GoBike February Ride, the Good, the Bad and the Downright Ugly!

Ten of us set off this Sunday morning and cycled the intricate route shown on the map above, and what a variety of infrastructure we saw.

We cycled along Kelvin Way, which we hope will remain as an active travel route, we made our way over University Avenue – very disappointing that despite GoBike’s campaigning we didn’t get cycle lanes there and then on to Byres Road. This is work in progress, but we cycled along the new lanes, where we could.

Then it was on to Highburgh Road and Clarence Drive, both, along with University Avenue, part of the “Colleges Cycle Route”, once our City Council’s flagship route. Highburgh Road still has a faint green cycle lane painted on but it’s too narrow and too close to the parked cars to be practical. Presumably, for the safety of people cycling, bollards have been put in down Clarence Drive, but the cycle lane remaining is so, so narrow.

We entered Kelvinside and then Kirklee, where the roads are wider, though still with so many parked cars and on to Doune Gardens, blocked off to through motor traffic (so handy for parking the car!) but with cycle filter gaps. Great! But there were not wide enough for a tricycle or cargo bike – so tricky if taking the wee ones to school or nursery on a bike.

Next place of interest was Garscube Road with its newish cycle lanes and we safely negotiated the right turn into St George’s Road, for the start of what will be a cycle lane right down to Charing Cross – but not yet.
At Charing Cross we made our way across the almost-finished junction and on to the pleasant Sauchiehall Street cycle lanes.
Cambridge Street is looking good, but again not yet finished.

Why, oh why have chicanes been put into the route under the M8? How awkward they are, but we got through and struggled up the zig-zag path to the canal and a short break at Speirs Wharf

Next it was on to the superb cycle lanes on Pinkston Road, before pressing on to the smart new bridge over the M8 and down to cross Baird Street and through Townhead to North Hanover Street.

A surprise awaited us in George Square – no, there are no cycle lanes yet, but there was a dragon! A belated celebration of the Chinese New Year on 29 January.

We continued south to the curious lanes on King Street and Bridgegate, eventually getting through the traffic lights at the Clutha junction and cycled south on the South City Way, which is a useful route before turning left just after the Citizen’s to get to the rather poor and dilapidated cycle lane along the south side of the Clyde.

The Suspension Bridge brought us back over the Clyde into Glasgow Green from where we cycled west to the George V Bridge. The shared path on the eastern side of the bridge is adequate – though there has been a recent consultation about the bridge so cycle provision might improve.
We made our way along the cycle lanes, which are good, to the Kingston Bridge, crossing under the bridge and making our way to what just couldn’t be worse – the Kinning Park Footbridge – see the photo at the top!
Fortunately there’s another bridge not too far along, which we used before crossing over Paisley Road west and on to the cycle lane round Festival Park which was littered with debris from Storm Eowyn. Then it was over the Clyde Arc Bridge to end our ride.

Conclusion: some good, some not so good, and some just not good enough.

PS: the group photo is so good, I put it in twice!