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glasgowbender

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In addition, we need a Central Belt Ticket which covers, well, the belt region. by glasgowbender (Wed 5th Jun 2019 10:07am)

I also clearly support parking charges on Sundays -- it is what any other city the size of Glasgow has. But I also agree that this measure would find much more acceptance if public transport, e.g. subway hours, would be extended at the same time. Stopping subway operation Sundays at 6 is ridiculous and really embarrassing. That's likewise unheard of for a city the size of Glasgow. Is there stil a reason for not running it later? Is it still maintenance reasons? This is from an old thread discussing this: [https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/2qkc8u/why\_does\_the\_subway\_finish\_at\_18h\_of\_a\_sunday/](https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/2qkc8u/why_does_the_subway_finish_at_18h_of_a_sunday/) It would be wise if GCC would communicate what is done to ramp up public transport on Sundays at the same time... by glasgowbender (Thu 20th Jun 2019 7:54pm)

Locavore on Victoria Road/Govanhill by glasgowbender (Thu 11th Jul 2019 11:22pm)

German checking in. There's a shop on Victoria Road in Govanhill near Queen's Park (on the left hand side of the road when you head towards Queen's Park) -- excellent guy and great selection. Also a "Wee Beer Shop" towards Shawlands, then a good keytore on Cathcart Road in Mt. Florida.. Just if you're in the South! Further note, I find the Scottish beers just incredibly good. When I come home to Germany I'm mostly very bored about the selection they have there! Nevertheless, my advice regarding taste of German beers which you may get here is North: Jever Pils (bitter & hoppy, in a good way), haven't seen it over here South: Andechser Helles, Augustiner Helles (have seen it over here), maybe Rothaus Tannenzäpfle (have seen it over here but I'm not really a big fan, it may be overhyped but maybe just not my taste) Aside from shops, I think West is great: stuff like their GPA and the red one they have really lives up to amalgamate the Scottish & German taste I think &#x200B; Cheers! by glasgowbender (Thu 11th Jul 2019 11:20pm)

Thanks for all your comments! Very interesting. I guess the fact that Gourock, New Cumnock, Stonehaven can survive with heated water still at modest ticket prices shows that it is possible. Pity that there are none closer to Glasgow, and thanks for the heads up re: David Lloyd club pools, the West End one looks beautiful. Would be cool if there was a public pool with outdoor area better than Bellahouston, I've seen nice solutions with an outdoor pool area linked to an indoor one where you can just swim out, or those with retractable roofs.. Probably a supply and demand thing. by glasgowbender (Sat 13th Jul 2019 7:26am)

Currently not such a pleasant thought at least downstream the weir. There are great plans for approachable water including relocation of the weir to further downstream, though: [https://glasgow.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=45486&p=0](https://glasgow.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=45486&p=0) That should provide much cleaner water, and what's maybe more, it would provide a much more constant water level so that the banks won't collapse during tides.. I hope they'll do it! by glasgowbender (Sat 13th Jul 2019 7:34am)

Seems like there once were plenty open air pools around Scotland: [https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12053339.a-swim-against-the-tide/](https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12053339.a-swim-against-the-tide/) Some of them magnificent.. by glasgowbender (Wed 14th Aug 2019 8:55pm)

I agree. It is simply breathtaking to see them disappear one by one. Any of those buildings would be a centrepiece in most other cities. It is a shame. While there a good examples of restauration, I agree the council/Scotland is not doing enough to save the buildings and the priorities are not right. Also, it seems a bit that there is not sufficient consistency between the consultations. For example, one of the previous key recommendations was to relocate the Clyde weir to downstream so that a "river park" and "accessible river" and "approachable waterfront" can improve the attractivity of the city for everyone: [https://glasgow.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=45486&p=0](https://glasgow.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=45486&p=0) (y)our st. enoch - Glasgow City Council report .pdf and [https://www.glasgowconsult.co.uk/UploadedFiles/River%20Corridor%20Strategic%20Development%20Framework%20-%20Draft%20November%202018.pdf](https://www.glasgowconsult.co.uk/UploadedFiles/River%20Corridor%20Strategic%20Development%20Framework%20-%20Draft%20November%202018.pdf) What came out of these plans? It seems that the current image: [https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/new-image-shows-how-river-17016156](https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/new-image-shows-how-river-17016156) has nothing to do with this, on the contrary, it seems like one would plan to slam a range of new buildings in there which would make an "approachable waterfront" completely impossible? I'd say get the weir relocation done, then fix the waterfront. As long as the ocean pours in with the tide there won't be clean river water in central Glasgow anyway. by glasgowbender (Thu 3rd Oct 2019 1:22pm)

It is coming, but I agree extremely annoyingly slowly. The low emission zone is also useful. But I agree, I would like it to be much more radical. Car-free superblocks as in e.g. Barcelona are now under discussion. Just do it -- it does not cost a lot of money at all. Add parklets such as [https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/about-us/our-work-in-action/campaigning-for-parklets](https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/about-us/our-work-in-action/campaigning-for-parklets) and you should have fantastic urban areas in no time. Re-popularization of the city will follow immediately, automatically. I'd bet that the prime reason the city is still dramatically underpopulated compared to other metropolitan city centres is that it is too much traffic, noise and pollution. Now also remove the stupid drinking ban outside and relax connected laws and you'll soon have a city centre more attractive than e.g. Berlin in its heydays... by glasgowbender (Thu 3rd Oct 2019 7:21pm)

Are there any pathways to restore such buildings via EU funds? Sincere question, there are funds for cultural heritage preservation including buildings: [https://icon.org.uk/news/eu-funding-of-historic-environment-in-england-and-scotland-tops-ps486-million](https://icon.org.uk/news/eu-funding-of-historic-environment-in-england-and-scotland-tops-ps486-million) Is Glasgow profitting from this? Hard to imagine there is a stronger case for this, The Lion Chambers building probably being a prime example? by glasgowbender (Sun 20th Oct 2019 10:57pm)

Are there any plans to ditch the drinking byelaw completely? Or to allow it in certain districts, e.g. Barras? Or to soften the rules which apply to drinking your pint in front of the pub? It is just stupid that you can't drink your pint in front of the pub in the sun for a while if there's not a heavily regulated designated outside area.. In other cities this is dealt with much more relaxed.. Although it is great weather today, I am not particularly keen on drinking pints outside after 6pm today, but rather would fancy being able to drink outside in the summer without being forced to break the law.. After all, afaik the byelaws were introduced to combat (alcohol-related) crime in the city as result of economic crisis. Since then, crime has substantially reduced and the city now leads economic growth even stronger than Edinburgh. Surely being able to drink a pint or two outside would not bring back razor gangs? by glasgowbender (Tue 31st Dec 2019 12:10pm)

Ffs! This is the petition which y'all should sign: [https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/time-to-take-back-our-buses](https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/time-to-take-back-our-buses) I agree with comments made in the glasgowtimes article: The public subsidizes them by "Diesel fuel rebate , bus shelters and bus lanes paid for by Government funded SPT , Concession cards used by about 60% of passengers funded by Government"... However, these investments into public transport are on the other hand great things, in principle - but as long as private companies such as First just use these public investments to generate more profit for them.. A terrible situation. What to do? Even if they would be forced e.g. to invest bus shelters, or switch to electric buses etc. -- they would probably only increase fares! By the way, what does this mean for an integrated ticketing system like in basically every metropolitan area in the world? Damn... I think one should make life as hard as possible for First, e.g. by forcing them to accept a \_council-controlled\_ city wide integrated ticketing system and e.g. monthly tickets with prices set by the council. If profits then are decreased below a certain threshold, they will move out of Glasgow and the city can then fully operate the bus system.. by glasgowbender (Fri 24th Jan 2020 8:29pm)

Please do not use .amp links. This gives google & Co. further market dominance and weakens e.g. Glasgowlive: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerated\_Mobile\_Pages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerated_Mobile_Pages) (See "General criticsm" section) This is the direct link to the article: [https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/to-be-agreed-this-week-17610334](https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/to-be-agreed-this-week-17610334) by glasgowbender (Fri 24th Jan 2020 8:36pm)

" Sign-only [**20mph**](https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/) limits can be “introduced at one sixth of the cost of traditional zones with traffic calming”. The estimated cost is £4.35m. " Why not save £4.35m and just make it a city-wide rule?? Tehn you would not need these signs at every next street.. I addition to costs (and costs of maintenance), there are too many signs around already anyway.. by glasgowbender (Fri 24th Jan 2020 8:41pm)

I think you had it quite right here: &#x200B; >And on the last point I think they mean creating an environment that promotes social interaction for the non-drivers by giving them a safer and calmer situation that what they have currently, but it feels more like a statement that isn’t particularly wrong than an obviously correct one. I think also indeed interaction between drivers would profit: increased eye contact, e.g. indicating to pedestrians that it's safe to cross for them -- all of this is not possible if the car just bombs by as a deadly bullet at higher speed. All in all, a much calmer and friendlier, less stressful atmosphere. Very nice other points you made by the way in your response, and a friendly style! Great. by glasgowbender (Sat 25th Jan 2020 10:42am)

Interesting points, thanks! What is the difference with Lothian Buses, and what would you suggest precisely should be regulated with First? And what does the continuing presence of First mean for plans for an integrated ticketing system? Would a first step not be to force First into recognizing SPT zonecards [http://www.spt.co.uk/travelcards/zonecard/](http://www.spt.co.uk/travelcards/zonecard/) ? Maybe there already have been negotiations, but no agreement about share of costs and revenues could be found? by glasgowbender (Sat 25th Jan 2020 11:37am)

The traffic lights are ridiculous at many locations.. What I would like to see implemented is higher pedestrian priority at on-demand lights! Currently, when you press the "beg button" typically the whole traffic light cycle just continues and you wait for ages in the noise and dirt of the cars thundering by. You should not have to press a "bed button", and if you have, at least there should be a green phase for the begging pedestrian immediately after the current movement phase. Here's an interesting discussion on this: [http://theconversation.com/how-traffic-signals-favour-cars-and-discourage-walking-92675](http://theconversation.com/how-traffic-signals-favour-cars-and-discourage-walking-92675) by glasgowbender (Sat 25th Jan 2020 10:07pm)

Aye, unfortunately it is.. Or rather, unfortunately it is not the other way around! by glasgowbender (Sun 26th Jan 2020 10:19am)

That would be good. However, unfortunately, the thing with green space seems always to be that on planning documents and artist impressions the amount of green looks much better than later in reality. The south city way, for example on Victoria Road, has a shockingly poor amount of greenery so far.. Same for Sauchiehall avenue, disappointing.. For George Square, the council should aim to make a statement for the Dear Green Place! A masterplan for living up to the Dear Green Place name should be come up with anyway. If you come into Glasgow, a visitor should think "this city really lives up to its name" rather then: "Oh, quite a lot of car traffic, and instead of greenery Argyle Street has -- ouch, weird metal trees instead of real ones??" by glasgowbender (Sun 26th Jan 2020 10:29am)

Yes, away with those Diesel monsters -- loud and toxic. Also, regulate the hell out of First. by glasgowbender (Sun 26th Jan 2020 11:05am)

You will still have the A814, plus in parallel Castlebank Street on the Clyde side, and B808 on Partick side as a divider. A814 is up to \~6 lanes, Castlebank St up to 8 (sic!) lanes, B808 2-3 lanes or so. The whole thing is basically a large motorway interchange. The 'lifestyle outlet' itself? Looks generic and very unspectacular. But yes, the bridge across the Clyde will be a game-changer for Govan.. Wait a minute, "...delivery of a new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the River Kelvin.” Does this imply the Clyde bridge will be for cars??? The previous article on re:Glasgow speaks of "1300 car parking spaces will be provided" -- what?? Yeah bring on more cars, that's what we need. by glasgowbender (Tue 28th Jan 2020 5:13pm)

Ah -- Govan-Partick bridge across the *Clyde* will also be exclusively cycle & pedestrian? Thank god.. The Kelvin bridge certainly is a good thing anway.. You mean the 1300 car spaces could potentially be used for park&ride into the city e.g. by Glasgow visitors coming from the west? That could be great indeed (for the city centre), locally not so sure. by glasgowbender (Tue 28th Jan 2020 5:51pm)

You can, but convenient not so much, is it? The Clyde bridge will be super, but the crossing of the expressway is another highly annoying obstacle. In particular because it is not only the expressway but also Castlebank Street -- could you not merge them into a single street to reduce traffic into the city, M8 etc.? The expressway is nearly as bad as the M8 wrapped through the city centre.. by glasgowbender (Tue 28th Jan 2020 6:53pm)

Hmm, on which side of the Kelvin will the Partick-Govan bridge actually be located? Here it looks like it would be on the Riverside museum side, and fancily rotatable to let ships pass: [http://glasgowwestend.today/2019/01/30/partick-govan-bridge-unveiled/](http://glasgowwestend.today/2019/01/30/partick-govan-bridge-unveiled/) But here now, it is pictured on the 'lifestyle outlet' side and seems to be static: [https://reglasgow.com/decision-due-on-glasgow-riverside-lifestyle-outlet-with-120-shops-cinema-and-gym/](https://reglasgow.com/decision-due-on-glasgow-riverside-lifestyle-outlet-with-120-shops-cinema-and-gym/) ? by glasgowbender (Tue 28th Jan 2020 7:51pm)

A well-earned success indeed. Unfortunately, 2020 is a leap year.. by glasgowbender (Fri 31st Jan 2020 7:29pm)

The maintenance explanation for short running hours is always given: [https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/2qkc8u/why\_does\_the\_subway\_finish\_at\_18h\_of\_a\_sunday/](https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/2qkc8u/why_does_the_subway_finish_at_18h_of_a_sunday/) but I don't fully understand it. Are they doing maintenance each Sunday after 1800? And each night after 11:30? by glasgowbender (Wed 12th Feb 2020 8:31pm)

Does it? One would assume the councillor and MSP would be aware of the problems, and the desire for better public transport. Not sure it is an effective way to individually write to them redundant things -- aren't e.g. reddit and glasgowgetmoving more efficient to facilitate discussion and potentially come up with hive mind solutions? I think public pressure and visibility is needed.. by glasgowbender (Wed 12th Feb 2020 9:18pm)

That's insane. I've been doing my allotted exercise in Pollok Park yesterday, but it was completely ruined by the helicopter flying around for hours -- because four people have "assembled"?? I'm all for limiting spreading and impact of the virus but sense of proportion is completely lost here. [https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/lockdown-rule-breakers-slapped-anti-21762216](https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/lockdown-rule-breakers-slapped-anti-21762216) by glasgowbender (Fri 27th Mar 2020 10:44am)

These four will just meet inside a small flat then, don't you think? This is nothing but an excess of the surveillance state. Annoying to see this in Scotland. by glasgowbender (Fri 27th Mar 2020 11:27am)

Because it is not cost-effective. The effort and impact of this excercise, and the resources bound in the process, far outweigh the benefits, if any. What did this operation cost, same as a ventilator and a lot of Covid-19 tests? I doubt the personnel engaged in this operation would otherwise not have anything useful to do. Collateral damage of this excess is that acceptance of measures in the wider population is compromised. There may be some cunts who need it to be scared to stay at home, but I think a larger part of the population will see this as the opposite of common sense. by glasgowbender (Fri 27th Mar 2020 11:35am)

You're implying that the only alternative to flying around in that copter would be driving around aimlessly? I'm hoping you would agree that police is not so desperate for finding something to do. Fair point that the running costs of the capability of having the helicopter and support facilities is there anyway regardless of this particular mission, but the particular operation itself was not for free. If the four people aggregating is the biggest violation against the lockdown measures that the helicopter has found that I'd say we're in pretty good shape. Come on.. by glasgowbender (Fri 27th Mar 2020 11:57am)

If indeed they instead would meet inside a flat then the probability of spreading the virus is much higher than meeting out in the open air. by glasgowbender (Fri 27th Mar 2020 12:03pm)

You're assumption that it would have taken no more than a few minutes is wrong. I've been around in the park at the time, it was easily more than an hour circling around. by glasgowbender (Fri 27th Mar 2020 12:01pm)

Then why did this catch make it the big news? by glasgowbender (Fri 27th Mar 2020 12:12pm)

You know what would be more helpful in the current situation? A Thank You from the police to the population: "Thank you cunts all. We even had a heli sent across Glasgow and all it has seen is four cunts closer than 2 metres for a while in Pollok Park! Please continue to follow the advice to limit spreading of the virus in such a spendid way. We'll now move on continue to be of service to help where we can in this difficult time." You know, re-assuring and helping the elderly etc. by glasgowbender (Fri 27th Mar 2020 12:10pm)

Then why did the catch of these 4 make it the big news? by glasgowbender (Fri 27th Mar 2020 3:06pm)

Maybe better to agree to disagree at this point. Btw., as you can see your language has been coming across as patronizing -- "proof positive that a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing" indeed is condescending language. Implying you are the one who has thought something fully through whereas others have not is probably not the best strategy to win an argument and persuade someone of your opinion. And by the way, as far as I can see in this thread so far, it is rather your assumptions and statements which have been refuted... I fully understand the idea that the message that the lockdown measures are enforced is more important than the fines here, but this does not change that this operation has been over the top. Had there been 20 folks gathering or so -- different story (I'm sure you know how exponential growth goes), but four people? That's a meager output if this is the major success of the air unit over the last days which it seems to be if you look at their twitter account. by glasgowbender (Fri 27th Mar 2020 3:49pm)

George Square used to be nice! by glasgowbender (Fri 27th Mar 2020 4:07pm)

That would be great. Any idea if South Seeds succeeded or what the response of GCC was? by glasgowbender (Sun 12th Apr 2020 9:14am)

I knew this magnificent heritage building would hide a fantastic story, thanks for sharing! by glasgowbender (Sun 12th Apr 2020 12:45pm)

Here's a link with more details on how to apply: [https://www.sustrans.org.uk/our-blog/projects/2020/scotland/spaces-for-people-making-essential-travel-and-exercise-safer-during-coronavirus/](https://www.sustrans.org.uk/our-blog/projects/2020/scotland/spaces-for-people-making-essential-travel-and-exercise-safer-during-coronavirus/) In addition to getting in touch with councillors you can also add suggestions here: [https://streetsforallglasgow.commonplace.is/](https://streetsforallglasgow.commonplace.is/) and a useful hashtag is #SpaceForDistancing by glasgowbender (Fri 1st May 2020 1:17pm)

You are not saying that you have never seen a pedestrian walk over a red light, do you? Pedestrians do it frequently, cyclists sometimes, cars hopefully never. This is quite logical as pedestrians and cyclists have much better, and unobstructed sight of the traffic situation, while in cars you have a strongly obstructed view, because pedestrians and cyclists are much slower than cars, and finally have much less mass and can't kill so easily as a car. For bicycles, in addition, there is a constant danger of life because of car traffic, hence the desire to go anti-cyclic instead of being hunted down the road by angry cars as soon as the light is green is very understandable. I.e. go over red as long as it surely does not endager anyone, then drive the next section until the next light on empty street instead of being chased by cars. Helps the cyclist, and the car drivers probably are also happy if there's not a slow cyclists in front of them -- only they typically are not aware of this by glasgowbender (Fri 1st May 2020 1:27pm)

Indeed, we should encourage councillors and organizations such as gobike and sustrans as much as we can in order to motivate them to do more. That said, I also totally agree, no idea why it apparently is not possible to get an experienced cycle comissioner over from the Netherlands or Kopenhagen for a visit to give advice. It seems like the UK councils unnecessarily try to reinvent the wheel [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjLZv3Y0CWM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjLZv3Y0CWM) by glasgowbender (Fri 1st May 2020 1:39pm)

Not sure if it had been shared here before, but GCC has received millions of funding from the Spaces For People programme and asks you for ideas on how to spend it: [https://twitter.com/GlasgowCC/status/1271393078377578497](https://twitter.com/GlasgowCC/status/1271393078377578497) You could (and should) comment and agree with other comments on the Commonplace map, as this will be important to get further millions in from Sustrans! by glasgowbender (Wed 17th Jun 2020 12:51pm)

Exactly. The council needs to be more flexible with regard to licensing laws, bureaucracy and costs. E.g. outdoor seating is heavily regulated, costs for outdoor alcohol licenses are high and getting the license in the first place is very difficult. This needs to change by glasgowbender (Sat 4th Jul 2020 10:26pm)