, open them up to allow more flow of surface water and make future maintenance more accessible. The contractor has been made aware of the importance of maintaining the traffic management at all times and to resurface the ramp as a priority. I can only apologise it’s taken longer than expected.
 
The bus stop north (see image) of the railway bridge with the drainage issues has been investigated by LES and the contractor Mac Asphalt Ltd who were involved with the works to resolve the drainage. Due to the lack of existing drainage gullies on Shields Road a further investigation was undertaken on the existing gullies and manholes to allow for an additional 3No. gullies are to be installed within the cycle lane. Work is due to commence on site  on Monday 21st January 2019. The cycle lane from the start of Shields Road at St Andrews Drive to the railway bridge will be closed for 7 working days to allow for the drainage to be installed. An alternative route using the footway will be signposted.
 
I hope this is of assistance.

So that work is due to start today, which is positive. Please let us know whether the diversion is adequate.

Thanks again to the council for working to get this sorted although it is unfortunate that it took such action before anything was done, when the issue had been so widely reported. We have been sent details of just how many reports were made in this FOI sent in from a super helpful member which makes for very interesting reading. But we hope that from here, the council will appreciate the importance of keeping our safe cycling spaces (which as we know, are few and far between) clear, working, maintained, and well…. safe.

Perhaps next, we can look at the issue of parking in the segregated cycle lanes too eh? We will be watching the repairs unfold and wont be resting easy – we already have our next target in mind for the GoBike Board of Shame. Watch this space.