City centre cycling was a real breath of fresh air for me
IT WAS with some trepidation that I switched on my CleanSpace tag, buckled on my helmet and set out into Glasgow’s rush hour.
Usually, I pick my cycle routes to avoid traffic, congestion and noxious fumes.
But in the interests of research, I took a two-wheeled tour of the city’s most polluted streets.
Hope Street and Renfield Street are so jam-packed with revving engines that they don’t even have bike lanes.
Only a maniac would voluntarily tangle with seven angry buses and a taxi trying to cross a yellow box junction.
Yet, despite criss-crossing two of the city’s three air quality management areas – districts identified by Glasgow City Council as having worrying levels of pollution – my tag registered only moderate amounts of nasties in the air.
In fact, research shows that cyclists are often exposed to less air pollution than people travelling by car, taxi or bus where the exhaust fumes from other vehicles gets in from traffic in front and behind. Once it’s there, it stays there. Whereas on two wheels, exposed to the elements, I pass through the dirty air as fast as my old legs can carry me.
Starting at 8.30am, I clocked up 18.2km, taking in Byres Road, Dumbarton Road, Argyle Street, Renfield Street, Hope Street, a circuit of Buchanan Street Bus Station and the flyover across the Kingston Bridge.
For good measure, I went twice round the block of Notre Dame primary school at drop-off time.
Yet only 21 per cent of my route showed moderate levels of pollution. The rest was classified as low. Despite sitting at the head of packs of buses at traffic lights, and stopping for an alfresco coffee break at Charing Cross, 79 per cent was clean.
My regular ride to work, 3.5km on the cycle path sandwiched between the River Clyde and the
Air pollution is one reason people give for not biking in the city but it’s not as bad as I’d feared ANNA BURNSIDE
Expressway, was clean all the way.
Air pollution is one of the reasons people give for not biking around the city. This showed me that it’s not as bad as I had feared.
By cutting out key streets in the city centre, it’s possible to avoid what is there.
Glasgow’s cycling infrastructure is not perfect but there are ways to get round the dirtiest stretches.
This also keeps cyclists out of the way of angry men driving buses and vans. Bonus.