Spaces for People to Improve City Centre Cycle Lane

Published: 15 February 2021

The city centre will soon benefit from enhanced active travel provision with improvements set for a cycle lane on Howard Street later this month.

The existing (advisory), contra-flow cycle lane which runs along this one-way street will soon have soft segregation fitted where possible, between Jamaica Street and Dunlop Street.

The project on Howard Street is part of our Spaces for People programme which is providing additional space for physical distancing whilst out walking, wheeling and cycling during COVID-19. These new measures aim to increase the practicality and attractiveness of active travel for everyday essential journeys, especially commuting, and encourage those who haven't previously considered cycling to give it a go. The installation of soft segregation (Zicla Zebras) at this location will also discourage vehicles from parking in the cycle lane.

Access to designated disabled parking bays, metered parking bays and loading bays on Howard Street will not be affected. Full details of the enhancements to the cycle lane can be found in the programme details area of our website.

Spaces for People

Supported by funding from the Scottish Government and administered by Sustrans Scotland, Spaces for People is seeing temporary infrastructure measures introduced across Glasgow to provide extra space for active travel as COVID-19 restrictions remain in place.

Under the Spaces for People programme, we have added segregation to existing cycle lanes at Clarence Drive and Corkerhill Road. We have also created brand-new temporary pop-up cycle lanes at Clyde Street/Broomielaw, Dumbreck Road, London Road (Phase 1 and Phase 2), Great Western Road (Duntreath Avenue to Lincoln Avenue), Gorbals Street, Cumbernauld Road, Provanmill Road, Bilsland Drive, Hawthorn Street, Kelvin Way, Brockburn Road and Braidcraft Road - with more planned in the coming months.

The pop-up lanes are proving popular, especially on Clyde Street, which has seen a boost in the number of people cycling there by almost 200% compared to 2019.

nextbike Free Cycle Hire Offer

Don't have access to a cycle? Why not consider Glasgow's hugely popular cycle hire scheme? Operated by nextbike on behalf of the council, now is the ideal opportunity to try this popular mode of travel, with a promotional offer of 30 mins free standard hire for every rental.

Until 28 March 2021, for casual users of the scheme, every rental under 30 minutes duration is free of charge, and for existing subscribers, this has been extended to the first 60 minutes of any hire. There is no limit on the number of times the offer can be used by a person. Find out more here.

Implementing Spaces for People Measures

Spaces for People measures are being implemented so that everyone can walk, wheel and cycle around their local area safely whilst keeping to physical distancing requirements.

To manage how our roads are used, the council ordinarily use Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) - a lengthy process that requires public consultation. The Scottish Government has however identified COVID-19 as a danger to the public and as such is one of those circumstances where local authorities can use temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTROs) to introduce temporary measures.

TTROs require no prior consultation and are relatively flexible so there is the potential for the council to assess and put in place temporary measures relatively quickly and responsively.