Section 1: Current Consultations

(in date order for responses)

1.1: Scottish Government – draft Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP)

Government is consulting on a new 5-year Infrastructure Investment Plan to 2025/26. It’s very different in style from the current plan which was all about big projects and city connections, including the Queensferry Bridge, A9 dualling and M8/M73/M74 works.

This time Government has decided to tell a different story – one about grouping their infrastructure projects around themes of reducing emissions, inclusive economic growth, and building resilient and sustainable places. The story may sound different but many of the words are still the same! Plans remain for huge road infrastructure projects, totally incompatible with a climate emergency. These will lock in high carbon construction work and travel choices for decades to come. Government needs to realise that its new investment hierarchy needs to be used to reset existing plans not just influence future ones.

The IIP also includes no change to the government’s Programme for Government commitment for £100m for active travel over the next 5 years. As I wrote in a Cycling UK blog, this will in reality be a real terms cut in funding over the period, and, with changes to council match funding requirements, would see less spending on walking and cycling overall.

Transform Scotland has provided an excellent analysis of the IIP, and I recommend that anyone wanting to respond to the consultation looks at their presentation first. But hurry, only a few days left….

Closes 19 November 2020

1.2: Transport Scotland – Road Safety Framework

The new Road Safety Framework consultation to 2030 proposes that Scotland should have the best road safety record in the world by 2030 and a ‘Vision Zero’ for 2050. I wrote more detail about this consultation in my introductory blog last week and provided a link to a Cycling UK in Scotland guide to the consultation.

Closes 1 December 2020

1.3: *NEW* Transport Scotland – Free Bus Travel for under 19s

This is a short consultation asking if concessionary bus fares should be extended for people resident in Scotland aged under 19. This is a good move at a national level and perhaps a start towards localised free bus travel for everyone which could be transformatory for our streets and reduce transport poverty. See the Free Our City campaign from our sister group, Get Glasgow Moving.

Closes 7 December 2020

1.4: *NEW* Scottish Government – Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 – a draft new air quality strategy for Scotland

Consultation on a draft new air quality strategy for Scotland, taking into account the recommendations arising from the independent review of the Cleaner Air for Scotland strategy.

Closes 22 January 2021

Section 2: Forthcoming Consultations

2.1: Scottish Government – Permitted Development Rights (phase 2)

The first phase of the Scottish Government’s consultation on Permitted Development Rights closed this week. The big thing in that for active travel was the proposal to allow permitted development rights to cover cycle storage sheds in front gardens, back courts of flats, on the streets (cycle hangers), etc. Phase 2 of the consultation is due in the new year and will cover permitted development rights for e-bike charging points.

2.2: Scottish Parliament – Revised Climate Change Plan

We expect the Scottish Government to lay its revised Climate Change Plan in the Scottish Parliament in early December. Parliament’s Environment Climate Change and Land Reform Committee are then likely to coordinate the hearing of evidence on the revised plan. This parliamentary procedure will need to be squeezed in before Parliament is dissolved at the end of March for the election.

The revised Climate Change Plan will not be a full revision of the current plan but, instead, provide extra policies designed to achieve strengthened targets. Transport is the sector contributing the most emissions of any sector in Scotland and has not cut its emissions in 30 years. Policies are desperately needed to reduce private vehicle us, boost public transport and of course encourage more people to take short everyday journeys by foot or cycle.

2.3: Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2)

It has been difficult to keep up to speed with progress of the Scottish Government’s STPR2 through 2020 because of Covid disrupting the timetable. The new year is likely to see more work and potentially further consultation on the options – watch this space. See here for more information and links to previous documents.

More to come in December!

Bob Downie, the GoBike member who has analysed Strava data for Glasgow and the European Cycling Challenge data and cordon count data from Glasgow City Council, is one of the speakers at this free event which includes lunch on Thursday 09 November from 12:00 – 16:30:

http://ubdc.ac.uk/outreach-plus-training/events-workshops-training-more/upcoming-events/data-challenge-demo-day/

Who knows, perhaps some day people will look at the available data and realise that there are next to no cycle facilities where people actually cycle, for example Pollokshaws Road and Paisley Road West.  Think how many more might commute to work or school/college if there were good cycle lanes on these routes.  If you can, register on the Eventbrite link to attend this event and learn what good data can do for us.

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!

With the Scottish Government this week announcing their commitment to double the budget for Active Travel in 2018/19, making sure your voice is heard when that money gets spent has never been more important.  Tomorrow you can shout it out loud.

It’s as easy as snapping a photograph of Glasgow’s cycling infrastructure and posting it on Twitter with the hashtag #GlasgowCycleInfraDay17.

Take pictures of the good stuff, what we want more of, as well as the not so good stuff.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a Twitter account; just email your pictures to us at CycleInfraDay@gmail.com and we’ll upload them for you.

So, get your cameras ready, charge your batteries and load up your memory cards… for tomorrow we shape the future of cycling in Glasgow!

Family fun, led rides, Dr Bike and lots more on offer during Bike Week. Get on your bike and enjoy