Glasgow to install more “Speed Cushions”. Please object – and here’s why.

Speed bumps (Marine Road East, Prestatyn)
Photo © Jaggery (cc-by-sa/2.0)

We have heard from Glasgow City Council that they propose to install 2 sets of speed cushions outside St Fillan’s Primary School in Cathcart, with the aim of ensuring that drivers reduce their speed to the 20mph zone limit.  The text of the e-mail received from the Council is given on our Consultations page.  We have objected on 3 grounds:

  1. GoBike member, Bob Downie, presented a petition to the City Council 2 years ago, proposing a default city-wide 20mph speed limit (allowing for exceptions for some roads to be 30mph or even more).  This was well received by Councillors at the Petitions Committee, but now the Council has reverted to its original piecemeal approach.
  2. Mark Ruskell, Green MSP currently has a bill out for consultation, see: http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/20mphSpeedLimits/  and, if successful, this would bring about default speed limits in all our urban centres of 20mph.
  3. Speed Cushions and tables are very expensive to install and maintain.

Our letter of objection is here: GoBike Crompton Avenue traffic calming Objection 070617 and while we point out that we do not wish to endanger any child, we consider that a better solution for all will be a city-wide 20mph default speed limit.  We will also be voicing our concern to the Glasgow Councillors who attended our Hustings in April.

Further information on traffic calming is given in this excellent blog by one of our GoBike members, “Glasgow Cycleman”.

Please do object to this proposal and, if you live in Glasgow, do let your ward Councillors know about this expensive move.  At the time of the 2015 petition it was estimated that it would take 40 years to achieve what the petition and now Mark Ruskell’s bill will give us.

If you haven’t responded to the survey on Mark Ruskell’s bill yet, please follow the link in point 2 above.