Strathclyde Cycle Campaign
The public consultation event for the Knightswood BMX Centrewill take place on Thursday 19 January 2017, 4-9pm at Knightswood Community Centre.
All the details are on the Dumbarton Road Corridor Environment Trust website: https://dumbartonroad.wordpress.com/2017/01/10/knightswood-bmx-track-consultation-event/
Regulating our buses will lead to more organised bus services, giving better coverage and thus encourage car owners to leave the car at home and use the bus. This, in turn, will lead to less congestion on our roads and less chaotic driving, thus improving conditions for those of us who cycle. GoBike therefore supports the campaign to Re-regulate Scotland’s Buses
Unite Scotland‘s Haud the Bus Petition to regulate Scotland’s Buses will be heard by the Public Petitions Committee at The Scottish Parliament Edinburgh next Thursday 19th January at 9:30am. Members of the public may attend committee meetings at the Parliament, so get there if you can.
There is a Facebook event with the details:
Cyclists, including GoBike members, to the west of Glasgow, have erected a white bike at the junction of Great Western Road(A82) westbound and the slip road to the Erskine Bridge(A898) to commemorate 2 people who were killed in the latter part of 2016 while cycling on the A82 by motorists. The first cyclist, Allan Fleming, a 48 year old man from Clydebank, was killed on 4th September by an Asda lorry and the second cyclist, Allan Smith, a 58 year old man from Glasgow, was killed on 18th December by a car driven by an 83 year old man.
Details of the first incident are at: http://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/police-identify-cyclist-killed-road-11844931
Details of the second are at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-38364433
Police are appealing for witnesses to both these incidents. Please contact them if you were in the area at the time of either.
Let’s hope we don’t have any similar incidents in 2017, but please do ensure that you report any cycling accidents involving injury to the police. Also make sure you get the assistance of an organisation such as CyclingUK or Cycle Law Scotland to pursue a claim against a motorist who has driven in such a way as to cause injury. If we can take action against the non-fatal incidents then perhaps we can raise awareness and prevent the heartache and pain of fatalities.
Please enjoy your cycling in 2017 and do take action to improve conditions for cycling.
GoBike wishes all its members and supporters a good Christmas and New Year – and let’s start cycling with the start of the New Year! The pictures above and below show some of the people on our December ride to the parks on the south side of Glasgow, at the new park at Cuningar Loop. It was gloriously sunny, if a bit chilly. But read on for January …..
January’s ride, and the GoBike rides are always on the first Sunday of the month, is on Sunday 01 January – time to clear the head! Check out the infrastructure our councils are providing …..
Sunday 1 January 2017 – Northern Delights Infrastructure Safari
For our annual tour of cycle infrastructure we will take a tour of the northern parts of Glasgow, as well as venturing into Bishopbriggs, to see some of the lesser spotted bike lanes and paths, as well as viewing future developments. Firstly we will head over to Sauchiehall Street to see and discuss the proposed “Avenue” works, before passing another large redevelopment at Sighthill. We will look at some local links in the contrasting residential areas around the outskirts and suburbs of Glasgow, and see how well they join up. We will end our tour back in the West End at the University, where large scale works are proposed on the former Western Infirmary site.
Meet 10am Bell’s Bridge, Congress Road, Glasgow.
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For a ride further afield, have a look at our Rides page: https://www.gobike.org/about-us/cycle-rides and our end-of-April-start-of-May weekend ride, the Way of the Roses, from Morecambe to Bridlington.
Just in – London hires first full-time Cycling Commissioner, see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-38376672
£770million over six years is about 3 times the annual outlay on cycling in Scotland, distributed via Sustrans. Given that London has about twice the population, the per capita annual expenditure is about 50% greater.
Cities and towns in Scotland need that same rate of expenditure!
On Friday, 16 December, City of Edinburgh Council gave approval for the detailed design and construction of the cycle route along Roseburn Terrace, past Haymarket and along to Leith Walk to go ahead. This was reported in the press at the weekend, and it was stated that the views of the opponents to the scheme had been noted.
This is a notable achievement given the removal of the cycle lane on Holmston Road in Ayr and the setback to the Bears Way phase 2, and it augurs well for the Transport Minister’s Active Travel Task Force.
Humza Yousaf, the Transport Minister, has written to GoBike (and probably other active travel groups) and states that he was disappointed by some recent decisions. His letter goes on to say: “ I have written to CoSLA, the Regional Transport Partnerships, the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS) and the Active Travel Alliance, asking for a representative from each of their organisations to sit on the Task Force, which will be chaired by Roy Brannen, CEO of Transport Scotland. The first meeting will be on 8 February 2017, where the Task Force will agree its own remit, the scope of the issues it will address and a timeline during 2017 for reporting back to me with recommendations. However, I have asked it to look particularly at the TRO process, how local consultation is carried out and how the benefits of active travel are communicated to decision makers and local communities, and how these could be improved with the help of Scottish Government, Transport Scotland and other key stakeholders.
I anticipate that your organisation will be asked to contribute to the work of the Task Force and therefore wanted to update you with progress with the development of our plans. I do hope you will be forthright and honest if asked to contribute and that this important piece of work will enable us to identify practical steps that we can take to help us achieve our vision for active travel.”
We will report on any contact made.
Late last month Glasgow City Council published a Traffic Regulation Order proposing that all bus lanes in the city will operate from only 7am to 7pm. While this is an increase for some, for others it is a reduction from 24 hour operation.
Why is this important for those of us who cycle? Because Glasgow City Council have the audacity to include not only bus lanes but bus corridors (ie the main routes travelled by buses) in the 310km they claim in their Strategic Plan for Cycling to be part of the “Cycle Network”! See Glasgow Cycleman’s blog, https://glasgowcycleman.wordpress.com/2016/12/02/a-slap-in-the-face/ for an excellent commentary on this.
We have thus objected to the proposal, see: GoBike Glasgow Bus Lanes Objection 16Dec16 and as a minimum we consider that all bus lanes should operate for 24 hours each day and the City Council should be realistic in how it measures cycle routes in the city. Our response to the review of the operation of bus/cycle/taxi lanes carried out in 2014 is here: Go Bike GCC Bus,Cycle.Taxi Lane Review 191114
Sorry this is short notice but please use the information given to put in an objection – comments close on Thursday 22 December. Please write in if you live in Glasgow and if you cycle into Glasgow on one of the routes affected. Thank you.
Sunday 4 December – Southern Park Loop
The final ride of the year will be a 20 mile tour of some of the parks across the South Side of Glasgow, East Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire, including one of the newest, the Cuningar Loop park in Rutherglen, and its newly opened bridge across the River Clyde. We will then return to Glasgow Green in time for lunch. As always, there will be a mix of cycle facilities and routes to see along the way.
Meet 10am Bell’s Bridge, Congress Road, Glasgow.
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Yes, it’s our AGM tomorrow. Please don’t forget; we look forward to seeing you there and building our campaigning for 2017. Members, non-members and friends all welcome.
Doors open 7pm for the AGM at 7:30 and then our Public Meeting with Councillor Martin McElroy at 8pm, in the Admiral Bar, 72a Waterloo Street in Glasgow, with a NextBike hire stand and bike parking almost right outside.
