Consultation Digest (Local) Issue 127, 19 January 2023

Visual of proposed active travel route at Barassie

False start?

Happy New Year. Nothing came in during early January so this short Digest is the first of the year. There are consultations in South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. Also, events and consultations coming soon for parts of Glasgow city centre.

During the break, it emerged that GoBike has serious issues with its committee. The last few meetings didn’t take place, including an AGM. Some past committee members stepped in to organise a ‘caretaker’ meeting online. Following on from that, moves are being made to organise an Extraordinary General Meeting within the next few months. This would try to appoint a new committee (especially convenor and treasurer) to avoid GoBike having to fold. Please look out for a post/email announcement in the near future.

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First GoBike ride of the autumn, Sunday 04 September, to Waterfoot and Thorntonhall.

dual carriageway by Thorntonhall

Yes, it will be September tomorrow, but let’s hope this good weather lasts until the weekend.
We’ll be doing a tour through some very varied parts of the south of the city and its outskirts, with a wee bit of climbing, but back in the city after 20 miles in time for lunch.

View of Castlemilk Dr

Meet at the north end of Bell’s Bridge for 10:00 on Sunday 03 September and see further details of this and forthcoming rides here.

GoBike ride Sunday 05 June, 25 miles, around and about East Kilbride

Side-by-side crossing at Brouster Hill, East Kilbride


We will head off through Cathcart and Linn Park, and head out through Carmunnock to get to the outskirts of East Kilbride (avoiding trunk roads such as the A726). We’ll take a little time to explore the K-Woodlands, before joining a cycle route into the town centre to see the new cycle infrastructure there. After continuing across town, we will return to Glasgow, descending through Castlemilk and King’s Park, where we might just see Aitkenhead House, shown in the photo, just in time for lunch.

Aitkenhead House, King's Park

Due to road and path closures, there will be a couple of short sections of the ride that will be on main roads.

25 miles, including some off-road paths and steps in the K-Woodlands.
Meet 10am north end of Bell’s Bridge, Congress Road, Glasgow.

Consultation Digest (Local) Issue 111, 26 May 2022

Visualisation showing redevelopment phase 1, now up to 7 storeys

Building back up…

The Digest returns after an extended break for the local council elections (and some tech issues – apologies). The people in charge of a council have a big say in what gets done so it’s worth noting what has (and hasn’t) changed.

Glasgow City Council continues in minority SNP control, with added support from the Greens. However, Anna Richardson has stepped down from her Sustainability role. Instead, the convenor of the Environment, Sustainability and Carbon Reduction City Policy Committee is Elaine McSporran (Cardonald).

Elsewhere, many neighbouring councils have changed hands:

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Consultation Digest (Local) Issue 110, 14 April 2022

Plans for segregated cycletracks on Cornwall St/Churchill Ave, East Kilbride

Consultation resurrection?

Happy Easter! Things are a bit dead, before numbers rise again after the election, so it’s a chance to bring back consultations that slipped through the net in the last few months. The 12 local authorities in the Strathclyde area don’t always let us know what they’re up to!

This issue features East Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire for the first time in a while. North Ayrshire and Inverclyde still have consultations open. Also, regulars like Glasgow, East Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire. The latter had a consultation that fell between Digest issues (see featured image, above) and sent a new update on NCN74.

Also, ahead of the local elections, check out Walk, Wheel, Cycle, Vote and consider a trip to Edinburgh for Pedal on Parliament‘s new route on 23 April (just after Earth Day).

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Consultation Digest (Local) Issue 105, 3 February 2022

School Street zone signs at St Anne's Primary School, off Crownpoint Rd, Glasgow

Back to School Streets…

Traffic Orders in this issue include School Streets road restrictions and banned turns on Haggs Rd at Pollok Park. Glasgow’s Active Travel Strategy has gone through changes and council committee.

The first two Liveable Neighbourhoods areas, Langside–Toryglen and Ruchill–Cowlairs, have progressed to planning projects. The next two, Dennistoun–Cranhill and Govan–Kingston, are still online but there’s probably not much time if you want your suggestion included in the first lot of projects…

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Consultation Digest (Local) Issue 104, 20 January 2022

Ardrossan Connections illustration

Let’s go round again.

A repeat consultation for Pollok and next steps at an Ayrshire harbour (in time for Burns Night). Also, South Lanarkshire’s Ayr Road (A70) pops up again.

After criticism of Spaces for People measures in South Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire, now East Renfrewshire‘s Ayr Road (A77) completes the hat-trick.

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Consultation Digest (Local) Issue 103, 6 January 2022

Visualisation of proposed new Shawlands Arcade

Happy New Year!

The first Digest of 2022 has a few loose ends to clear up from last year. Firstly, there’s the proposed regeneration of Shawlands Arcade on Kilmarnock Rd (as shown in split image, above). Secondly, there’s North Lanarkshire Council’s Active Travel strategy, which is a long way off the pace set by Glasgow’s.

The last edition featured negative reaction to Spaces for People lanes in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire. Another issue has come up elsewhere – a petition against SfP lanes between Paisley and Howwood in Renfrewshire.

While cycling is usually on the agenda in Glasgow it’s often missed out in surrounding areas, which feed the city’s traffic issues. Cars are king in suburban towns so any projects that try to redress the balance will need support. On a more positive note, Sustrans are funding minor upgrades to existing NCN routes in Renfrewshire and elsewhere.

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Consultation Digest (Local) Issue 102, 23 December 2021

Side-by-side crossing at Brouster Hill, East Kilbride

Season’s greetings

This time of year is known for excess and there’s a glut of consultations and responses in this issue. Contra-flow cycling is a theme with responses from Glasgow ruling it out while South Lanarkshire have quietly implemented it in East Kilbride.

However, EK’s Spaces for People project (as seen in featured image, above) is up for consultation and needs support to counter local criticism.

Without wanting to tread on the toes of our national consultations digest, Transport Scotland’s long-delayed pavement parking consultation has started. Most GoBike members will have experiences to add to that!

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GoBike December Ride – to the South-East, Sunday 05 December

Footbridge to Cuningar Loop (geograph_5650116)

Meet 10am Bell’s Bridge, Congress Road, Glasgow. 
We will cut across the south side of Glasgow to Rutherglen. We’ll pass through Overtoun Park then continue across town to the Cuningar Loop Woodland Park. After that, we will return to Glasgow Green and the riverside through Dalmarnock. The ride is around 12 miles long, so will finish before lunchtime.

See https://www.gobike.org/about-us/cycle-rides for further details of the GoBike rides, which are led by Andy Preece, with always something new to see.