#GlasgowCycleInfraDay17 is coming tomorrow!!

Just one more sleep until the return of #GlasgowCycleInfraDay17 to our city!

#GlasgowCycleInfraDay17

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!

 

Lanarkshire circular, the GoBike ride for September, Sunday 03 September

Sunday 3 September – Lanarkshire Circular
To round off the longer summer season rides we will take a trip into the countryside to the south and east of Glasgow, taking in East Kilbride, Strathaven and Glassford. We will then ride around some woodland paths in Chatelherault Country Park. After lunch at Chatelherault’s café we will move on to Strathclyde Country Park and the new cycle infrastructure at the Raith Interchange. From Uddingston there will be an opportunity to return to Glasgow along NCN75 or to take an alternative route to see some of the new motorway-related cycle infrastructure around Baillieston, followed by a return into Glasgow along Edinburgh Road.
Meet 10am Bell’s Bridge, Congress Road, Glasgow.
Ride on paths Ride on quiet roads Ride on rough tracks Ride on busy roads Significant hill climbing
Rated: Go Bike star rating Go Bike star rating
Go Bike star rating Go Bike star rating

As an added, delightful extra, Jimmy Keenan, is offering soup, sandwiches and blethers at his home in Uddingston.  If you wish to join him towards the end of the ride please help him to know how much bread to buy in by e-mailing him at: jadeekee@hotmail.com

Raith Interchange cartoon by @cartoonsidrew

Glasgow – Woodside “mini-Holland” – your views are sought for the improved funding submission.

Changes are afoot in the St George’s Cross area – again – and Glasgow City Council is asking for views from us all to maximise the effectiveness of their proposals.  Here is the e-mail we got today:

Dear Sir or Madam

You may be aware of Glasgow City Council’s bid for funding to Transport Scotland’s Community Links Plus competition with the Woodside Mini Holland bid. http://www.sustrans.org.uk/scotland/communities/community-links-plus-design-competition. The competition is seeking exemplar projects that promote walking, cycling and public space.  

We submitted the Woodside Mini-Holland bid last year and were up against 37 other national bids. Woodside Mini Holland was a finalist but unfortunately this project did not win in 2016 (GCC’s South City Way Project won). We have resubmitted our bid with a revised boundary. While most of the focus is still on Woodside a part of the Woodlands area will be included (please see attachment).

For those that are interested we will be running an online consultation from the 19th June for 3 weeks.  A mailshot will be conducted on the 19th and 20th June to all 5648 properties within the map boundary with this information.

Online consultation will utilise:

  • The commonplace Survey tool https://woodsideminiholland.commonplace.is/.  Please enter a many comments and proposals on the map as you would like e.g.  ‘I would like a crossing here as it is difficult to cross’.
  • The Place Standard tool. This is a good tool to get peoples view on the area across a number of topics.  Please go to http://www.placestandard.scot/start/ and copy and paste the Group ID: PgmSd8NPND-9. The group ID means all results and comments will get sent to the Council automatically. This can take 5 minutes to fill out or as long as you wish depending on how many comments you would like to add.

Both online formats are available to use now.

We will also hold a drop-in engagement event giving you an opportunity to meet the project team on:

  • 23 June, 3:30pm – 7:30pm at Woodside Halls (Mid-Hall), Glenfarg Street.

Please feel free to forward this information to your members. As mentioned this is a competition for funding and local support is crucial if the bid is to be successful.

Contact: Sustainabletransport@glasgow.gov.uk

https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/cycling

Sincerely

Craig O’Holleran

Glasgow City Council

Land and Environmental Services
4th Floor, Exchange House, 231 George Street, Glasgow, G1 1RX, 0141 287 9020

Woodisde Mini Holland Overview – A3-2017 woodside active travel consultation Poster woodside active travel Postcard 1

Glasgow to install more “Speed Cushions”. Please object – and here’s why.

Speed bumps (Marine Road East, Prestatyn)
Photo © Jaggery (cc-by-sa/2.0)

We have heard from Glasgow City Council that they propose to install 2 sets of speed cushions outside St Fillan’s Primary School in Cathcart, with the aim of ensuring that drivers reduce their speed to the 20mph zone limit.  The text of the e-mail received from the Council is given on our Consultations page.  We have objected on 3 grounds:

  1. GoBike member, Bob Downie, presented a petition to the City Council 2 years ago, proposing a default city-wide 20mph speed limit (allowing for exceptions for some roads to be 30mph or even more).  This was well received by Councillors at the Petitions Committee, but now the Council has reverted to its original piecemeal approach.
  2. Mark Ruskell, Green MSP currently has a bill out for consultation, see: http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/20mphSpeedLimits/  and, if successful, this would bring about default speed limits in all our urban centres of 20mph.
  3. Speed Cushions and tables are very expensive to install and maintain.

Our letter of objection is here: GoBike Crompton Avenue traffic calming Objection 070617 and while we point out that we do not wish to endanger any child, we consider that a better solution for all will be a city-wide 20mph default speed limit.  We will also be voicing our concern to the Glasgow Councillors who attended our Hustings in April.

Further information on traffic calming is given in this excellent blog by one of our GoBike members, “Glasgow Cycleman”.

Please do object to this proposal and, if you live in Glasgow, do let your ward Councillors know about this expensive move.  At the time of the 2015 petition it was estimated that it would take 40 years to achieve what the petition and now Mark Ruskell’s bill will give us.

If you haven’t responded to the survey on Mark Ruskell’s bill yet, please follow the link in point 2 above.

Responses to Glasgow City Council and Scottish Government Proposals

Recently GoBike has responded positively to proposals from Glasgow City Council for stopping waiting and loading/unloading on the roads in Riverview, see photo, to Mark Ruskell’s proposals for a 20mph urban default speed limit in Scotland, to public realm improvements at Govan Cross and to parking controls in Cranstonhill.  Details may be seen on our Consultations page.

If you wish to comment on the most recent of these, ie the waiting restrictions in Riverview, the consultation is open until Tuesday 13 June and all the details may be found here on the Glasgow City Council website.

The Mark Ruskell 20mph consultation is open until 07 August and it is important that people respond – favourably – to this!  Please support this measure!

Proposed Restricted Roads (20mph Limit) (Scotland) Bill – please give your views

This is the survey we have been waiting for – Mark Ruskell’s bill on reducing the default speed limit for restricted roads in Scotland to 20mph.  Mark is the Green MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife and the Scottish Parliament’s survey is here: http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/20mphSpeedLimits/

You can read more about Mark Ruskell here: Mark Ruskell MSP

Mark’s proposed bill is an important one in that it covers all of Scotland and will, if implemented, lead to a consistent approach across the country.  When GoBike met the Transport Minister, Humza Yousaf, in February this year, we were told that the Government would not put any obstacles in the way of the bill.  So we are very hopeful that it will go through – but it needs as much support as it can get.  PLEASE DO COMPLETE THE SURVEY! There are 11 questions but there is the option to save and return to it.

Consultations – Govan Cross and a late response to the Active Travel Task Force

Glasgow City Council is planning further improvements to the public realm at Govan Cross, with initial details here: Public Space Improvements Flyer Reading View and we have submitted a positive response welcoming the changes, see our letter: GoBike Govan Cross support and comments 280317

We have, though, pointed out some concerns, such as the advisory cycle lanes on Langlands Road, which are used as linear car parks and the need for a link through to the west to the northern boundary of the hospital grounds.  That said, the proposals look forward to the new Govan-Partick bridge and provide a link from the bridge south through Govan for bikes.

This initial consultation closes on Friday, 31 March, so if you have views please get them in now.  Contact details are on the Public Space Improvements Flyer.

 

We have also sent in a late submission to the Scottish Government’s Active Travel Task Force.  You may remember that we met the Transport Minister, Humza Yousaf, on 21 February and we discussed with him our 4 “asks”: “20mph speed in urban areas, Use of evidence when specifying design and location of urban cycle facilities, space reallocation and the introduction of Presumed Liability, as summarised here: Minister meeting 21_02_17 V3 Summary

Although we missed the closing date for initial submissions (10 March) we hope that our submission and follow-up information sent to the Minister was forwarded to the Task Force and we look forward to further contact.

GoBike meets the Transport Minister

On Tuesday this week, 21 February, Tricia Fort and Bob Downie met Humza Yousaf, MSP, Minister for Transport and the Islands at Victoria Quay in Edinburgh.  We spent the best part of an hour talking to him about our concerns to improve the environment for cycling.  The 4 main topics we raised were:

  1. Urban 20mph speed limit as a default, with exceptions for higher speeds.  We feel this, if correctly managed, is “low hanging fruit” and would quickly, and cheaply, improve the environment for active travel.
  2. Use of evidence when deciding on urban cycle facilities.  Too many cycle facilities take little or no cognisance of where people cycle – and evidence of where people cycle is readily available (though apparently not in cycle infrastructure design offices!).  Too many cycle facilities are discontinuous, yet accident data tells us that junctions and roundabouts are hazardous for cyclists – and isn’t this just where cycle lanes stop?
  3. Space reallocation: we need our space on the main roads where we currently cycle.
  4. Presumed Liability: we support the Road Share campaign for Presumed Liability and a change in civil law to bring in Presumed Liability will be a big improvement for cyclists and pedestrians who are injured on our roads.

The Minister was interested in what we had to say, particularly the evidence of where people currently cycle and although we do not agree on all points, progress has been made.

The full text of the information we gave to the Minister and the text of the press release we issued yesterday are given here: GoBike Press Release 22_02_17 part A and GoBike Press Release 22_02_17 part B

You can help shape investment in walking and cycling for Scotland!

 

You can help influence greater investment in walking and cycling by responding to this Transport Scotland survey on its priorities for the next twenty years. If you think that cycling should be given more investment (especially in monetary and infrastructure terms), make sure to fill in the survey before it closes on 31 March.

With thanks to Cycling UK Scotland for alerting us to this survey.

Edinburgh West to East cycle route approved – and Transport Minister’s Task Force

 

On Friday, 16 December, City of Edinburgh Council gave approval for the detailed design and construction of the cycle route along Roseburn Terrace, past Haymarket and along to Leith Walk to go ahead.  This was reported in the press at the weekend, and it was stated that the views of the opponents to the scheme had been noted.

This is  a notable achievement given the removal of the cycle lane on Holmston Road in Ayr and the setback to the Bears Way phase 2, and it augurs well for the Transport Minister’s Active Travel Task Force.

Humza Yousaf, the Transport Minister, has written to GoBike (and probably other active travel groups) and states that he was disappointed by some recent decisions.  His letter goes on to say: “ I have written to CoSLA, the Regional Transport Partnerships, the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS) and the Active Travel Alliance, asking for a representative from each of their organisations to sit on the Task Force, which will be chaired by Roy Brannen, CEO of Transport Scotland.  The first meeting will be on 8 February 2017, where the Task Force will agree its own remit, the scope of the issues it will address and a timeline during 2017 for reporting back to me with recommendations.  However, I have asked it to look particularly at the TRO process, how local consultation is carried out and how the benefits of active travel are communicated to decision makers and local communities, and how these could be improved with the help of Scottish Government, Transport Scotland and other key stakeholders.  
I anticipate that your organisation will be asked to contribute to the work of the Task Force and therefore wanted to update you with progress with the development of our plans. I do hope you will be forthright and honest if asked to contribute and that this important piece of work will enable us to identify practical steps that we can take to help us achieve our vision for active travel.”  

We will report on any contact made.