Tag: routes

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Glasgow Councillor Tour 8, Ward 6, Pollokshields, with Green Party Councillor, Jon Molyneux, Thursday 19 October 2017

On the afternoon of Thursday 19 October, Councillor Jon Molyneux, Green Party, met GoBike convenor, Tricia Fort and GoBike members, Bill Fraser, who is also on Pollokshields Community Council, Bob Downie and Nick Kempe for a cycle tour of Ward 6.  We were waved off from Pollokshaws Road at Shawlands Cross by Baillie Hanif Raja, Labour Party, who doesn’t cycle but wished us well.

Details of the route planned for us by GoBike ride leader, Andy Preece are given here: Councillor Ward Tour – Pollokshields map and his notes are here: Councillor Ward Tour – Pollokshields  We deviated slightly from the route and the actual route is shown here: 

So, what did we notice apart from the information given in Andy’s notes?  We left our meeting point on Pollokshaws Road, the most heavily cycled route in Glasgow, that has next to no cycle facilities and went along Moss-Side Road, past Shawlands Academy.  There were cars parked right along, with no sign of any assistance for parents or pupils who might want to cycle to school.  We made our way over the railway at Crossmyloof Station, with only an Advance Stop Line for anyone who wants to cycle to Hutchesons’ Grammar School, and down into Titwood Road.

Springkell Avenue is a wide, quiet road, where all the houses have gardens and driveways – so why do they park on the road?  We then came to this, where apparently a nearby housing development is having an adverse effect on the railway bridge:

Yes, there was room to get through on our bikes, so why isn’t it signed for bikes as well as pedestrians?  Where’s the permeability?

At the end of Springkell Avenue, a pleasure to cycle on, we came to the path down to Dumbreck Road.  Apart from the spreading vegetation over the path, there is no lighting on this path, nor on the section that goes all the way to Nithsdale Road – not a winter commuter route then!  At Dumbreck Road we joined the carriageway; a tricky manoeuvre since the toucan crossing and lights seem to assume that someone on a bike will be going into Pollok Park not over the motorway towards Bellahouston Park.  We checked out the exit from Bellahouston Park, thinking that quite a few families from the area might want to cycle to and from it.  The only crossing over Dumbreck Road is a pedestrian one; there is no traffic signal for cars or bikes exiting the park.

As the picture shows, there are no cycle facilities on NIthsdale Road, a useful route across to the east of the ward, and with 2 lanes of traffic coming towards Dumbreck Road, it’s quite a narrow access for bikes as well as cars.  Later, we turned into Maxwell Drive, where cars park right over the painted cycle lanes, or are parked so close to the cycle lane that an opening door could seriously damage a bike and its rider.

We made our way to Albert Drive where the Community Council has put much effort into trying to prevent cars being parked at street corners.  Double yellow lines have been painted on them all, but they are not mandatory until the necessary signs are in place.  The signs are not in place – what an omission by the City Council!

On the eastern end of Albert Drive, we came upon a car parked on the cycle lane and then the cycle lane disappeared under a road narrowing scheme designed to protect the weak railway bridge:

So, one wonders, why wasn’t the bike lane continued, but with segregation, to narrow the road?  Where are people on bikes supposed to go?  Into the narrow roadway or on the footway?  After this point the cycle lanes disappear again under parked cars.

We took a left on Barrland Street to avoid the busy Pollokshaws Road but we did go to the eastern end of Maxwell Road, where there are no formal dropped kerbs to Pollokshaws Road but tarmac ramps were made for a running race a couple of years ago.  Fortunately, they have not been removed.

The Community Council, we heard, are working towards improving Maxwell Road by liaising with house-builders and improving the parking situation.

We took a look at Forth Street, the home of Soul Riders, where recent parking changes included making the street one-way, and not exempting bikes.  So, it’s either a long detour or a technically illegal ride on the footway to get to their premises.  Where is the encouragement to cycle?  Where is the permeability?

At the new school on St Andrew’s Road, we cycled along McCulloch Street, that has been nicely traffic-calmed, and which gives much better access to Shields Road and the crossing to the South-West City Way.  From this cycle way, just about the best in the city, we made the awkward right turn at West Street Subway Station to travel along all the painted cycle lanes back to Pollokshaws Road and we finished our tour alongside the cars parked on the contraflow lane linking Pollokshaws Road with Eglinton Street.

The potential is there in this ward to encourage cycling, but a bit of enlightened thinking is needed to protect the existing cycle lanes and to improve access and permeability.

 

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Councillor Tour 7, Drumchapel / Anniesland, Ward 7, Thursday 12 October

Congratulations and a gold star to Councillor Elspeth Kerr, SNP, pictured above wearing purple, who doesn’t own a bike but yet cycled 6.5 miles round her ward on Thursday with Anne Glass, from Drumchapel Cycle Hub, also pictured and GoBike Convenor Tricia Fort.  We are indebted to Anne and the Drumchapel Cycle Hub for the loan of Elspeth’s purple bike, shown above.  The route we took, a shortened version of one devised by Andy Preece,  is shown below:

Here’s a guide to the route: Councillor Ward Tour – Anniesland & Drumchapel final

There are some busy main roads in this ward and we cycled on the footway along Drumry Road East, through the roundabouts to Great Western Road, then from the point where we left the canal path up Great Western Road to Knightswood Cross and again at the end of our ride along Drumchapel Road and back up Drumry Road East to the Hub.  There are no cycle facilities on these busy roads and although it is not correct to cycle on the footway, it is far safer for someone like Elspeth, who is not confident on the road.

So, in this relatively poor area with fairly low car ownership, what did we see apart from the lack of cycle facilities?  As Andy points out in his notes, when we crossed from the Great Western Retail Park to the south side of Great Western Road, the footway is shared.  At the Glasgow boundary, with no change of width in the footway, this stops, and people on bikes are directed to the canal towpath.  What if they want to go straight up Great Western Road towards Knightswood?  Tough, and they encounter a lack of dropped kerbs if they do venture here on a bike or they are pushing a pram or a wheelchair.

We went on the canal towpath for quite a bit of this ride, and one has to be aware of pedestrians and dogs.  There are ground lights for part of the way, but to ensure these are effective, vegetation must be kept back.  At Lock 35, we crossed to the north side to look at the garden that has been developed by volunteers, including members of GoBike:

Back on Great Western Road, we noticed that, although laybys have been provided for parked cars, some drivers prefer to leave their car in the inside lane of this 3-lane road!

This picture shows 1 car in the layby, 3 parked in the inside lane, and 1 car actually moving in the middle lane.  This doesn’t leave much room for bikes, or buses.  This dual carriageway, a major artery to the city centre, has plenty of room for a cycle way on each side.

At Knightscliffe Avenue we cut in round the Netherton Community Centre and onto the path, Temple Walkway, which runs from Glencoe Street right past the Community Centre and the disused Temple Swimming Pool to Shafton Road.  The path has a good surface and could be used much more for cycling and walking if it were lit.

Shafton Road took us round, via Avenel Road to the canal, with a steep access path and we cycled west as far as Blairdardie Road Footbridge.  From here, with no dropped kerb to help us down to the roadway, we made our way along Moraine Avenue, and to the path that took us under the railway to Essenside Avenue and more locations needing dropped kerbs:

Here, at the access to the path leading to Drumchapel Road, the fence is blocking the very bit of the kerb that is dropped, albeit only slightly.  So, all in all, this is not an area that is active-travel-friendly, but with much potential for improvement.

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Glasgow Councillor Tour, Ward 7, Langside, 11 October

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?

  • Streets between tenements with cars parked both sides, leaving little room for moving vehicles.
  • Dropped kerbs blocked by parked cars – on Carmichael Place (at the end of the White Cart Cycle Route path) and at the end of our ride hampering cycle access to Balvicar Street from Pollokshaws Road.
  • A very tricky road crossing from Sinclair Drive over Battlefield Road to Grange Road.
  • No cycle facilities leading to the New Victoria Hospital, but there is a narrow cycle lane marked on the footway on Queen’s Park Street, circling part of the hospital, which doesn’t connect into any cycle lane at the Grange Road or the Prospecthill Road end.
  • A nice, wide road past Hampden connecting Cathcart Road to Aikenhead Road, where there is then a very narrow shared footway with a long wait at the toucan crossing to cross to an equally narrow shared footway, part of the “Cathkin Braes Route”.
  • Cars parked on the roadway outside houses, leaving little room for bikes, cars, vans to move along and certainly not an environment where children could play outside their gardens.
  • New flats and houses in Toryglen with no cycle lane access.
  • A narrow, dark path from Prospecthill Circus to Polmadie Road; if this were widened and lit for its full length and the glass cleared regularly, and the junction area of Polmadie Road to Aikenhead Road to Dixon Road made less daunting for people on bikes it would provide an excellent link from Toryglen to Govanhill and to the forthcoming South City Way.  Access to the South City Way from other parts of the ward is feasible – if the route could be continued around Queen’s Park – on both sides (Langside Road/Queen’s Drive and Pollokshaws Road), while a route through the park is fine for a leisurely cycle ride in daylight.
  • The curious nature of some streets,eg Dixon Road, being adorned with blue signs indicating that this is a  “Route recommended for pedal cycles on the main carriageway of a road”.  One wonders what the criteria are to merit the signage.

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.

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Glasgow Councillor Tour 5, Victoria Park, Ward 12, 06 October 2017

On Friday 06 October Councillor Maggie McTernan, Labour Councillor for Ward 12, Victoria Park, toured part of her ward with GoBike committee members John Donnelly and Alasdair Macdonald and GoBike member Neil Lovelock.  Councillor McTernan doesn’t cycle so John took her, and Neil, round in the rickshaw he currently owns.  After the ride she posted her photos and a commentary on her Councillor Facebook page; she has very kindly sent us the photos and allowed us to use her words to describe the ride.  They are reproduced in bold below:

“The question you need to ask is, would you let your child cycle ahead of you?”

Thanks to Neil, Alasdair and John from Gobike for taking me on a cycle tour of my ward, Victoria Park, today – with an honourable mention for John, who powered the cycle rickshaw for non-cycling me!

If we want to cut emissions and improve health, we need to take seriously the cycle routes across the city – as John said, they should be safe enough for a child to use.

Most of us don’t just use one form of transport – we walk, cycle, drive or take public transport depending on the situation. So our infrastructure should reflect this, supporting us to share our public spaces safely.

Cycle paths don’t always have dropped kerbs – here, the entrance to the cycle path had bollards that were too close to allow the rickshaw through!

Double parking to block a cycle path, opposite a bus stop…

Some of the signage is faded, making it hard to follow cycle routes

There’s good news too – this pavement at St Paul’s Primary was widened in 2014, to improve safety for children cycling to school

The route that the group followed was devised by GoBike ride leader, Andy Preece and is given here: Councillor Ward Tour – Victoria Park map and his comments on features along the route are here: Councillor Ward Tour – Victoria Park

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Glasgow Councillor Tour 3, part of Partick East/Kelvindale with Conservative Councillor, Tony Curtis

GoBike member, Johnston Orr, trying to cycle along the Colleges Cycle route on Highburgh Road towards Byres Road.  Note the car encroaching on the very narrow door opening zone and the car parked right across the bike lane!

On Saturday 23 September, GoBike convenor, Tricia Fort, and Johnston Orr met one of Partick East/Kelvindale’s 4 councillors, Tony Curtis, Conservative, for a short tour of the ward – but lots of discussion.  Tony is very keen that all road users obey the Highway Code and relevant legislation, behave responsibly and respect each other, follow guidance when it comes to staying safe on a bike and he is keen to get Police Scotland to address parking and speeding infringements.

Our route was from outside the bar/restaurant 1051GWR on Great Western Road at Gartnavel, up to Highburgh Road and along into Hyndland and Dowanhill. The points discussed concerning cycle infrastructure were:

  1. The possibility of a cycle link from the western end of Devonshire Terrace through to the front of bar/restaurant1051GWR; this would allow people to cycle from Devonshire Terrace along the existing footway, if it were cleared of vegetation and widened, to access Hughenden Lane or Shelley Road.
  2. The reduced hours of operation of the bus lanes on Great Western Road and the lack of any cycle infrastructure on this major artery into the city centre.
  3. Hyndland Road from Great Western Road to the top of Clarence Drive; this is a main route, as Tony pointed out, and yet there is no cycle infrastructure.
  4. The poor condition of many roads, and many cycle lanes, in the city, and in this ward.
  5. The positioning of the cycle lanes on Hyndland/Highburgh Road from Clarence Drive: currently the cycle lanes are on the outside of parking bays.  The door opening zone is too narrow, only 0.5m rather than a realistic 1.0m, and many cars were poorly parked, encroaching on the narrow door opening zone.
  6. Irresponsible parking, such as right across the cycle lane.
  7. The confusion of the signs on Dowanhill Street; had there been cycle lanes here previously?  (And why was one car parked facing the wrong way on a one-way street?)
  8. The apparent contradiction between Glasgow City Council’s policy and action on one-way streets, particularly those streets that are changed from two-way to one-way ostensibly to allow parking on both sides, with respect to maintaining access for people to cycle.  The references here are: Glasgow City Council’s Strategic Plan for Cycling, page 28 referencing their use of Transport Scotland’s design guide, Cycling by Design which states in section 5.1.5 on page 52, under Contra-flow Cycle Lanes, that “The default position should be to permit two-way cycling on one-way streets.”  This is very pertinent for areas such as Dowanhill, where two-way streets have been made one-way under new parking regulations, and for Partick, where new parking regulations – and new one-way streets – are about to be introduced.  This means some significant detours for people who wish to cycle.
  9. GoBike’s view is that cycle infrastructure should be provided where people cycle and our analysis of Strava and other cycle-counting data is here on our website.  Great Western Road, as a main artery into the city centre, has significant numbers of people cycling along it, as does Byres Road, on the edge of this ward, but neither has any cycle infrastructure.

Partick East/Kelvindale is currently the home of the most cycle-interested councillors in the city.  All four councillors have responded to our invitation to walk or cycle round their ward!  There has been a nil response from many other wards.

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Glasgow’s Woodside “mini-Holland” plus other schemes get the go-ahead

Cycling is about to return to St George’s Cross with the latest announcement of funding from the Scottish Government, see these articles from the Herald and the BBC.  Let’s hope it all comes to fruition:

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15542741.Cities_braced_for_cycling_overhaul_after_major_cash_injection/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-41309510

It’s strange but the headline in the paper edition of the Herald is less anti-cycling than on-line.  Let’s hope the motoring lobby don’t spoil it for us.

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An Introduction to the Scottish Government’s Active Travel Task Force

 

Daisy Narayanan, Deputy Director for Built Environment at Sustrans Scotland, reports, in this briefing from Transform Scotland, on the activities of the recently-formed Active Travel Task Force.
“Background
In 2016, two segregated cycle routes were voted down – the second phase of the Bears Way from suburban Milngavie to the boundary with Glasgow alongside the busy A81; and the Holmston Road lane in Ayr, which was voted to be ‘ripped up’. Both provided better journeys for all and were two of Scotland’s newest substantially segregated cycling routes. In Edinburgh the city centre East-West route faced substantial opposition, and Scotland’s first ‘shared space’ scheme in Kirkintilloch in East Dunbartonshire continues to generate heated debate. These projects brought into focus the barriers that Local Authorities and other delivery bodies face on the ground delivering projects that impact on the urban realm and status quo of drivers.
Active Travel Task Force
At the Active Travel Summit, Humza Yousaf MSP, Minister for Transport and the Islands, reiterated his commitment to the CAPS vision of 10% of journeys to be made by bike by 2020, as well as his commitment to seeing segregated, safe cycling infrastructure being delivered to help deliver that vision. The Active Travel Task Force was subsequently set up provide recommendations to tackle barriers to the delivery of such projects.
The remit of the Task Force is to identify and make recommendations to the transport minister on ways to improve delivery of ambitious, inclusive walking and cycling projects in Scotland, helping to create high quality places and communities that support health and wellbeing.
The Task Force is made up of representatives from the public sector and the third sector:
  • Roy Brannen, CEO of Transport Scotland (Chair)
  • James Fowlie, Director of Integration and Development at The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
  • George Eckton, Partnership Director of Sestran, representing Regional Transport Partnerships (RTPs)
  • Derick Murray, Director of Nestrans, representing the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS)
  • Daisy Narayanan, Deputy Director of Sustrans Scotland, representing third sector active travel delivery partners (me!)
Evidence Gathering 
The Active Travel Task Force issued a call for evidence earlier this year, seeking responses from individuals and organisations on the barriers to successfully implementing high quality walking and cycling projects. The evidence gathering focused on five particular projects:
  • Bears Way, East Dunbartonshire
  • Holmstone Road, Ayrshire
  • East-West route, Edinburgh
  • Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire
  • Broad Street, Aberdeen
The Task Force wanted to receive evidence not just from people and organisations who are pro-cycling and walking, but also from those with wider concerns, and even vocal objectors to these walking and cycling projects. Fifty-five written submissions were received, along with two oral evidence gathering sessions from the Local Authorities who delivered the five aforementioned projects; consultants; and community groups both supportive and opposed to the projects.
At the forthcoming Ministerial Summit on active travel, the Task Force will present the findings of the call for evidence and work to date. The final report with recommendations on future actions will be presented to the Transport Minister Humza Yousaf in December 2017.
Main themes emerging
  • Barriers need to be identified – local, national, legislative and cultural – however, we need to remember that there have been positive steps and we don’t need to start from scratch.
  • There is a lot of ongoing work with the Planning review, NTS and STPR refresh, Climate Change Plan. The timing of the Task Force work should be integrated with these.
  • A lot of discussion on ‘active travel’ – but what does it really mean?
  • There seems to be agreement that narrative needs to change from walking and cycling to quality of life/quality of place. A powerful way to give politicians (both local and national) support would be to approach it from the public health angle.
  • There needs to be more visible leadership at both the national and local levels.
  • We need to look at future technologies with respect to urban mobility and integrated smart cities rather than assume that car ownership/the way cars are used will remain the same.
  • Community Engagement: How does one capture ALL voices? How do you reach the middle ground and avoid the loud minority groups?
  • Evidence: Stats vs. stories. Businesses need to be better engaged.
  • Processes: Transport and Planning need to be more joined up. Processes need to be simplified.
  • Standards of design and quality of infrastructure – do LAs need more clear guidance?
Conclusion
Since February, the Task Force has been in ‘listening’ mode. We have been careful not to jump to conclusions or start to write recommendations before we hear from everyone. It has been a thorough and meticulous process so far and laid the foundation for some intensive work over the summer and early autumn. The Task Force is clear that we want practical, short, medium and long term recommendations – ones that will make it easier for delivery agencies in the short term to deliver these key projects and in the long term create a transformational change.
We can all agree that without segregated, coherent, attractive and direct cycle and walking routes, we can’t unlock the clean, green and healthy transport we need.”
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Cycling Embassy of Great Britain comes to Glasgow, 16-17 September

Our friends in the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain are holding their AGM in Glasgow this year, see: https://www.cycling-embassy.org.uk/news/2017/07/20/save-the-date-embassy-agm-in-glasgow-16th-17th-september

The weekend is full of cycling safaris developed by our very own Andy Preece as well as lots of cycling discussion and activity plus a get-together for food and drink.

The event is being held at the Whisky Bond, co-locating with Cyclehack which starts on Friday evening.

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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

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The nights are drawing in but lots to do as September approaches

Yes, the nights are drawing in so it’s time to check out those lights for your bike, but don’t forget all the things that are on from now through into September.  We have told you about some of them and there is detail to follow on others, but here’s a summary – get them in your diary and get out to them on your bike: Continue reading “The nights are drawing in but lots to do as September approaches”