GLASGOW City Council is providing more than 30 kilometres of ‘pop-up’ cycle lanes under the pandemic Spaces for People initiative, with the next ones planned for Hyndland, Ruchill and Cardonald.
The bike infrastructure is among measures being introduced as coronavirus lockdown restrictions are eased.
A report updating councillors states: “Under phase one of Spaces for People we will provide approximately 36 kilometres of new cycle lanes.”
Nearly 14 kilometres have been completed, around 16 kilometres are ‘scheduled orunder construction’ and six kilometres are ‘under consideration’.
The report continues: “Plans are currently being drawn up for Clarence Drive in Hyndland, Hawthorn Street in Ruchill, and Corkerhill Road in Cardonald, with other routes under consideration.”
Factor taken into account before deciding which schemes to take forward include population density, levels of deprivation, road safety, speed limits, access to locations such as parks and health facilities, impact on public transport, deliverability and connectivity into the wider cycle network.
Pop-up cycle lanes installed so far are
— Broomielaw
— Dumbreck Road (Linking Pollok and Bellahouston Parks)
— London Road
— Great Western Road (Duntreath Avenue to Lincoln Avenue)
— Gorbals Street (including a new bus gate)
— Cumbernauld Road (Station Road to Provanmill Road)
The first scheme — at Broomielaw — has attracted nearly 58,000 users, averaging nearly 600 cyclists per day.
Glasgow has been awarded a total of £7.5million of Spaces For People Government funding, with phase one being paid for from the initial £3.5million grant.
The report explains: “It is still anticipated that physical distancing will be needed for a significant period of time, both during and post lockdown, and that many people may remain reluctant to use public transport.
“Therefore as the City Centre and our local neighbourhoods become busier for work and shopping, we will continue to consider implementing short-term and medium to longer term measures to support physical distancing and to enable sustainable travel choices.”
Footways have been widened on many city centre streets through removal of around a third of the kerbside parking spaces. More is planned, targeting small areas where there are known pinch points.
More pedestrian space has also been provided in busy neighbourhood areas including Easterhouse, Cardonald, Tollcross, Parkhead, Cessnock, Shawlands, Bridgeton and Partick.
Future work is scheduled to be undertaken in Finnieston, Byres Road, Berryknowes, Cathcart, Croftfoot, Gorbals, Govan, Duke Street, Possilpark, Shettleston and Springburn.
General proposals for the further £4million made available include:
— Further targeted widening of footways across the city.
— Expansion of pop-up cycle lanes.
— Improvement of the look and feel of temporary measures.
— Retention of measures for longer than envisaged.
— Park and Pedal sites.
— School car-free zones.
— Expansion of hands-free pedestrian crossing at signals.
— Vegetation trimming.
— Additional winter treatment of widened footways
Officials stated: “Temporary measures implemented under the Spaces for People programme will be evaluated with a view to making them permanent where possible and with full local consultation.”
“A medium to long-term benefit of providing these temporary measures to facilitate physical distancing may be that some can become permanent and active travel becomes the preferred choice for more people.”
They added: “A meeting took place with Glasgow Disability Alliance to discuss the proposals at the outset and a follow-up meeting will now take place to enable comments on the initial programme to assist with taking forward the second funding award.”
