Glasgow City

*ADDITION* Chinatown Masterplan

Potential plans for Glasgow Chinatown – the block between New City Rd, Garscube Rd and the M8. Development was to be linked to the Underline route, which has been delayed indefinitely by M8 viaduct works (and is missing from latest Avenues project map). Chinatown plans seem to include high rise towers, like the student flats at the other end of New City Rd just north of the M8.
Events:
Wed 10 December 2025, 3-7pm at Dundasvale Residents Hall, G4 0JS.
Mon 2 February 2026, 3-7pm at Garnethill Community Hall, 21 Rose Street, G3 6RE.
Links: Urban Realm article and Glasgow Times article (with event dates).

Improving Drumchapel Town Centre

Glasgow City Council say: “As part of the plans to improve Drumchapel town centre, we want your views on how best to change the roads layout of Kinfauns Drive from Hecla Ave down to Duntreath Ave, to make it easier to get around the area and make it more attractive.” The visuals show a revised raised platform on Kinfauns Dr with several sets of steps and a central ramp. Further south, the biggest change in the plans is removing the Drumchapel Roundabout. A (two-stage) crossing will be added on Duntreath Ave with an interesting junction at Aldi. There seems to be a wide verge on the western side of Duntreath Ave but sadly no segregated cycling route there or on Kinfauns Dr. There’s definitely cycling in the area as Drumchapel Cycle Hub are based just along from the junction on Drumry Road East.
Links: Drumchapel Town Centre survey.
Deadline: Monday 15 December 2025.

Thornwood Roundabout and NCN7 Project

A long overdue project for active travel improvements around Thornwood Roundabout and National Cycle Network Route 7 (NCN7). The roundabout plans are for new crossings and pavements/shared paths (widened onto verges). Crossings at north and east are 2-stage but close to ‘desire line’, with a few pinch points at corners. Crossings at west and south are set much further back (on existing paths). Sawmill St has a shared path south to crossings to a bi-directional cycletrack on South St/Castlebank St. That protected route runs most of the way to Pointhouse Place where there’s a shared path from the corner at the Riverside Museum. There’s a useful fly-through video of the route on the council webpage (and many visuals, which show cyclists riding on the right!). The cycletrack continues west along South St to the crossing at the end of the old railway path on the north side (near Dilwara Ave). While Thornwood roundabout is still car-dominated the plans are an upgrade for active travel. The cycletrack would be a very welcome improvement compared to NCN7’s current shared pavement.
Links: Thornwood-NCN7 consultation, Thornwood-NCN7 survey, Thornwood roundabout plans (PDF) and NCN7 plans (PDF).
Deadline: Wednesday 17 December 2025.

North Lanarkshire

Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure South

Another month, another City Deal-funded consultation in North Lanarkshire. This time it’s Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure South (RAIS), which includes the underbridge at the West Coast Mainline. It’s part of a wider Pan Lanarkshire dual carriageway between the M74 and M80. Previous plans were for a huge 100m wide roundabout in the middle of Motherwell. NLC say: “The overall footprint of the roundabout has been reduced significantly” – it’s now 80–90m wide. There are still up to five lanes on each arm. It’s also lost a direct crossing at the eastern end of Airbles Rd (now split into three stages at Manse Rd). There are some widened pavements but the route into Ravenscraig is broken up by slip roads (and the dual carriageway severs Orbiston St). Phase 2 is at the western end of Airbles Rd, adding an extra lane heading towards the junction at Strathclyde Park. Again, there are wider pavements. However, the distance between each phase is around 1.25km so there’s no continuous route. The consultation also covers suggested artwork based on the iconic cooling towers of the former Ravenscraig steelworks. A rusty version on a roundabout will not have the same impact but is at least a nod to history.
Links: Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure South webpage, RAIS Storymap and RAIS feedback survey (saying ‘Yes’ to changes gives you a text box with 1,000 character limit).
Deadline: Sunday 14 December 2025.

South Lanarkshire

Draft Transport Strategy Consultation 2025 – 2035

South Lanarkshire Council say: “This survey follows on from the first round of engagement undertaken in 2023 and subsequent work to develop South Lanarkshire’s next Local Transport Strategy (LTS), which will cover the period 2025 to 2035. This consultation will inform the finalisation of the Local Transport Strategy for adoption at the end of this year.”
SLC Local Transport Strategy on cycling: “…it is recognised that further investment is crucial to achieve the level of change required to meet climate targets, tackle poor health and address social exclusion. South Lanarkshire Council will further extend the active travel network during the lifetime of this LTS, including the provision of supporting infrastructure.” There’s very little further detail (and the LTS wasn’t mentioned at the last South Lanarkshire Cycling Partnership meeting).
Links: Draft Local Transport Strategy document, LTS consultation page and LTS survey.
Deadline: Tuesday 9 December 2025.

Merry Christmas and a Guid Hogmanay – see you in the New Year.

East Dunbartonshire

Westerhill Development Road
(Bishopbriggs Relief Road)

Feedback that this new road has been given planning permission. Back in 2024 (Digest 151), the route was chosen to extend the current Westerhill Road north past Low Moss prison. It would then join Kirkintilloch Rd (A803 – between Cadder/The Stables pub). EDC say it will include a “new active travel route for walking, wheeling and cycling.” In the ‘General arrangement’ layout, this seems to be a shared pavement continuing from the crossing at the northern end of the Wester Way (near the former Aviva office building). Unfortunately, since some parts (like Cole Rd) aren’t being upgraded, the AT route stops near Loretto playing fields. A dashed orange line indicates ‘Masterplan Future Active Travel route’. That may refer to the ‘Primary Active Travel route’ in a previous Planning Guidance document (see Digest 157). There’s no detail on why it’s not being built along with the road. Also, it’s not clear why a redundant section of Crosshill Rd will be used for “mosaic habitat” instead of cycling?
Links: East Dunbartonshire Council WDR article and Planning application TP/ED/25/0151.

Glasgow City

North Laurieston masterplan – Stage 2

A further consultation following the Stage 1 event (June update). The project website has summaries and survey results to feed into Stage 2. ‘Connected cycle routes’ was ranked third in their Movement strategy survey. The masterplan area on the south bank of the Clyde includes Carlton Place, South Portland St (Avenues project) and the South City Way on Gorbals St (past the Sheriff Court and Central Mosque).
Event: Wednesday 12 November, 2pm–8pm at the former Savings Bank, 67 Bridge St, Glasgow G5 9JB (presentation at 6.30pm).
Links: North Laurieston microsite (sideways scrolling).

Improving Drumchapel Town Centre

Glasgow City Council say: “As part of the plans to improve Drumchapel town centre, we want your views on how best to change the roads layout of Kinfauns Drive from Hecla Ave down to Duntreath Ave, to make it easier to get around the area and make it more attractive.” The visuals show the curving raised platform has gone from the northern corner of Kinfauns Dr. Further south, the biggest change in the plans is removing the Drumchapel Roundabout. A (two-stage) crossing will be added on Duntreath Ave with an interesting junction at Aldi. There seems to be a wide verge on the western side of Duntreath Ave but sadly no segregated cycling route there or on Kinfauns Dr. There’s definitely cycling in the area as Drumchapel Cycle Hub are based just along from the junction on Drumry Road East.
Links: Drumchapel Town Centre survey.
Deadline: Monday 15 December 2025.

Thornwood Roundabout and NCN7 Project

A long overdue project for active travel improvements around Thornwood Roundabout and National Cycle Network Route 7 (NCN7). The roundabout plans are for new crossings and pavements/shared paths (widened onto verges). Crossings at north and east are 2-stage but close to ‘desire line’, with a few pinch points at corners. Crossings at west and south are set much further back (on existing paths). Sawmill St has a shared path south to crossings to a bi-directional cycletrack on South St/Castlebank St. That protected route runs most of the way to Pointhouse Place where there’s a shared path from the corner at the Riverside Museum. There’s a useful fly-through video of the route on the council webpage (and many visuals, which show cyclists riding on the right!). The cycletrack continues west along South St to the crossing at the end of the old railway path on the north side (near Dilwara Ave). While Thornwood roundabout is still car-dominated the plans are an upgrade for active travel. The cycletrack would be a very welcome improvement compared to NCN7’s current shared pavement.
Links: Thornwood-NCN7 consultation, Thornwood-NCN7 survey, Thornwood roundabout plans (PDF) and NCN7 plans (PDF).
Deadline: Sunday 17 December 2025.

North Lanarkshire

Bellshill to Mossend Active Travel
(Eurocentral Active Travel links project)

North Lanarkshire Council say: “The project is funded by NLC through the Glasgow City Region Deal which provides for infrastructure projects that connect people with employment opportunities. Three of the five routes are already at the detailed design stage, while the remaining two are at the concept design stage.” The latter runs through Bellshill town centre. The preferred route uses mostly back streets (John St and an awkward junction onto Dean St). Alternatives in the consultation include a route on Main St (which has a high school and very wide pavements in places). As it goes east, the route uses main roads through Mossend and Holytown towards EuroCentral (A755 corridor). North Lanarkshire favour widened pavements over on-road protected lanes so it’s likely this route will follow the pattern set in Motherwell (Muir St), Wishaw (Alexander St) and elsewhere.
Links: Eurocentral Active Travel Links StoryMap, Bellshill–Eurocentral survey
Deadline: 30 November 2025.

South Lanarkshire

Draft Transport Strategy Consultation 2025 – 2035

South Lanarkshire Council say: “This survey follows on from the first round of engagement undertaken in 2023 and subsequent work to develop South Lanarkshire’s next Local Transport Strategy (LTS), which will cover the period 2025 to 2035. This consultation will inform the finalisation of the Local Transport Strategy for adoption at the end of this year.”
SLC Local Transport Strategy on cycling: “…it is recognised that further investment is crucial to achieve the level of change required to meet climate targets, tackle poor health and address social exclusion. South Lanarkshire Council will further extend the active travel network during the lifetime of this LTS, including the provision of supporting infrastructure.” There’s very little further detail (similar to the recent South Lanarkshire Cycling Partnership meeting, which failed to mention this consultation!).
Links: Draft Local Transport Strategy document, LTS consultation page and LTS survey.
Deadline: 9 December 2025.

SPT

Buchanan Bus Station Masterplan

Radical redevelopment proposals for the bus station. The current building and neighbouring multi-storey car park would be demolished. Only the Gallery Apartments/Sainsbury’s building would be kept. The rest of the block would be used for the new bus station and housing/student flats. The curved layout seems to have fewer stances than the current bus station. The bridges from Cowcaddens Rd may deal with the level difference but could raise issues of anti-social behaviour (on the buses below). On three sides will be Avenues cycle lanes (Cowcaddens St/N Hanover St/W Nile St). No obvious details about bike parking in plans.
Links: Buchanan Bus Station Masterplan webpage and BBS online survey.
Deadline: “before 23 November”.

Argyll & Bute

Tarbert Ferry Terminal to Whitehouse – Community Path

Further consultation on a path between Tarbert’s ferry terminal, on Loch Fyne, across the top of the Kintyre peninsula to Kennacraig ferry terminal/Whitehouse. There are concept designs for the route between the two, alongside the A83. This is a Stage 2 consultation (Stage 1 was in 2024). There was an in-person consultation event in Tarbert that has passed. This path to the south-west seems to be separate from the project to create a path to the north-east (Tarbet to Inverarnan).
Links: Tarbert to Whitehouse Community Path (Engagement Hub), large plan image (ZoomHub), Tarbert–Whitehouse survey, Feedback Map and ABC website page.
Deadline: Tuesday 30 September 2025 (17.00).

East Dunbartonshire

LDP3 – Call for Ideas and Sites Consultation

Part of the Council’s continuing work to prepare its next Local Development Plan (LDP). The plan will guide what land in East Dunbartonshire is used for development. The call for ideas is about planning policy and spatial strategy. The call for sites is for general ideas or developers with plans about how to develop areas of land. The call for sites may be an opportunity to lobby for active travel routes.
Two drop-in information sessions (Kirkintilloch/Milngavie) have already passed.
Links: LDP3 web page, LDP3 call for ideas survey and LDP3 call for sites survey.
Deadline: Monday 15 September 2025.

East Renfrewshire

Parks & Green Spaces

ERC say: “We want to learn about your experience of visiting and using parks and greenspaces in East Renfrewshire. Which parks are your favourite? What do you like about them? What do you think could be better? The results of the survey will be used to inform the new Open Space Strategy and Local Development Plan 3.”
East Ren parks and green spaces with important active travel links include: Rouken Glen Park, Balgray Reservoir and Whitelee Wind Farm. There are also some ‘missing links’, like the wasteground and disused bridge between Williamwood train station and Eastwood Health & Care Centre.
Link: East Ren parks and green spaces consultation.
Deadline (extended): 12 September 2025.

Thornliebank Consultations

Feedback about completed projects in Thornliebank, including access improvements to Thornliebank Playing Fields.
Link: Thornliebank Consultations page and Thornliebank Projects Feedback survey.
Deadline: no obvious deadline.

Inverclyde

Proposed Installation of Road Humps – Kirn Drive, Gourock (ETRO)

Following previous consultation, Inverclyde Council propose traffic calming on Kirn Drive in Midton, Gourock. The road would be made one-way between Arran Rd in east and Divert Rd in west with humps added. Also, Staffa Street would be made one-way from Ivy Crescent to Kingsway east. An Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) usually lasts 18 months to pilot a change.
Link: Kirn Dr, Gourock TRO page.
Deadline (extended): 1 September 2025.

North Ayrshire

Montgomerie Park, Irvine

North Ayrshire Council is planning the development of 188 new homes at Montgomerie Park, Irvine. Following previous consultations, the final plans for the site are available to view. A proposed road at the south of the new estate seems to include a cycle path but there are no details on width/surface.
Link: Montgomery Park page and final plans (PDF).
Deadline: Sunday 31 August 2025.

Renfrewshire

Outcomes of previous consultations

Renfewshire Council’s new website has an ‘Outcome available’ section with feedback from previous consultations. These include: Erskine Town Centre consultation and Johnston Civic Squares consultation.
Link: Renfrewshire Council consultations and ‘Outcome available’ page.

South Lanarkshire

Update on Hamilton Town Centre Masterplan

An update from South Lanarkshire Council is mostly about progress with property. Sadly, this includes demolishing the facade of the former Vogue Bingo hall on Keith St (apparently as it’s now unsafe). Other negative news includes the trial reintroduction of cars on Quarry St being made permanent. Quarry St used to be pedestrianised – see featured image at top of post from 2012 (with Vogue building in background). Car parking had crept up since the pandemic (leading to the trial). There should be disabled parking and it always had some access for loading, etc. However, officially opening the street to all cars removes safe space for walking, wheeling and cycling (even if it’s still one-way and not really a through road).

Also, work is starting to look at renewing the Duke St multi-storey car park – it’s due to be demolished (apart from the section under Wyler Tower!). However, the plan is to build a new multi-storey in the same place, on the wrong side of the road from the shops! It could potentially have been moved behind Quarry St, in the footprint of the current Regent Shopping Centre, if road access had been adjusted (see alternative plans, ignored by SLC). There is due to be an improved pedestrian/cycle path behind the Duke St car park, to Hamilton Central station, but it doesn’t seem like the rest of the town centre will be very cycle-friendly.

Local Action Fund

The Local Action Fund is £50,000 for each of the 20 council wards in South Lanarkshire. Several projects have already been awarded but there is funding remaining in some wards. There doesn’t seem to be a formal consultation or application process – constituents have to contact their councillors, who will decide where the remaining funds go.

For example, Rutherglen South, Ward 11, reportedly has £23,200 still to be spent by Councillors Robert Brown (who has attended GoBike hustings in the past), Margaret Cowie and Carol Nugent. Could some of the funding go towards improving local active travel routes?

GoBike thinks the changes exclude cycling. We need your help to respond and spread the word about the Gordon St SmartSurvey (consultation deadline: Sunday 24 August). In this article we explain the issues…

Glasgow Central is the busiest station in Scotland with nearly 25 million pedestrian entrances and exits annually (April 2023 – March 2024). While it has entrances on all sides, the majority of footfall goes through the northern Gordon St entrance. That short section of road also contains a black cab rank, drop-off in-shots, bus stop (under the canopy!) and a (very faded) painted cycle lane.

Council proposals – pedestrians, taxis and buses

The main proposed change is to make the block one way, eastbound only. The black cab rank is staying and the bus stop will be moved to the east of it (was under the canopy). The space under the canopy becomes officially pedestrian-only (it often feels like it is already until a bus drives in!). This change may be spurred by Boots moving into the Gordon St shop unit (formerly used by the ticket office/First Class lounge).

Proposals include several large benches and concrete planters to add greenery. A few seats near the entrance would be useful for people waiting for taxis. However, there seem to be several large units with seats on all sides in a street most people wouldn’t choose to hang out on, due to the risk of anti-social behaviour. These seem to take up a lot of space, possibly to be robust enough to meet the council’s obligations for Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (to guard the station entrance against a terrorist attack). However, HVM bollards, like those near the Scottish Parliament, would do the same job in much less space.

Council proposals – cycling

The obvious question with a one-way street is ‘will there be a contraflow cycle lane?’ Frustratingly, the answer seems to be ‘no’. That’s despite the clear precedent on the block to the east (with a cycle-only light already installed). Also, the temporary layout outside Central itself during Covid-19.

Even worse is the fact an eastbound-only road would cut off access to the southbound contraflow lane on Hope St to the West City Way (and the Nextbike station). Early correspondence from GoBike to GCC and survey responses by members focussed on these issues.

Council response

The response we got from Glasgow City Council included some statistics and a new map with an alternative westbound route. These seem to be new proposals for protected lanes on St Vincent St and Wellington St, separate to previous Avenues plans. If so, that’s appreciated but the current plans for Avenues stop at Buchanan St and the proposed route seems to start a block later at W Nile St. Also, it goes uphill after Hope St and bypasses the station altogether!

Going north on W Nile St seems to be the suggested way to get to the new route (rather than hazardous George Sq or pedestrian-heavy Buchanan St). However, this still takes you out of your way through seven sets of traffic lights (versus one at Gordon St/Union St). This is supposed to be a route to a railway station so people can actually catch their train!

Also, this means the Hope St contraflow lane being changed to northbound (with changed signals at Gordon St). The map mixes current and future routes so it’s not clear what’s being kept, but the survey page doesn’t show any cycle lane. The changes and installing the new lanes would cost much more than a lane on Gordon St.

Why are GCC offering a longer, more expensive alternative for cycling but not any other mode of transport? The council’s justification is the figures in graphs produced from CCTV with automated counters. It’s not clear how accurate these are when most people would walk their bike in and out of the entrance. As above, Central’s main entrance is one of the busiest places in the country for pedestrians.

At the western end of Gordon St, there’s the Hope St segregated contraflow lane (and a Nextbike station). That lane goes past the side entrance of Central Station then turns to the West City Way on Waterloo St, which continues to the Connect2 bridge over the M8 and beyond. So, most people cycling from the West End to Central would use the Hope St entrance (not Gordon St).

Cycling infrastructure to the east is patchy to non-existent. Gordon Street’s faded cycle lane leads on from a painted contraflow lane (between Union St and Mitchell St). It’s to the west of the pedestrianised part of Gordon St (off Buchanan St). Coming from Dennistoun or Royston there are hellish junctions at Castle St towards Cathedral St. The few (slightly) quieter streets like Bell St or Havannah St give way to main roads like Ingram St (before you can cut through Royal Exchange Sq and across Buchanan St). There’s a patchy protected route from Calton via London Rd/St Andrews Square but it heads south of the station (so isn’t much use if you’re going for a High Level train). On Duke St, the Avenues Plus protected route that’s under construction should help. However, it still won’t connect to George St/George Square or Gordon St. The above goes some way to explain the cycling figures.

Regardless, GCC, ScotRail, SPT and others have made commitments to support active/sustainable travel, which includes increasing cycling modal share. You don’t do that by disadvantaging cycling compared to all other modes. It’s frustrating that, just as ScotRail have improved bike spaces and markings on trains, there are moves to make it harder to cycle to the busiest station in Scotland. There’s a national transport hierarchy with cycling second after pedestrians and before public transport and private cars. That clearly isn’t being followed in the Gordon St plans.

Rail and cycling should be a natural combination – take the train for longer distances and bike for the last few miles. This is well understood in places like Belgium and the Netherlands, where cycle-train commuters are studied as a separate category. The Dutch are known for high quality infrastructure like protected routes and huge cycle parking garages at their main train stations. In future, as routes like Argyle St develop, Network Rail could use empty shopfronts on Argyle St/Hielenman’s Umbrella, which back into Glasgow Central, or the road ramp on Hope St to create new bike parking for people who don’t/can’t take their bike on the train. In the meantime, they should still support direct routes for people who want to take their bike with them (to both High and Low Level platforms).

Potential solution

The simpler, cheaper, more direct solution to the issue would be to put a westbound contraflow cycle lane on the revised Gordon St. It would preserve links to existing infrastructure (instead of forcing a confusing reorganisation). Since there would be no need for a westbound lane on the road the pavement could be extended, even with a westbound bike lane. Getting smaller planters and seating and arranging them with a gap to a new row of bollards would leave space for a contraflow lane. Since the eastern parking in-shot is being removed (a one-way lane only needs about 2m). It’s more open at the western side (where the fireman statue is set back from the corner).

If the alternative route links with other Avenues plans then it could still be useful in future. But, for getting to a train on time, Gordon St is still the best option.

Consultation links

See: GCC Gordon St article and Gordon St SmartSurvey. The survey has half a dozen short pages (or more depending on answers to questions) but most of the questions are optional. If you want, you can skip to comment boxes to raise the issues we mentioned, above.
Consultation deadline: Sunday 24 August 2025.

East Renfrewshire

Parks & Green Spaces

ERC say: “We want to learn about your experience of visiting and using parks and greenspaces in East Renfrewshire. Which parks are your favourite? What do you like about them? What do you think could be better? The results of the survey will be used to inform the new Open Space Strategy and Local Development Plan 3.”
East Ren parks and green spaces with important active travel links include: Rouken Glen Park, Balgray Reservoir and Whitelee Wind Farm. There are also some ‘missing links’, like the wasteground and disused bridge between Williamwood train station and Eastwood Health & Care Centre.
Link: East Ren parks and green spaces consultation.
Deadline: 14 July 2025.

Glasgow City

North Laurieston Masterplan – Stage 1

This seems to be in early stages so not many details about plans yet. Laurieston area on south bank of Clyde sits between city centre and Gorbals. South Portland Street’s Avenues Plus project (linking from suspension bridge) has been paused for this masterplan.
Drop-in event: Tuesday, 24 June, between 2-8pm (with a presentation at 6.30pm) in the Savings Bank, 57 Bridge St, Glasgow G5 9JB.
Links: North Laurieston event tweet and North Laurieston microsite.
Deadline: no obvious deadline.

City Network feedback – South & Inner North areas

Report on consultation process and next steps. GCC say: “Around 60% of the comments were positive, 24% negative, and the rest neutral. Positive comments generally supported active travel infrastructure; negative comments questioned the use of funds or raised unrelated issues… Engagement was stronger in the South”. The second stage of consultation added a few short routes in each area based on earlier suggestions.

Consultation events included the Saracen Street Active Travel Project with a choice of two routes – one on Saracen St and an alternative route on Sunnylaw St behind it. This downgrading of routes off of main roads onto back street ‘Quietways’, with little or no traffic calming, has happened in both areas. However, it has had more effect on the South area, along with routes being “paused”. While there is still a skeleton network, it’s been eroded from the initial ambitions. Most recently seen in Kilmarnock Rd planned bike lanes being moved due to opposition. The good news is nine routes will be taken forward (four Inner North and five South).

National funding changes mean “current City Network and Liveable Neighbourhood programmes will be reviewed and consolidated to maximise delivery opportunities.” We’ve yet to see what happens with the other Phase 1 area, Greater Govan, after a recent meeting held by shop keepers opposed to cycle lanes. However, it puts a big question mark over the 2030/31 timescale.
Links: Plans for 11km of City Network routes and City Network Inner North & South report (PDF).

Liveable Neighbourhoods update (Tranche 3, Stage 2)

There are in-depth reports for four areas. GCC say: “The initiatives which have been shaped by community input are detailed in reports for the Cardonald to Mosspark, Knightswood to Anniesland, Lambhill to Milton and Ruchazie to Easterhouse areas…”
But… “Due to recent changes in national funding structures, efforts are now underway to enhance collaboration across our services, investigate new delivery methods for the Liveable Neighbourhoods programme, and identify additional funding sources that can support the development of prospective projects to construction.”
Links: Potential Neighbourhood projects and LN Programme Tranche 3 report (PDF).

North Ayrshire

Local Development Plan 3 – Call for Ideas

NAC say: “Individuals, community bodies, organisations, landowners and developers are invited to submit their ideas for what should be included in LDP3. This may include ideas for the development of land or buildings; ideas relating to policies to be included in LDP3 and applied to the assessment of future planning applications, or any other aspect of the new local development plan.”
Links: NAC LDP3 info page and LDP3 survey.
Deadline: Monday 30 June 2025.

North Lanarkshire

East Airdrie Link Road – Stage 3

Formerly ‘Airdrie bypass’, now due to link to new hospital site. No cycle lanes and pavement seems to have been removed since earlier plans. Latest stage is “…part of the Pre-Application Notice (25/00593/PAN), which was submitted on 28 May 2025 and is the first stage in the process of applying for planning permission.”

Drop-in events:

• Airdrie Library – Tuesday 17 June 2025, 2pm to 7pm
• Chapelhall Library – Thursday 19 June 2025, 2pm to 7pm
• Cumbernauld Library – Tuesday 24 June 2025, 2pm to 7pm

Links: EALR stage 3 consultation – feedback in person or via email: EALR@northlan.gov.uk.
Deadline: Sunday 10 August 2025.

Renfrewshire

Johnstone Civic Squares

“Following completion of the Johnstone Town Centre Vision in spring 2024, Page\Park Architects were appointed by Renfrewshire Council to develop enhancements for the two Civic Squares in the town – Houstoun Square and Ludovic Square – as well as the Houstoun Court precinct which provides a key link between the squares.”
Links: Johnstone Squares consultation and display boards (PDF).
Deadline:  22 June 2025.

Get Glasgow Moving has been coordinating the Better Buses for Strathclyde campaign since Sep 2023 calling for public control and public ownership of the bus network.

GoBike is proud to be one of nearly 50 organisations to support the Better Buses for Strathclyde campaign, which has made a lot of progress over the past 18 months.

GoBike is calling on members and supporters to please respond to the consultation. Better Buses for Strathclyde has put together detailed guidance on how to respond. The deadline for responding to the consultation is 5pm on Thur 29 May.

There are also a series of public events being held over the coming weeks as well:

Clydebank Public Meeting, Wednesday 23 April 2025, 7pm, Clydebank Town Hall, 5 Hall Street, G81 1UB

Glasgow Public Meeting – Whiteinch, Tuesday 29 April 2025, 6:30pm, The Whiteinch Centre, 1 Northinch Court, G14 0UG

Glasgow Public Meeting – Kingsway, Tuesday 13 May 2025, 1:15pm, Kingsway Community Connections, 50 Kingsway Court, G14 9SR

Glasgow Public Meeting – Bridgeton, Thursday 22 May 2025, 7pm, Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), 8 Landressy Street, Bridgeton, G40 1BP

Ten of us set off this Sunday morning and cycled the intricate route shown on the map above, and what a variety of infrastructure we saw.

We cycled along Kelvin Way, which we hope will remain as an active travel route, we made our way over University Avenue – very disappointing that despite GoBike’s campaigning we didn’t get cycle lanes there and then on to Byres Road. This is work in progress, but we cycled along the new lanes, where we could.

Then it was on to Highburgh Road and Clarence Drive, both, along with University Avenue, part of the “Colleges Cycle Route”, once our City Council’s flagship route. Highburgh Road still has a faint green cycle lane painted on but it’s too narrow and too close to the parked cars to be practical. Presumably, for the safety of people cycling, bollards have been put in down Clarence Drive, but the cycle lane remaining is so, so narrow.

We entered Kelvinside and then Kirklee, where the roads are wider, though still with so many parked cars and on to Doune Gardens, blocked off to through motor traffic (so handy for parking the car!) but with cycle filter gaps. Great! But there were not wide enough for a tricycle or cargo bike – so tricky if taking the wee ones to school or nursery on a bike.

Next place of interest was Garscube Road with its newish cycle lanes and we safely negotiated the right turn into St George’s Road, for the start of what will be a cycle lane right down to Charing Cross – but not yet.
At Charing Cross we made our way across the almost-finished junction and on to the pleasant Sauchiehall Street cycle lanes.
Cambridge Street is looking good, but again not yet finished.

Why, oh why have chicanes been put into the route under the M8? How awkward they are, but we got through and struggled up the zig-zag path to the canal and a short break at Speirs Wharf

Next it was on to the superb cycle lanes on Pinkston Road, before pressing on to the smart new bridge over the M8 and down to cross Baird Street and through Townhead to North Hanover Street.

A surprise awaited us in George Square – no, there are no cycle lanes yet, but there was a dragon! A belated celebration of the Chinese New Year on 29 January.

We continued south to the curious lanes on King Street and Bridgegate, eventually getting through the traffic lights at the Clutha junction and cycled south on the South City Way, which is a useful route before turning left just after the Citizen’s to get to the rather poor and dilapidated cycle lane along the south side of the Clyde.

The Suspension Bridge brought us back over the Clyde into Glasgow Green from where we cycled west to the George V Bridge. The shared path on the eastern side of the bridge is adequate – though there has been a recent consultation about the bridge so cycle provision might improve.
We made our way along the cycle lanes, which are good, to the Kingston Bridge, crossing under the bridge and making our way to what just couldn’t be worse – the Kinning Park Footbridge – see the photo at the top!
Fortunately there’s another bridge not too far along, which we used before crossing over Paisley Road west and on to the cycle lane round Festival Park which was littered with debris from Storm Eowyn. Then it was over the Clyde Arc Bridge to end our ride.

Conclusion: some good, some not so good, and some just not good enough.

PS: the group photo is so good, I put it in twice!

Since there seemed to be a need to promote what was going on…

Argyll and Bute

• Helensburgh in Motion (Page\Park) – Deadline: 5 January 2025

East Ayrshire

• Design and Placemaking Supplementary Guidance 2024 – Deadline: 13 December 2024

East Dunbartonshire

• None (but BetterPoints active travel app has a daily prize draw until 8 December).

East Renfrewshire

• Brighter Barrhead – Deadline: 3 January 2025

Glasgow City

• West Nile Street Active Travel Route
  Note: North-south route by CineWorld/Concert Hall down to Argyle St – 2-way lanes switch sides at Bath St and some road/shared space sections at either end.
  Deadline: 10 January 2025
• George V Bridge Active Travel Improvements
  Note: Welcome infra but still questions about Broomielaw junction, especially left hook risk if cycling north from bridge (as Emma Burke Newman was when she was killed).
  Deadline: 13 January 2025
• UPDATE: Buchanan Bus Station masterplan – Deadline: 11 December 2024

North Lanarkshire

• Local Transport Strategy survey (AECOM) – Deadline: 20 December 2024
• LDP2: Topic Paper Consultation – Batch 5 (inc. Infrastructure First)
  – Deadline: 3 January 2025
• East Airdrie Link Road: Stage 3 (AtkinsRealis)
  Note: Route amended at both north and south links to A73. Single carriageway – no pavement/active travel infra (even by NCN75/planned new Monklands Hospital).
  Deadline: 10 January 2025
• Tell us About Your Place (based on the Place Standard) – Deadline: 31 January 2025

Hope you have a good Christmas and New Year.

Parents and children from Shawlands Bike Bus and campaigners from GoBike have presented a jumbo “Thank You” card to staff at a bike lane consultation in Pollokshaws Burgh Hall.

Glasgow City Council is consulting on an ambitious plan to build 57km of new bike lanes in the Inner North and South of the city. This is the first phase of the planned 270km City Network of safe active travel routes.

“We started our bike bus because our children can’t safely cycle to school without it. Some people have described a bike bus as a human bike lane and it works well, but it is dependent on the voluntary efforts of many people and can also be difficult for some to access. What we need is a proper network of cycle lanes that are accessible to everyone, including school children, at all times. From the plans we’ve seen to date the city network looks really promising so we wanted to come and pay our appreciation to the design team.”
Parent, Shawlands Bike Bus

“We’re extremely excited about the ambition of the council’s plans. Cities like London and Paris are showing that when cycling is safe, it becomes one of the most popular forms of transport. A city-wide cycle network will give the people of Glasgow access to a cheap, healthy form of transport. It will help the city get to net zero. And because bikes are so space-efficient, it will even improve congestion.”
Spokesperson, GoBike

Cycling has been growing rapidly in Glasgow as new cycle lanes have been built. Crowds of cyclists are now a common site on the South City Way at rush hour, and a survey found that more than 1 in 4 vehicles on Victoria Road are now bicycles.

Glasgow City Council describes the City Network as providing “an accessible, safe, coherent and direct active travel network across Glasgow. To be delivered by 2031, the City Network will connect key amenities and drivers of travel such as education, business, retail and culture.”

Our ask to you

The consultation is open till October 20. Please check out the plans for the Inner North and South networks and complete the short consultation.

About the organisations:

Shawlands Bike Bus is a group of parents and children who cycle together to Shawlands Primary School. It is a part of the rapidly-growing global bike bus movement. It is equipped with an “Ultra Smart Cycle System” that allows the bike bus leader to temporarily control the traffic lights at Shawlands Cross – this won ‘Exemplary Approach to Active Travel and Public Space’ at the National Transport Awards in 2023.

GoBike is a campaign for safe cycling infrastructure across Strathclyde. Originally founded in the 1980s, the all-volunteer group has recently had success securing cycle lanes on Glasgow’s Byres Road.

We are sorry for the delay in publication of this edition. Derek, who usually writes the digest, tragically lost his young step-son Edgar. We would like to pay tribute to Edgar and extend our heartfelt condolences to Derek and his family.

Featured Consultation

Glasgow’s City Network Inner North & South

Council: Glasgow.
Subject: At long last, the first public consultations have begun on Glasgow’s City Network, a city-wide network of segregated cycle lanes. These cover Inner North and South, two of the three areas intended for Phase 1 of construction. The third, Greater Govan, is also being designed.

The networks are the most complete proposal we have seen in Scotland. Inner North provides 24km of cycle lanes, and South provides 33km. These are real networks rather than arterial “highways”. If you only fill in one consultation this year, make it this one. It is incredibly important to show our support.

You can fill in the consultation online until October 20th, and attend these public events:

Inner north

SOUTH

Website links: Survey and Information
Deadline: 20 October 2024.

Section 1: Current Consultations
(in date order for responses)

1.1 High St Avenue (Glasgow)

Council: Glasgow.
Subject: Questionnaire on proposals for High Street
The introduction of a bidirectional cycle lane, rain gardens, and a welcome reduction in car lanes on this key Glasgow street. This will form an important part of the city network, connecting to the Argyle Street Avenue.
Website links: Survey
Deadline: Unclear.

1.2: New parking laws (Renfrewshire)

Council: Renfrewshire.
Subject: How Renfrewshire will implement the national pavement parking prohibitions. Apparently “enforcing these in Renfrewshire from November 2024.” However, 22 locations would be exempt – the consultation is about the exemption order. RC invite feedback but only by letter or email: ei@renfrewshire.gov.uk.
Website links: Renfrewshire Council’s New parking laws webpage.
Deadline: 11 September 2024.

1.3: Renfrewshire Villages Safe Walking Initiative

Council: Renfrewshire.
Subject: Despite the name, it seems to include cycling: “…transport consultants Stantec [will] carry out a study in Bishopton, Bridge of Weir, Elderslie and Lochwinnoch. The study aims to create a safer environment in the villages for all road users by managing traffic speeds, to encourage people to walk, wheel, and cycle more often for local trips.”
Website links: Renfrewshire Villages Safe Walking Initiative storymap, Renfrewshire Council VSWI webpage, Bishopton survey, Bridge of Weir survey, Elderslie survey and Lochwinnoch survey.
Deadline: 22 September 2024.

1.4: Tell Us About Your Place (West Dunbartonshire)

Council: West Dunbartonshire.
Subject: A survey based on the Place Standard tool to ‘score’ areas of the county. 
Events – In Person drop-in (with presentation at 4.30pm):
– Alexandria Community Centre, 28 August 2024, 3pm – 7pm
– Dalmuir Community Centre, 11 September 2024, 3pm – 7pm.
Virtual Drop-in events: 28 August, 10am – 11:30am and 3 September, 6:30pm – 8pm.
Website links: Tell Us About Your Place webpage (including survey link).
Deadline: 30 September 2024.

1.5: South Lanarkshire – Local Development Plan 3 (LDP3)

Council: South Lanarkshire.
Subject: Plan to “set out how our places will look in the future”.
Website links: South Lanarkshire View article and LDP3 webpage (including survey link).
Deadline: 30 September 2024.

1.6: Dennistoun Parking Control Zone

Council: Glasgow
Subject: Dennistoun Area Engagement – Parking Controls and Traffic Measures
Website links: Information and Survey
Deadline:  13 October 2024.