Glasgow City Council has defended its decision not to reinstate traffic cones that afforded a degree of protection to cyclists on a temporary bike lane on a busy road and is now described as a “massive safety hazard for people on bikes.”
But the council says that the cones will not be put back, citing “the safety of all road users” since it believes doing so would lead to traffic queues building up on a slip road from the adjacent M77 motorway.
It also highlights that the cycle lane, which links two parks, was a temporary measure introduced to help people travel safely to parks to undertake their daily exercise under the lockdown rules in force in Scotland at the time.
But video posted on Twitter today, and featured on our live blog earlier, shows how removal of the cones has rendered the bidirectional bike lane on Dumbreck Road impossible to use for cyclists travelling north, since they are faced with oncoming traffic.
The section of the Dumbreck Road trial has been missing protection for a week now and is a massive safety hazard for people on bikes. It needs fixed ASAP @AnnaLangside @GoBikeGlasgow #paintisnotprotection pic.twitter.com/rkjv5BT4ll
— Chapman Crispfield (@isersmalone) July 8, 2020
To be clear. This lane was initially coned off. The cones have now been removed at this section perhaps due to the danger of left hooks at the end. A redesign with ASL and protection is needed, not a removal of the protection.
— Chapman Crispfield (@isersmalone) July 8, 2020
The lane, which is close to an entrance to Pollok Park is also extremely hazardous for those travelling south due to the drivers turning onto the road from the M77.
In a statement published on its website today, Glasgow City Council defended the decision to remove the cones.
It said: “At the start of the COVID-19 lockdown, the Dumbreck pop-up cycle route was installed temporarily as part of the Spaces for People project, to link Pollok Park and Bellahouston Park. At this time, parks played a key function in providing outdoor space for people to enjoy daily exercise.
“Following an incident on the M77 last week, traffic was diverted off the motorway and a section of the cycle route between the M77 and Mosspark Boulevard removed, to manage this.
“When reviewing reinstatement, as traffic levels have recently risen, there are concerns of queuing back on the northbound M77 slip road, as one lane was removed on the slip road to implement the scheme. For the safety of all road users therefore, the section of the cycle route between the M77 and Mosspark Boulevard will not be restored.
“Further works will be carried out today on the transition from the carriageway back onto the shared footway to ensure that all users understand the layout,” the council added.
“The temporary cycle lane remains in place between Haggs Golf Club and the M77 slip road.”
It’s not the first time that section of the road has been coned off, however. Here it is back in April 2017 on Google Street View, when the left-hand lane was closed to traffic, presumably due to roadworks.
11 thoughts on “Glasgow City Council defends decision to remove cones from pop-up bike lane”
Is it me, or do a lot of
Is it me, or do a lot of these “pop up cycle lanes” seem to be popping out of existence even faster than they were established?
Have any pop-up lanes been
Have any pop-up lanes been successful? I trust that those Councils closing them down so quickly are refunding the funding back to central gov as not required. That’s my hard earned tax…….
I do hope that somebody from
I do hope that somebody from Glasgow will be kind enough to let us know whether or not removing the cones really does prevent standing traffic on the slip road.
I live in Glasgow, that
I live in Glasgow, that junction is pretty bad for getting backed up down the slip road to be fair. I can’t say that I’d noticed any worse issues than normal but obviously I’ve not been driving past it as often recently. The congestion is much, much worse every time there’s a Rangers match on though, and people manage fine with that. The real issue is that people use it to cut the corner to go from N/B on the M77 to W/B on the M8, so there’s a lot more traffic there than there ought to be.
Honestly I think they should just route the cycle lane along the pavement there, it’s pretty wide and it’s only 20m or so. I don’t know how you’re supposed to get to it from Bellahouston Park end without going on the pavement anyway.
Removed the cones for the
Removed the cones for the “safety of all road users”. No, only drivers; they’ve made it very, very dangerous for cyclists.
The video clip is terrifying.
The video clip is terrifying. Just imagine if a cyclist had been using that apparently bidirectional lane at the time that video was being filmed? Imagine the result if someone comes bombing around that bend in their car and meets a cyclist coming straight at them? Would that count for a corporate manslaughter charge aimed at the council?
I did wonder that but hoped
I did wonder that but hoped it would not be possible to start a journey that led you to that junction.
hirsute wrote:
But if so, why would it be bidirectional?
The pedestrian crossing at
The pedestrian crossing at the junction of Mosspark Boulevard and Dumbreck Rd is a cycle crossing also, so you could come from Bellahouston park, cross at the lights there and then join the cycle lane heading south against the traffic.
Removing this half from Mosspark to the M77 slip does make a the second half from the slip to the golf club rather ridiculous too, since there’s no other way to get to/from it than going on the pavement now.
Ah – joined up planning!
Ah – joined up planning! Dontcha love it?
So the bike lane was
So the bike lane was introduced for the safety of cyclists whilst there were so few cars during lockdown, but is being removed for their safety now the cars are back in number?