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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Consultation Digest (National) Issue 9, 10 Dec 2021: The one after the Budget

We are a few month’s into the current parliamentary term and here come the consultations on government policy. I expect quite a few over the coming months. The 4th National Planning Framework is the main focus of this digest with two live consultations – from the Government and from a Parliamentary Committee.

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Consultation Digest (Local) Issue 101, 9 December 2021

Argyle St west plan (Central station)

Intro 101 or Room 101?

The number 101 can mean an introductory course in a US college. Alternatively, it could be a torture chamber of your worst nightmares in the book Nineteen Eighty-Four. The Digest covers both bases with some horribly complicated plans to try to explain in simple terms.

If only this didn’t apply to any of the latest plans from Glasgow’s Avenues Project. While safer routes are welcome, issues with side streets don’t seem to have improved since Sauchiehall St. The lanes on Argyle St west (Central Station end, shown above) seem to be based on a retro movie poster.

Elsewhere, the south-west of Glasgow has the most consultations in this issue (there’s no prize, by the way).

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Thank you Tricia Fort!

Tonight at our AGM Tricia Fort, who has been instrumental for many many years to the GoBike campaign, stood down from her role on our committee. She has been a key component to GoBike, leading the campaign for many years, as well as fighting hard in keeping up our consultations aspect of the campaign. Tonight, she echoed her calls to other campaigners to step up and get more involved – and what better inspiration for us than Tricia’s footsteps. We will miss her dearly but knowing Tricia, we are sure that she is going to continue to give up her free time for many years to come to make Glasgow and in fact our world a better place.

Messages of thanks to Tricia have flooded in and so we wanted to share some of them here.

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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.


2021 GoBike AGM – One Week To Go!

The 2021 GoBike AGM takes place in one week’s time on Tuesday 7th December at 7pm. This will be your opportunity to hear updates on our campaigning over the last year, and a chance to get more involved. You don’t have to be a member to come along – if you haven’t already registered please do so via Eventbrite to get your tickets, and to get access to the Zoom link.

Click to book your place at the 2021 AGM
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Consultation Digest (Local) Issue 100, 25 November 2021

SEC Arrival Hall plans and sections

Ton up!

The one hundredth issue of the Digest is perhaps a moment to reflect on what’s happened in the past nearly four years. While things could always be better, there is more cycling infrastructure in place now than there was then. Projects like Spaces for People, Connecting Woodside or the East Kilbride Active Travel Network have gone in the ground (even if the rest of the South City Way hasn’t).

Around three quarters of those issues were written by the previous editor, Tricia Fort, who deserves a lot of credit for establishing the Digest (especially as it used to cover national issues too). Digest 1 in January 2018 mentioned work starting on the Sauchiehall St Avenue, just as events are due for the next phase along the precinct…

Forthcoming consultations:

Glasgow Avenues consultation events:

Provisional plans seen by GoBike didn’t match current standards in the updated Cycling by Design guidelines. Please attend if you can to speak up for better quality cycle lanes.

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