Strathclyde Cycle Campaign
This Digest contains only one new consultation but it’s a big one, from Transport Scotland and there is a surprising amount of feedback, finishing with the excellent news that Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Community Council have been successful in gaining funding for their cycling village. The picture heading this Digest shows the proposed new bridge over the Clyde, see Item 3.11.
Continue reading “Consultation Digest Issue 40, 06 August 2019”
For our first Consultation Digest of 2019, we have the details for the South City Way to reach across the Clyde, the promise of segregated cycle lanes on Byres Road and a great reach out to some news from Helensburgh and Motherwell. Lots, lots more in this mega-issue as desks were cleared for the end of 2018 and Glasgow, certainly, ups its game. Even Pollok Park gets a mention, so do read on.
Another chance to see bits of the city you’ve never seen before! See our Facebook event
Sunday 4 February – East End Parks
We have previously had park rides in the north, south and west of the city, so now it is the turn of the east. As well as the big parks of Glasgow Green, Tollcross, Hogganfield and Alexandra Parks, we shall visit a number of smaller parks and open spaces, and a few other points of interest. The ride will be mostly on quiet roads and asphalt paths, except at Cardowan Moss (see image above) where we will be using well made unpaved paths. An 18 mile ride ending up in the City Centre in time for lunch.
Meet 10am Bell’s Bridge, Congress Road, Glasgow.
Rated: 
Continue reading “Almost February – time for a ride round the parks of Glasgow’s East End with GoBike!”
Glasgow City Council are planning a part segregated and part shared footway cycle route access to Knightswood Park, to be built in time for the 2018 European BMX Championships, for which the park will be a venue.
There was public consultation in August but we were not formally told of this although some of our members went along. The Traffic Regulation Order that has been issued is sparse on information but after asking questions of the Council Officer who is dealing with the scheme we were sent drawings earlier this week. These have helped to formulate our response: GoBike Yoker to Knightwood Sustainable Transport Corridor 1 171117 This is only to the segregated cycleway part of the scheme. The more contentious part is the shared footway element and we’ll get our response to that out well before the closing date next month.
Consultation on this segregated element closes on 19 November and the TRO documents are here: YokerToKnightswood-NoticeOfProposals-230x114mm-RTO TRO no waiting no loading cycle track 1 of 3 TRO corner protection 3 of 3 TRO corner protection 2 of 3 TRO information Report
In summary, we support the segregated cycleway but have concerns about junction treatment, management of parking, the cycleway width behind floating bus stops, the robustness of the orcas without bollard reinforcement and the connectivity of the scheme.
On Wednesday evening, 11 October 2017, a group of GoBike members met Tanya Wisely, Green Party Councillor for Ward 7 to tour her ward and to see how the ward can potentially link into the proposed South City Way. The photo above shows, from left to right, Graham Muirhead, Meredith Muirhead, Tanya Wisely, Tricia Fort, Bill Wurthmann and Bob Downie at our meeting point, Langside Hall. This photo and the ones below taken by Ajit Panickar, a GoBike member who also joined us for the tour.
Here’s the route we followed: https://www.strava.com/activities/1225746006 and the map:
So, what did we experience?
Some details of the route from Andy Preece, who devised the tour – although we deviated a little at the end to check out the access at Balvicar Street are here: Councillor Ward Tour – Langside v2
Car blocking the dropped kerb at the end of Carmichael Place where there is access to and from the riverside path through to Tantallon Road – and yes, the car is parked on the double yellow lines.
Aikenhead Road at Hampden
Car blocking the cut-through from Balvicar Road to Pollokshaws Road, the end of the route we took.
We have got to know about this year’s European Cycling Challenge whereby all of us cycling in Glasgow – and the surrounding areas (new for this year) can record our cycle journeys. GoBike has mapped the data from last year, which ties in well with Strava data and Glasgow City Council cordon count data, and has presented this evidence of where people cycle – and thus where we need good quality cycle infrastructure – to none less than the Transport Minister, Humza Yousaf.
So, do join in this year. Cycling UK Glasgow’s regular Saturday morning ride from the People’s Palace will be ending the ride at this launch. Here’s a copy of the e-mail from Glasgow City Council, which has the information and links that you need:
Glasgow City Council is proposing new rules for the management of parks, see: http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/parkmanagementrules – and note that “park” has a wide meaning and includes George Square in the city centre. 2 of the rules, in particular, are of interest to cyclists.
Clause 1.4 of the proposed rules refers to an “Unauthorised Gathering” which means any gathering, meeting or assembly in a park of 20 or more people, which has not had the prior written consent of the Executive Director of Land and Environmental Services, however it was organised.
This has implications for any group, not only of cyclists, who assemble in an area deemed to be a park, prior to setting off on a cycle ride, or something such as a trip to an art gallery. For example, cyclists from Glasgow arranged to meet in George Square last year prior to cycling to Edinburgh for the Pedal on Parliament event. Go Bike, since it achieved the right for cyclists to cycle through the city parks some 25 years ago, has led several rides through parks, the latest being on Sunday 05 January, when 30 of us did an excellent cycle tour of the parks on the southside of the city. We stopped several times to regroup and, finally, we admired the view once we had all made it to the high point, the flag pole, in Queen’s Park. 30 of us “gathering” together in this way – without the prior consent of the Executive Director of Land and Environmental Services – could thus be considered to be “unauthorised“.
Clause 7.2, second sentence of the proposals states that “Cycle speed should not exceed 5 miles per hour.” Anyone who has tried cycling alongside a pedestrian will know that it is very unstable to cycle at such low speeds; even children, or adults, learning to cycle will be going at speeds above 5mph – if only to try and keep their balance. The average “moving speed” of the Go Bike ride through the parks last month was 7.6 miles per hour, with a maximum of 16.3 mph. A limit of 5mph, if and when enforced, would thus remove our hard-won right to cycle in parks and other parts of the city covered by these new rules.
Go Bike proposes that, if the City Council wishes to ban some types of “Unauthorised Gathering” then they should be specific about the type of behaviour they wish to ban. A blanket ban covers not only cyclists but a group of families meeting together.
Most cyclists cycle at speeds appropriate to their surroundings so the second sentence of Clause 7.2 quoted above should be removed leaving the clause as: “Cyclists must maintain proper control of the cycle and ensure they do not endanger other road users.” Those who don’t would be in contravention of Clause 2.1 “No one shall in any park: (c) commit any act of anti-social behaviour in any park,”
Thus, there is a plethora of rules drawn up to cover almost any eventuality. The Council would do far better to employ park wardens to look after and maintain these “dear, green places” in our city.
If you have read the proposed rules, at http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/parkmanagementrules and agree with Go Bike, then please submit your views by e-mail to les@glasgow.gov.uk to arrive by Friday 14 February at the latest