Strathclyde Cycle Campaign
If you live in Glasgow and haven’t yet signed the petition, please do so. The screenshot from the City Council website shows that today we are at 160 signatures. We need more! Please sign and ask your friends, family and colleagues to do likewise. Here’s the link to the page shown on the screenshot (click on the petition descriptor to sign):
https://www.glasgowconsult.co.uk/KMS/EpetitionHome.aspx?strTab=EPetitions&noip=1
Read Bob Downie’s views on 20mph in Susan Swarbrick’s blog – and convince yourself, and others, that this is the way to go for our towns and cities.
Now please sign the petition at: https://www.glasgowconsult.co.uk/KMS/epetitions.aspx if you haven’t done so already, and please encourage your friends, family and colleagues to do likewise – although it’s Glasgow residents only.
Glasgow City Council is consulting, until tomorrow (06 April) on a proposal to redetermine the footways on Pollokshaws Road and Langside Avenue adjacent to Queens Park as available for cyclists as well as pedestrians. Although these footways are quite wide and relatively little-used, we have objected to this proposal since Pollokshaws Road is a major commuter route and requires proper cycle lanes and cyclists who don’t want to use the road would go via Queens Park itself rather than on the adjacent footway. The Council’s proposals may be seen here and our letter of objection is on our Consultations page: https://www.gobike.org/campaignsconsultations/consultations
GoBike has this morning issued its first press release: see it here to highlight the improvement in fuel consumption by travelling at 20mph rather than 30, and our inconclusive evidence (on a small sample) of changes in journey time when driving on city streets.
We will be on the John Beattie programme on Radio Scotland, 13:00 – 13:30 today!
Our first electronic newsletter is now available online
It contains news of our Public Meeting on 11 March at the Admiral Bar, Waterloo Street, Glasgow, with speakers from Clackmannanshire Council and City of Edinburgh Council.
Note that we are a MEMBER organisation; if you support us please join as a member – and come along to the meeting on 11 March.
We have decided against proceeding with an appeal to the Court of Session for Glasgow City Council’s proposals for Yorkhill. We got some very brief, but to the point (and free) advice from a solicitor about the cost, not only of the application, but also engaging a solicitor and advocate. We are also aware that there would be a further cost, for those of us who live in Glasgow, for the City Council to defend our appeal! A further thing that we did learn from the solicitor is that successful civil litigation has been brought against local authorities who have contravened the Traffic Signs Manual and cyclists have been injured at the location. We do not want such accidents to happen in Glasgow and we have written to Councillors Alistair Watson, Matt Kerr and Frank McAveety to ask them to beware failure to comply with the manual. Our letter may be seen here: https://www.gobike.org/campaignsconsultations/consultations
Have we lost face as a result of what might be seen as a climb-down? Possibly.
Have we learnt from this? Very definitely.
Do we need a better grasp of legal matters? Yes, and if there is someone out there, reading this or someone you know, who could help us, please get in touch.
GCC have responded to our objection to the introduction of short stay parking opposite the Community Central Halls. Considering the overall improvement to the junction of Maryhill Road with Napiershall Street, we have withdrawn our objection. You may see details here.
Many thanks to all those people in Glasgow who have signed the GoBike petition, but more signatures are needed. Please ask all your friends, family, colleagues, all the people you cycle with, to sign. Reasons to sign are on our flyer:
GoBike has now made what we think is our first appeal to the Court of Session further to one of our supporters having an objection to proposed parking and other changes in Yorkhill rejected. We were unaware of the original consultation but have now submitted an Objection to Glasgow City Council and an appeal against their intention to introduce contraflow cycling in Yorkhill (yes, a good thing) without:
Details of our letters may be found here on our website. We aren’t sure if it will be accepted but here’s hoping.
There was a slight mistake in the previous post about the proposed traffic lights at the junction of Cardonald Place Road with Paisley Road West: we have asked for a 5-second, not a 5-minute, advance on the timing to allow cyclists to exit Cardonald Place Road before traffic from Tweedsmuir Road starts moving.
This is an accepted aspect of traffic lights and should, in our opinion, be used more. Glasgow City Council have said they will consider introducing a 5-second advance for cyclists travelling west on Gordon Street at the junction with Renfield Street / Union Street. This would allow cyclists to get onto the junction before taxis etc coming from Central Station turn right across their path into Union Street.