THE report of death threats to East Dunbartonshire Council employees over the proposed extension of the Bear’s Way cycle route linking Milngavie and Bearsden to Glasgow, while probably exaggerated, leaves me unhappy about the mindset of some vehicle drivers (“Death threat to council staff after dispute over cycle lane”, The Herald, November 24). It is a fact of life that there will only ever be a finite amount of road space and all users must share. It has always been thus. Unfortunately since the inception of the motor vehicle, non-motorised traffic has been marginalised and effectively pushed off the roads. This has been to the great convenience to those who seek only to travel fast and with no care for the landscape they pass through, but to the great detriment to the environment, both in the global sense via CO2 emissions, and in the local sense in terms of danger to vulnerable road users, noise and congestion.
It is now the 21st century and we know better. We cannot bury our heads in the sand and embrace only the benefits of motor traffic while ignoring its problems. Happily our local authorities are now taking this on board, small steps at first, and are beginning to acknowledge that non-motorised traffic has a right to not just being on the road, but being there safely without the risks inherent in sharing the route with careless vehicle drivers.
The initial section of the Bear’s Way may not be perfect but it is a good start to turning the tide towards making cycling once more an attractive option. I look forward to its extension. Similarly, I foresee that safe and continuous cycleways will be constructed along other major thoroughfares to give people the option of travelling easily, cheaply, cleanly and safely. Vehicle drivers, please remember what your Mum used to say to you when you were playing with your friends: “B nice now, you have to share”. She was right then and she is right now.
Beob Downie,
66 Mansewood Road, Glasgow.
AS Glasgow City Council is now intent on allowing cyclists to share a number of footpaths with pedestrians (Old Castle Road and Barrhead Road to identify only two) it is imperative in order to protect pedestrians that all cyclists now have liability insurance together with a high visibility jacket displaying a registration number similar to that of a motor vehicle, in order to identify them in the case of an accident.
The cycles should also be required to be ridden at a speed of no more than three miles an hour on the outside of the footpath, and have a light and bell or similar audible alarm together with mirrors, as in my experience cyclists always think that they have preference on the footpath and tend to cycle at excessive speed and be abusive if pedestrians do not move out of their way fast enough, or if in collision with a pedestrian quickly ride off to escape the consequences.
William Sharp,
1/5 Victoria Mansions, 5 Old Castle Gardens, Glasgow.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel