It’s September 8th!!

It’s #GlasgowCycleInfraDay17!!!

Yes, the day has finally arrived for us to take to the streets of Glasgow and show the world exactly what our cycling infrastructure is like.  Some of it will be good, some of it will be bad, and we need to see it all so we can show it to the Council and help to make ours a true Cycling City.

Keep your camera with you today and when you spot any cycling infrastructure that you want to highlight (good or bad) – or if you spot somewhere that’s crying out for infrastructure it doesn’t have yet – take a picture and Tweet it with the hashtag #GlasgowCycleInfraDay17.  Don’t worry if you don’t have Twitter, you can still take part by emailing your pictures to us at CycleInfraDay@gmail.com.

You’ll be able to watch the gallery build throughout the day by keeping an eye on the hashtag on Twitter (you don’t need an account for this – just click this link), or by following the Twitter account (@CycleInfraDay).

Remember, this is supposed to be an easy way of documenting a day in the life of Glasgow’s cycling infrastructure.  So please be sensible; don’t go dashing across busy roads to get an ‘action shot’, or exploring the collapsed section of the cycle lane along the Clyde to show the damage after the weir jammed last week.

Most importantly… have fun!

You may remember that last year people from GoBike met council staff and one of the Govan Councillors, Fariha Thomas, to look at the access, or lack of it, to the new hospital site, now that so many people are commuting there by bike.  We have not heard of anything happening to resolve the atrocious exit from the southbound Clyde Tunnel but next month work is to be done to install signals at the Moss Road / Peninver Drive Junction (just behind the yellow signage for a well-known supermarket) to ease access to the northbound tunnel.  The full text of the e-mail sent to Councillors (and forwarded to GoBike by Councillor Thomas) is repeated below:

“From: LESMLU
Sent: 12 April 2016 16:36
To: Adams, James (Cllr); Dornan, Stephen (Councillor); Kane, John (Cllr); Thomas, Fariha (Councillor)
Cc: Gilmour, Suzanne; MacGrain, Fiona; Tannock, Janette; Wilson, Gayle; McDougall, Elaine (Councillor)
Subject: Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Bus Route Improvement Phase 2

MESSAGE SENT ON BEHALF OF ANDY WADDELL

HEAD OF INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES, LAND AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

Dear Member

I am writing to advise you of the impending start of works in your Ward as a part of the above scheme. As part of the project, the signalising on Moss Road/Peninver Drive will take place to assist pedestrians and cyclists entering and exiting the new entrance of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. During these works, carriageway and footway resurfacing will also be undertaken.

A contract has been awarded to MacLay Civil Engineering Contractors to carry out the works on site.  It is anticipated that work will start in this area during the week commencing 16^th May 2016 with completion in approximately 3 weeks.

Andy Waddell

Head of Infrastructure Services

Land and Environmental Services

Glasgow – UK Council of the Year 2015“

Four items, among others, have been discussed at the Glasgow Cycling Forum over the years and we have now written to Councillor Martin McElroy and Andy Waddell, Head of Infrastructure Services, Land & Environmental Services to ask for updates on:

• Implementation of the new Strategic Plan for Cycling: has it been briefed to staff and do they have a copy available to use?
• 20mph in the city centre: the signs are up, but it is operative?
• Bus Lane operation: following the consultation in late 2014 what are the hours of operation?
• Advanced Stop Lines: it has been agreed at the Cycling Forum that these will be installed at traffic light controlled junctions.  What is the current position?

Plus, one of our members, who commutes along the Broomielaw, has written in to the Council to propose making the Fastlink bus lane closest to the Clyde a two-way cycle lane, moving the westbound buses from this lane to the eastbound lane and for the eastbound buses to stay on the main carriageway from the Clyde Arc (Squinty) Bridge to the city centre.  Since the current pedestrian/cycle way is very busy and the bus lanes are not busy, we think this is eminently sensible.  We have voiced our support for this in our letter, which may also be found on the Glasgow Cycling Forum page of our website: GoBike Open Letter to GCC 150416

We await a response!

Here’s a message we are passing on from Glasgow City Council:

European Cycle Challenge 2016 – May 1^st – 31^st.

MAKE GLASGOW A CYCLING CITY!

PRESS LAUNCH / PHOTO CALL

You are invited to participate in the photocall for the launch of Glasgow’s participation in the European Cycling Challenge.

When: 9.30am for 10.00am, Wednesday, 13 April 2016

Location: Anderston Bridge (previously known as the Bridge to Nowhere), by the cycle counter on the Argyle St side of the bridge. Please note, the bridge spans between Waterloo Street and Argyle Street, Anderston.

Details: Local cyclists and cycling representatives from various organisations including Police Scotland and Glasgow City Council come together to show their support for Team Glasgow as the city takes part in its first European Cycle Challenge. Glasgow is the only city in Scotland to have signed up for the challenge.

All those who attend and sign up for the challenge at the launch event will receive a promotional saddle cover and a Glasgow city cycle map bandana, courtesy of Glasgow City Council.

Download the cycling365 app available for all platforms and track your journeys.

Further information on the European Cycle Challenge is available at:

www.glasgow.gov.uk/cycling

www.cyclingchallenge.eu

How does it work and which cycle journeys count?

Each individual will be asked to register their cycle journeys, the more distance pedalled, the better the city will do. All cycle journeys will be tracked through the cycling365 phone app which you can download at: http://www.cyclingchallenge.eu/ecc2016-cycling365

Commuting, business travel by bike, leisure cycling, even training rides count. Only competitive sporting events and static bike miles aren’t included.

The information is used to create a live European wide ‘heat map’ to show where everyone, throughout Europe is cycling. The app also generates individual heat maps with stats on how far and how often you have cycled.

How can you help?

Your support will help encourage widespread participation. The more people who participate in the launch and event as a whole, the more useful the data provided will be.

At the end of the May, the city with the highest number of registered cycled kilometres will be declared the winner.

There are also excellent prizes donated by the leaders in cycling. Details of these will be available on the www.glasgow.gov.uk/cycling web page shortly.

Additional Info.

Social media

During the challenge GCC will have an ongoing promotion via social media and will be using the hashtags #glasgowcycling and #ecc2016

A banner is attached. Please feel free to circulate this or add to your website.

Contacts:

Glasgow City Council Land and Environmental Services Communications

Julianne.McGinley@glasgow.gov.uk

0141 287 9460

Glasgow City Council Land and Environmental Services Project Management

Collin.Little@glasgow.gov.uk

0141 287 9483

Regards

Collin

Excellent article in the Herald today (29 March) about bikes on trains and the reduction in bike spaces on the West Highland Line (Glasgow to Oban, Fort William and Mallaig) raising the threat to tourism.

Also, Ewan Jeffrey, from our sister organisation in the east, Spokes, was on Radio Scotland’s phone in programme, 09:00 – 10:00 this morning.  It was a very pro-bike, pro-tourism programme with, unfortunately, no-one from Transport Scotland appearing to defend their decision on the West Highland Line to cut the bookable bike spaces from 6 to 2.

Note: the photo above is just to catch your eye – this is not the way to transport bikes, or people, at speeds of 70mph or more.

Regular users of Glasgow City Council’s flagship cycle route Connect 2 along Waterloo Street may be aware of the building works going on just where the route becomes shared with pedestrians, but all should be aware.  It is at times shared not just with pedestrians, but with coned-off excavations and construction vehicles.  Obviously the council department supervising these works is not aware of the council’s desire to encourage more of us to walk and cycle.

GoBike has notified GCC of concern.

Glasgow City Council propose very welcome changes to control parking, primarily by commuters, in the residential streets of Partick to the west of Hyndland Road.  However, at the same time, they propose the introduction of one-way streets, with NO exemption for cyclists.  We contacted the council hoping to discuss this before the TRO consultation closes but to no avail.  Thus our objection has been submitted and our letter may be seen on our Consultations page.

We are particularly disappointed with this proposal because it is so completely at odds with what was promised when the Glasgow Strategic Plan for Cycling was launched last week.

GCC replied to our e-mail of 01 March on 09 March, after our letter of objection was received and the full text of both e-mails may now be seen on our Consultations page.