Changes made during the pandemic to reduce traffic and boost active travel across Glasgow are to be made permanent after winning the public's approval. 

Thousands of people were asked for their views on the Scottish Government's Spaces for People project, which saw pavements widened, pop-up cycle landes added and traffic routes sealed off during lockdown to manage demands on transport and encourage people to exercise.

The public was asked which elements they would like to see retained or scrapped and no city centre measures were recommended for removal including traffic curbs on George Square and the widening of pavements on St Vincent Street.

Figures show the number of people cycling in Glasgow soared by as much as 400% during the pandemic, from 2,440 in October 2019 to 12,211.

The results gleaned from the survey are in stark contrast to Edinburgh, where a majority of the 17,600 responses opposed measures, apart from safety restrictions set up outside schools.

The Herald:

Those taking part in Glasgow's survey, which reached 3,749 people, said they also wanted to see active travel routes including pop-up cycle lanes retained on streets at the Riverside/Broomielaw and on Dumbreck Road, Great Western Road and Clarence Drive.

The Herald:

There was also support to make Kelvin Way's 'people friendly street' permanent and retain a similar change in Dennistoun, Shawlands and Pollockshields East.

However, the public was less enthusiastic about some of the lockdown changes made in areas including Finnieston, where footpaths were widened.

The council said it has received a "significant level of negative feedback" linked to concerns about an area of controlled residential parking.

Those measures will now be scrapped in that part of the city and also in Partick, Shawlands, Bridgeton, Cessnock Parkhead, Tollcross and  Easterhouse.

The widening of pavements resulted in protests in the east of the city by business owners, who said they were proving detrimental to trade.

The Herald:

The council said the Byres Road measures will be replaced by an upcoming  public realm improvement project, which is due to commence on site during spring 2022.

Measures were scored against three core elements: alignment with national and local strategic aims, public opinion of whether measures should be retained or removed and usability statistics from cycle count data.

The assessment criteria was combined to form an overall assessment result which was scored from a maximum available score of 9 for active travel/cycling measures and 6 for the city centre and neighbourhood interventions, along with the remainder of the active travel/cycling measures.

The Herald:

Council officers will now be instructed to retain or remove measures in response to the public consultation.

Around £800,000 funding has been secured from the Scottish Government to progress the plan.

The council said measures on Gordon St were unable to be retained due to the proximity to Central Station.

Councillor Anna Richardson, City Convener for Sustainability and Carbon Reduction said: "Whilst Spaces for People measures were introduced as a practical way to help suppress COVID-19, many of these interventions have the potential to deliver longer term positive outcomes unrelated to the pandemic such as increasing the popularity of active travel which we know improves health and wellbeing, as well as being environmentally friendly."

"I very much welcome this independent review which will be considered by committee next week, and I am pleased to see that many of the measures delivered during the pandemic have been recommended for permanent retention."

Edinburgh City Counci could be forced to overhaul added cycle lanes after thousands of residents told council bosses they oppose the measures.

From the public consultation, only 38% of the public support the council’s protected cycle lanes compared to 56% who oppose them.

Only 37% of people support measures along shopping streets and 35% back leisure connections.

The council said it remains committed to becoming a carbon net zero carbon city by 2030 and cutting the level of in-car commuting across the capital.