Uproar after park gates locked to curb boozers
AFAMOUS Glasgow comic has hit out at the council’s announcement it will close gates at a city park to discourage underage boozers.
Comedian Frankie Boyle – known for his shows at the nearby Stand comedy club – said the plans would create bottlenecks into the park. He also accused the council of not having undertaken an impact assessment.
Writing on Twitter in response to the council’s announcement of the changes, the 47-year-old said: “Creating bottlenecks during a pandemic; forcing people with prams and wheelchairs to go down Sauchiehall Street; or Gibson Street; closing all the entrances on the street you just closed down traffic on for cyclists.
“Presumably, you haven’t done any kind of impact assessment.”
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said one entrance on Kelvin Way would remain open, so people would not be forced to walk down Sauchiehall Street as the comedian claimed.
He added: “The park remains accessible to all potential users coming from the north, south, east or west.”
On the social media site, another user mocked the council’s video showing a park worker padlocking a gate.
They wrote: “A good whack with a hammer will get rid of that padlock, I’ve seen it done before.”
One Twitter user asked: “Won’t this just lead to bottleneck flows and force people into closer proximity?”
It comes after the council announced it would close ten of the park’s 16 entrances on days expected to busy for the rest of the summer and that police officers will be deployed to stop people taking in alcohol in response to recent raucous parties in the park which saw widespread antisocial behaviour and a cop assaulted.
One user wrote: “This is a terrible idea that’ll only cause people stress and inconvenience. Kelvingrove links up many different parts of the west end – you’re effectively forcing people to walk or cycle around the park when they could much easier pass through it.”
Local SNP councillor Ken Andrew welcomed the changes.
He said: “People aren’t happy about it, but they weren’t happy about the parties in the park either and we can’t have a situation where police officers are being assaulted. You can’t have it both ways.
“I think it’s a sensible solution, by controlling the number of entrances into the park then you can control what young people are taking into the park.
“I don’t think that it will create bottlenecks because once it becomes known that you won’t get into the park with carry outs, they will move elsewhere.
“People will think twice about going there if they know they will be stopped.”
Greens MSP Patrick Harvie said: “As a response to concerns over social distancing, it makes little sense to force more people through fewer spaces. It’s also unclear why there’s any need to cut off access from the newlypedestrianised Kelvin Way, unless they are planning to reopen it to traffic which would be a real loss.
“I urge the council to think again about these plans.”