Glasgow saddles up to be the cycling city of Scotland

Published: 3 March 2016

Glasgow City Council is to invest £6million improving cycling and cycling infrastructure across the city.

The Executive Committee today, Thursday, 3 March, approved the city's Strategic Plan for Cycling 2016-2025 and agreed to commit funding of £2m a year over the next three years on the basis that match funding is sourced from other key stakeholders.

The new strategy, which builds on from the council's 2010 strategy, outlines the council's vision, objectives, targets and actions for increasing levels of cycling for leisure, sport and as a mode of transport.

It aims to enhance the city's cycling infrastructure, increase the provision of safe cycle routes segregated from traffic as well as improving road safety, introduce traffic calming schemes, and develop further safer cycle and walking routes.

Since 2010, considerable achievements have been made with regards to cycling in the city:

• The number of cycling facilities has grown considerably -  from 230km of cycle network in 2010 to 310km to date, to the opening of the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, at Emirates Arena, and Cathkin Braes Mountain Bike Trails
• The number of people cycling has increased 200% since 2007
• Construction of the Connect2 route between the west end and the city centre and the South West City Way - a new segregated cycle route connecting the south side to the city centre

Bailie Elaine McDougall, the council's executive member for transport, environment and sustainability, said: "Cycling has huge health benefits for individuals as well as environmental advantages for the city.

"We are making real progress in promoting and establishing cycling as a healthy and sustainable form of transport and know it is just as important for people of all ages to be able to travel around the city by bike and on foot, conveniently and safely.

"This new strategy outlines our plans to transform Glasgow into the most cycle friendly city in Scotland.  To achieve this will require substantial investment and it is our intention to invest £6m over the next three years if we can get the Scottish Government and other stakeholders to do the same."

In the last five years the council has spent more than £13million on cycling-related initiatives and has installed cycle parking for more than 1000 bikes at locations across the city and continues to install more than 100 spaces every year.

Furthermore, since the launch of Glasgow's Mass Automated Cycle Hire (MACH) scheme in 2014, more than 27, 400 people have registered to use the scheme and it's had 142,857 rentals (figures up to 28 February).

Through the scheme, more than 400 bikes are available for public hire at 43 locations across the city.

For more information on cycling in Glasgow visit www.glasgow.gov.uk/cycling. 

A copy of Glasgow's Strategic Plan for Cycling 2016-2025 approved by the Executive Committee today (Thursday, 3 March) is available here