Saddle up for the future
EDINBURGH offices were arguably the first in Scotland to start peddling the message about the benefits of staff cycling to work, in the days when a couple of cycle clips with reflective patches were enough to keep the bottoms of your trouser legs in check.
Cutting across the new tram lines made this a bit more hazardous, with the brakes on and a spoke in the wheel after one study found nearly 200 cyclists injured as a result, and the local authority forced to revisit cycle lane provision after legal claims and a fatality.
Glasgow’s cycling infrastructure continues to go from strength to strength, with 300km of cycle lanes, some segregated and others with raised crossings, and more than
1,000 cycle racks installed.
The environmental lobby is certainly in the saddle, backed by strong arguments about saving in fuel costs and pollution as well as building healthy exercise into your daily commute.
Places of employment got an easy ride for a while, getting off with doing very little to cater for this trend, but the fact is that city centre offices are now being expected to build in the latest facilities for staff choosing to arrive by bike.
The current lifestyle of millennials and their ageing managers still keen to keep fit appears to require them to be head over handle bars in love with cycling.
New build and refurbished commercial property offices in Glasgow now compete to have the best cycle provision, and, coupled with the general discouragement of driving into town and some help from the planners, has seen the number of cycle spaces overtake car parking provision in the latest constructions.
Any casual visitor touring the recently completed £5.5m upgrading of perhaps the city’s highest quality refurbishment, NFU Mutual’s 191 West George Street,would surely have been surprised to find basement facilities more akin to their local gym or sports club.
As well as comprehensive cycle change and shower areas, there is cycle storage equipment with industry leading racks for 50 users, a repair station to fix problems, a drying room, lockers, air cleaning regime to keep things fresh, and of course white fluffy towels as in all the best hotels.
This pattern is very much in vogue and is also being planned at M&G
Real Estate’s 277,000 sq ft Grid building, where there will be a separate ramp entrance for 320 cyclists, segregating them from pedestrian access.
Ethical investor FORE Partnerships are taking things even further at their 97,000 sq ft Cadworks in Cadogan Street.
For that Glasgow office space they have ditched two floors of underground car parking to spend the money instead on carbon reduction, and will only cater for electric vehicles, disabled, and 108 cyclists, issued with a key fob to avoid the need to dismount.
Such is the momentum that a meeting has been arranged in Glasgow on August 15 to highlight lessons from new British Council for Offices research on “the rise of cycling and its impact on office design”.
Architectural practice Sheppard Robson and regeneration body Clyde Gateway have joined forces to celebrate Cycle To Work Day with a briefing on Glasgow’s cycling ambitions.
Cycling consultant Neil Webster will talk through his BCO study before an open discussion and guided tour around the east end (optional on the day, but do remember to bring yer bike!)
Michael Dougall of Sheppard Robson in Glasgow explained: “We saw a real opportunity to debate current strategies with both the public and commercial property sector for encouraging cycling and creating healthier and greener communities.”
The event – The cycle friendly city: punctured dream or two wheeled revolution – will look at whether these strategies are working and consider solutions for creating more sustainable cities.