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Police investigate threat to "execute" council staff over cycleway

Message left on Post-It note following heated drop-in session regarding scheme in Bearsden

Police Scotland are investigating an anonymous threat to “execute” council officials over plans for a segregated cycle route in East Dunbartonshire.

The message read: “Where do we que [sic] to execute every here who works for EDC [East Dunbartonshire Council].

It was left on a Post-It note following what the Evening Times says was a heated public drop-in session held last week.

A picture of it was posted to Twitter by a local cyclist under the user name sturmeyarcher3, saying “a staff member was visibly upset by this.”

The drop-in session, over Phase 2 of the Bears Way project, was held at Kessington Public Hall in Bearsden from 3pm-8pm on Thursday 19 November, with the newspaper reporting that hundreds of local residents attended.

Many were vocal in their opposition to the project to build a segregated cycle lane along the A81, a main commuting route into Glasgow.

The first phase of the project, from links Burnbrae in Milngavie to Hillfoot in Bearsden, opened in September.

Last week’s session addressed the second phase which is due to link Hillfoot to Kessington.

One person who attended the meeting described the strained atmosphere at the meeting, saying: "By the time I arrived and spoke with council staff literally hundreds of people had attended to voice their opposition.

“Fears over falling property values and car parking and lack of road space seemed to vex most people, but some residents felt so strongly that they left a written death threat.

"It was certainly a tense atmosphere, at least one council worker had to leave because of the abuse she received. And all because of a bike path."

Council worker Isla Hamilton, whose tweets are protected, reportedly took to Twitter to say: “You never really know how public consultation is gonna go, tonight I was told I should be executed ⚡️#harsh #cycling #segregated #cycleway.”

It wasn’t just council staff who were threatened at the drop-in session.

Dave Brennan, co-founder of the campaign group Pedal on Parliament and who posts helmet camera footage to YouTube under the name Magnatom, said one bike rider had been told by a local present that he would "aim his car at the cyclist if he ever saw him on the road."

- Pedal on Parliament crowd told Scottish Government will increase spend on cycling

In July, Brennan uploaded this YouTube video of his first ride on the opening phase of the route, which was then nearing completion.

In a website post about the project, which is funded by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, Sustrans and Transport Scotland, the council said: “Bears Way is a cycleway aimed at improving active travel, access and safety for all road users. 

“When finished, the pioneering project will create a traffic-free cycle link between Milngavie and Glasgow.

“Phase 1 of Bears Way was recently completed after engagement with the public, businesses and local councillors.

“Previous cycle lanes were advisory and worn in many places, with vehicles routinely swerving onto the lanes and also using them for parking.  

“The new cycleway separates cyclists and motorists using kerbs – increasing safety and reducing risk,” it added.

The council has also posted several videos to YouTube in which cyclists give their views on the parts of the facility open to date. Here’s one of them.

 

 

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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7 comments

Avatar
ridein | 8 years ago
2 likes

You know they must be serious terrorists if they use a post-it note.

Avatar
brooksby replied to ridein | 8 years ago
1 like

ridein wrote:

You know they must be serious terrorists if they use a post-it note.

If they communicate using post-it notes, aren't they more likely to be members of the council rather than the general public?

Avatar
Das | 8 years ago
4 likes

Can someone more intelligent than me explain how having a segregated cycle way could impact on house prices? "OMG There is a cycle way at the bottom of the road, im not buying this dump!!" Surely it can only make a properly even more appealing as thats another transport opportunity. 

I tell you this, and sorry for the examples,  but being a cyclist is pretty much what it must have been like to have been Black, Gay or Irish in years gone by. 

 

Avatar
oldstrath replied to Das | 8 years ago
1 like

Das wrote:

Can someone more intelligent than me explain who having a segregated cycle way could impact on house prices? "OMG There is a cycle way at the bottom of the road, im not buying this dump!!" Surely it can only make a properly even more appealing a thats another transport opportunity. 

I tell you this, and sorry for the examples,  but being a cyclist is pretty much what it must have been like to have been Black, Gay or Irish in years gone by. 

 

 

Presumably because the poor darlings may lose their precious parking space (on the public road, paid for by my bloody taxes, etc.) or may be slowed slightly in their rush from the driveway to the road.

Avatar
mike the bike replied to Das | 8 years ago
1 like

Das wrote:

......

I tell you this, and sorry for the examples,  but being a cyclist is pretty much what it must have been like to have been Black, Gay or Irish in years gone by. 

 

Nah, they had it easy.  It was the gay, black Irishmen I felt sorry for.

Avatar
P3t3 | 8 years ago
2 likes

I really can't understand why they keep doing this stupid two way cycle track on one side of the road thing, especially since there is room for one on each side here.  

From what I've seen in the netherlands the best option in built up areas is to have a track on both sides.  If the odd person doesn't want to cross the road becuase they are only going a few hundred metres (e.g. right onto main road then leaving it on at the next junction on the right) then they just cycle the wrong way for that bit.  It works.  Flipping the cycle track from one side to the other is annoying and not going to get used for a good proportion of the time since I suspect that you would wait a long time to cross that route at peak time.  .  

 

Avatar
Brodie | 8 years ago
1 like

This cycleway is a part of my daily commute. When it wasn't there I never had any issues with vehicles, since it has been put in I've had at least four incidents involving abuse or near accidents at the few crossroads along the path.

As a commuter, I have every potential hazard mapped out in my head and I literally count them off as I get through them. This cycleway has added four new hazards rather than eliminate any. More could be done to reduce these risks with added signage etc.. but even with that, as we know, it's not always going to work.  

As much as I appreciate the thought of a cycleway and how it can be useful for families and kids along stretches of this particular road it's just another case of not thinking it through for those of us who use the road every day. 

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