Glasgow needs bolder vision for true transport transformation

It is actions that deliver the cities and places that people want, not just words | Photo credit: ©2018, John Linton

It is a sad reflection on the past that although it has one of the lowest rates of car ownership in Scotland by head of population, Glasgow is a city that has been shaped by cars, and has high levels of inequality as a consequence.

A lack of green, public spaces, along with a quarter of the land in the city centre dedicated to road space – the second highest level in a UK city – has impacted hugely on the health and quality of life of its residents and the local economy.

These challenges, along with others identified as part of the recent Glasgow Connectivity Commission report, highlights some of the issues and impacts that poor planning and transport decisions can have on a city and the people that live there.

What the Connectivity Commission report shows

I find much to agree with in the report. It argues the need for greater road space re-allocation to pedestrians as well as to create spaces in Glasgow which could encourage people to spend time and linger. 

It also criticises the low provision for cycling and recommends longer, safer routes on corridors through the city centre. It compares cycling journeys to car journeys, highlighting how cycling lacks the consistent journey times and coherent routes of journeys that motorists are afforded.

But, despite a bold, ambitious introduction and unflinching identification of the transport challenges faced by Glasgow, the actions then proposed in the report are small and low-key. In short, the report’s actions add up to less than the sum of its parts. I am therefore a bit worried about the report and anxious to see what the second part of the report, which will focus on actions beyond the power of Glasgow City Council. Here’s what I think:

The case for transformational change in Glasgow

Firstly, it is important to recognise that Glasgow is making progress. 

Sustrans is a proud partner in the delivery of a number of projects in the city which make it easier for people to choose to walk and cycle.

For example, the South City Way, part of our Community Links PLUS programme funded through the Scottish Government, is delivering exactly the type of street - prioritising people on foot and bike - that the report calls for.

And, like the authors of the report, we want to see this approach more widely in the city and can see how they would make a difference to the people of Glasgow. 

However, it is not enough to simply do more of the same, but faster. 

This report was a chance to acknowledge larger, structural problems. The issues faced in Glasgow’s city centre are largely a product of suburbanites travelling in by car from the Greater Glasgow area. And without addressing this, a vital chance to re-think transport and social inclusivity in Glasgow will be missed.

It lacks a detailed discussion of the positive impact greater numbers of people walking and cycling can have on retail and recreation. And stops short of proposing any truly radical and far-reaching changes which the current situation demands. 

How Glasgow can learn from others

While it is always contentious to compare the two, nevertheless, Edinburgh’s recent City Centre Transformation consultation presented the public with wide-ranging, ambitious, transformational ideas. In doing so, it highlighted problems created by the access of private cars across and through the city. 

It proposed a walkable city centre to prioritise people over vehicles. It discussed improving the numerous town centres of the capital to make them places that people want to spend time and access on foot and bike. It has also benefitted from a whole-city remit, recognising the impact of people living and travelling in wider Edinburgh, the Lothians and visitors from all over Scotland and further.

In Edinburgh, public consultation offered ‘business as usual’, slow change and the opportunity to radically change the capital for the better. Glasgow’s decision on what to do next must present wide-ranging options.

Actions are more powerful than words

A second report will be published by Glasgow’s Connectivity Commission in early 2019, which will address actions beyond the powers of Glasgow City Council. We should wait to see what actions are identified that regional and national powers can help with. 

This is still an emerging picture of what change Glasgow needs.

I am more optimistic than ever for the future of Scotland’s urban communities, whether they are in a largely rural area or across the Central Belt. A wide range of stakeholders, led by the Scottish Government is helping more people to choose to walk and cycle, to live more healthy lives and delivering better places for people to spend their time. But we need this renewed interest in changing our places for the better to deliver ambitious actions and bold results.

What really matters now is what our local authorities do with the findings of reports and consultations. This affects Edinburgh as it develops its plans based on its consultation just as much as Glasgow as it waits for the second part of the Commission’ reporting. It is actions that deliver the cities and places that people want, not just words.

• Cycling in cities
• Policy
• Public transport

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Cycle training gave me confidence to commute to work by bike

Cary Thompson enjoys cycling to work after completing on-road cycle training with Sustrans

Cycling on the Comber Greenway, National Cycle Network Route 99

Cycle training session in Belfast

Cary Thompson recently took part in Sustrans cycle training so he could be more confident commuting to work by bike.

This was provided at the Active Travel Hub in East Belfast as part of the CHIPS programme. He was so pleased with the training that he wanted to write a blog to encourage other potential cycling commuters. Here’s what he wrote: 

Sustrans training for commuting by bike to work was practical, easy to digest and fun. For someone who hadn’t undertaken formal cycle training since Cycling Proficiency at primary school, it was a revelation. This wasn’t learning to cycle in a playground, National Standard training takes you out on the road.

Staying safe is the main aim​

No more wobbling shakily in and out of cones while trying to indicate right. Instead, we started with the A (Air), B (Brakes) and C (Chain) of your bike before moving on to how to do an emergency stop.

Don’t worry about back brake before front brake, just be prepared to brake and keep your weight over the saddle to minimise the chances of a skid. When out on the road gone was that theoretical 18 inches out from the pavement that could still have you bumping across gratings and continually indicating to pull out around parked cars.

“ The training has given me a level of confidence to cycle on the road which I haven’t had since my twenties but this time for good reason. ”

- Cary Thompson

Instead it was focused on keeping cyclists as safe as possible at all times. We were introduced to “shared” space and “controlled” space cycling. They are what they say. The former is when you are on the road, comfortably out from pavements, parked cars and other road obstructions and drivers can both see you and pass you with care. The latter is when you, to be safe, need to control the lane or side of the road you are in, for instance to turn right. Be clear in your movements, be decisive and be where drivers are going to see you.

The training has given me a level of confidence to cycle on the road which I haven’t had since my twenties but this time for good reason. Certainly, enough to make me want to commute to work in the centre of town.

I weighed up the various pros and cons to commuting on different modes of transport:

• Driving - slow and expensive.
• Bus: better thanks to the Glider but still relatively slow, can feel like being on the tube in London and still about £65-£70 a month.
• Walking: just way too far from my home to work.
• Cycling: I have always enjoyed cycling but how long would it take and what about all those really busy roads and being seen at night.

Route-planning guidance

As part of the Sustrans training we looked at potential routes into town using a combination of shared use paths, cycle routes and lesser used roads. Whichever part of town you are commuting from you are faced with three issues: (i) avoiding busy major arterial routes into town; (ii) cycling in the town centre; and (iii) the uphill cycle on the way home.

Coming from East Belfast you are also faced with the need to get across the River Lagan. Fortunately, in the east we have two excellent shared use paths the Comber Greenway (National Cycle Network Route 99) and the Connswater Community Greenway which bring you into the Titanic Quarter. So the first part of route planning was pretty easy, looking at which one was closest and easiest to get onto from my home (in my case the Comber Greenway). This route via Titanic Quarter opened up the prospect of using the Lagan Weir Bridge and joining the Lagan towpath cycleway (National Cycle Network Route 9) on the other bank of the river avoiding arterial routes completely and solving the bridge problem.

But what about cycling in town? As I wanted to get to Great Victoria Street I discovered I could continue along the Lagan towpath to the Gasworks and then onto the road at Ormeau Avenue, and then a series of less busy streets until my final destination. So that solved the cycling in town centre problem.

My last challenge was the uphill cycle on the way home, but I found that my bike gears solved this issue. I’ve found my commute home helps me to release the day’s frustrations either through putting my head down and pedalling hard or enjoying the environment as I meander home. Thanks to the Sustrans trainer’s up-to-date knowledge, I now have a much more direct route using a new cycle path from Titanic Halt to Queens Bridge using Middlepath Street.

In conclusion, cycling really is fun, much quicker than walking, driving or taking the bus. I’ve found some new cycling kit which means you can be warm, dry and visible, and if there is a torrential downpour all day there is still the Glider option.

Just on the lights, they are great, throw away your Ever Ready batteries (responsibly of course) and stock up with good quality chargeable lights. Finally, if you want to get some exercise but can’t find the time, commuting to work by bike is a great option. Hope to see you on the Greenway sometime!

Find out more about on-road cycle training in Northern Ireland

Find out more about the CHIPS programme in east Belfast

• Bike Life
• Commuting
• Cycling
• Cycling in cities
• Workplaces

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Sustrans budget focus: Investing in active travel part 3: New First Minister to set Wales’ future direction for years to come

In the third blog in our budget focus series, Steve Brooks, Sustrans Director for Wales, discusses how decisions taken in Wales this month will influence the future of the Nation.

It’s perhaps a cliché to say that politics in Wales is at a crossroads, but decisions taken this month will have a huge bearing on Wales’ direction of travel throughout much of the 2020s.

The Welsh Labour party will shortly elect a new leader, someone who is likely to be appointed as First Minister. While he or she will lead a government midway through delivering a programme of government, there is a huge opportunity to strike a more radical path on sustainable development and transport in particular. 

Despite landmark legislation like the Active Travel Act and the Well-being of Future Generations Act, Wales has still too little on the ground change to show.

Earlier this year, I warned Assembly Members that in transport, like many other subject areas, Wales was facing a ‘delivery gap’. Laudable national policy is not being translated into practice. This is in part down to funding, but it is also about leadership. It is about the Welsh Government demanding and enabling its delivery partners, like local government and Transport for Wales, to raise the quality of what is being done in Wales. 

The new First Minister will have to make some ‘machinery of government’ changes.

Transport, as a portfolio, has generally sat in two departments. Under Rhodri Morgan transport was often part of a wider environment brief, often including planning and sustainability. Under Carwyn Jones, transport has largely sat within the wider economy brief.

Neither is right or wrong, but it is essential that the new government gives proper airtime to transport. That might be a below cabinet level minister taking charge of the issue reporting into a cabinet secretary for the economy or the environment. Top of the in-tray for the new minister should be implementing the recommendations of the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee inquiry into the implementation of the Active Travel Act [1].

In the new year, Sustrans Cymru will publish a report outlining how the government can, on a very practical level, take these welcome recommendations forward.

Another subject will occupy the mind of the next Transport Minister, and that is the M4 relief road. 

At the time of writing, Assembly Members will approve or reject the proposal this month.  Earlier this autumn, Sustrans worked with the Commissioner for Future Generations Sophie Howe [2] to model how the £1.4billion earmarked for the road could be better spent to solve Newport and the Southeast’s transport woes in a way that didn’t harm the environment and life chances of future generations.

Unsurprisingly, Sustrans is strongly opposed to the relief road, and I hope Assembly Members reject the plan. But if that were to happen, we cannot repeat the mistake of the then transport minister Ieaun Wyn Jones who rejected the scheme last time it was considered in 2009. Whilst the CBI’s prescription to South Wales’ transport woes is wrong, their diagnosis – that congestion is hurting Wales, is the right one. If Assembly Members reject the M4, an independent task and finish group should be commissioned to identify what measures the new government should adopt to solve congestion, expand public transport and active travel. 

Lastly, the small issue of the Welsh Government’s budget will be decided in December. In many ways, this is a season finale. This will be the last Welsh Government budget before the new UK Comprehensive Spending Review kicks off in the New Year, and probably the last budget before Brexit.

As Sustrans detailed in our evidence to the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee earlier this year, Wales has historically underfunded walking and cycling. Thanks to in-year increases and new money from the Wales Infrastructure Investment Plan, Wales is now starting to spend at the lower end of what is needed. And whilst turning the funding tap on is welcome, the new minister must ensure that the plumbing is in working order to handle this. 

Whilst we still need to increase capital spending to bring Wales closer to Scottish levels of spending, additional revenue money needs to be allocated too. This revenue money will help address the lack of staff capacity within local authorities, provide crucial money for maintaining what has previously been built, and invest in ‘softer’ behaviour change measures like Sustrans’ Active Journey’s schools programme, which encourages people to walk and cycle more.

[1] http://www.assembly.wales/laid%20documents/cr-ld11566-r/cr-ld11566-r-e.pdf

[2] https://futuregenerations.wales/news/future-generations-commissioner-for-wales-calls-on-welsh-government-to-be-brave-in-its-investment-on-transport-as-new-report-shows-lack-of-ambition-in-m4-black-route-proposal/

Don’t miss the other blogs in the three-part series:

Sustrans budget focus: Investing in active travel part 1: Active travel in rural areas by Councillor Ellen ap Gwynn

Sustrans budget focus: Investing in active travel part 2: An active metro by Councillor Caro Wild

• Cycling in cities
• Policy
• Walking

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