Our feature photo in this Digest shows a road in the east end of Glasgow which is proposed for speed cushion treatment in an attempt to reduce the speed of motor vehicles (see Item 1.4). As private motor cars have increased in width, so has the width of speed cushions and in Section 1 we include 8 speed cushion proposals with speed cushions of 1.8, 1.9 and 2.0m widths, leaving people cycling with the choice of either cycling up and over the speed cushion at a sensible distance from the kerb of 1.0m or in the gap at the kerb, as narrow as 0.5m in many cases, or out in the middle of the road.
Since 18 August last year GoBike has received 20 proposals for traffic calming, primarily on residential streets, in Glasgow using speed cushions, but not one for modal filters to prevent through motor traffic. It is motor traffic that causes deaths and injuries on our roads, with 160 deaths in Scotland recorded in 2018 and many more people injured, yet active travel, particularly in the more deprived areas of the city, fails to get the infrastructure it needs. Speed cushions are tinkering at the edges and a Scotland-wide political solution is required to make our neighbourhoods safe and pleasant for us all.
This isn’t all about speed cushions, though, so do please read on.
Continue reading “Consultation Digest Issue 67, 18 August 2020: Speed cushion special.”
