Council cycling boss addresses concern on lanes

COUNCIL bosses have said new city cycle routes will not all be “perfect” on the first try. But, according to councillor Anna Richardson, flaws in the vast city-wide network of bike lanes are a strength.

The City Convener for Sustainability and Carbon Reduction says issues with new routes can easily be “tweaked”.

And each change is used to improve the next section of the network.

Anna’s words come after the Glasgow Times told on Thursday of anger that cones on a section of the Dumbreck Road cycle route had been removed.

The painted road markings were left in place, leaving cyclists heading into oncoming traffic.

However, the majority of the route is still in place, running from Pollok Park to Bellahouston Park.

In the West End of the city, Blairdardie Community Council and local councillor Paul Carey criticised the new Great Western Road cycle route.

The network is being created with funding from the Scottish Government under the Spaces For People scheme to make the city easier for those walking and cycling to socially distance.

Anna said: “One of the things that’s so exciting about Spaces For People is the speed at which we’re moving.

“Usually we work on big infrastructure projects that cost millions of pounds and take years to come to fruition – but now we’re coming up with ideas and getting them on the ground within a matter of weeks.

“It’s been very clear from the beginning of lockdown that we had to create more possibilities for people to move differently around the city.

“There has been dynamic learning and there is a real power in trying things on a temporary basis.

“You can get ideas on the ground very quickly and it doesn’t have to be perfect.

“If it doesn’t work in the way you expect at first when people start using them, then you can make changes and improve them.

“We can tweak things that don’t work and that should be seen as a positive.

“If we couldn’t do that then would take away our ability push the boundaries.”

Some complaints about the new cycle lanes – two currently under it to construction are Great Western Road and London Road – are that they use painted lines.

Cycle campaigners say paint is not protection.

Anna said: “We are committed to introducing soft segregation but we are also trying not to delay with introducing the new bike lanes – we really don’t have time to waste.

“It’s difficult at the moment because every local authority has orders in for the same things but as soon as we have the materials for soft segregation they will be used.”

As traffic levels have fallen during lockdown, more bikes have been present on the roads – and that new bike lanes have been busy with a wider age range of cyclists and those on bikes for the first time.

Anna said the council is committed to keeping that momentum going.

She added: “We would normally have extensive consultations because we always want to bring communities with us but this time, with the speed we are working at, we want community feedback as we go along.

“This is a really exciting project for Glasgow and we need to keep adapting as a city and not end up falling back into the status quo.”