We are all set to have Pedal on Parliament in Edinburgh and Inverness (and hopefully also Aberdeen) this year on the 28th April, once again highlighting to politicians how important active travel is to the future wellbeing of Scotland! Oh, and hopefully having a great family day out as well!

POP Glasgow
POP in Glasgow in 2017 by Calum on Flickr

Last year, we had a fantastic demonstration in Glasgow attended by well over 1000 people on bikes. We had hoped to build on that great success this year but, due to circumstances outside our control, we will not be holding a PoP Glasgow demonstration this year.

Glasgow City Council policy requires that they charge for road closures and other costs associated with demonstrations. Last year Glasgow’s PoP almost didn’t happen because of this, until a last minute reprieve let us go ahead. We’ve been in discussions with Glasgow City Council this year to determine if this was possible again but, unfortunately, it was not.** We should stress that this is not the fault of the current administration and we would like to thank them for their efforts in working with us to try and find a way to keep the costs down.

The Glasgow PoP team thought long and hard and agreed that focusing on the Scottish Parliament is the best place for our resources and efforts right now. We encourage Glasgow PoP supporters to make their way through to Edinburgh (or up to Aberdeen or Inverness!) on April 28th to make the West of Scotland’s voice heard. This gives us a chance to make the impact at Parliament even bigger this year!

Marchers in Edinburgh last year
You can still join us in Edinburgh … Photo by Paul Graham Morris

Just because PoP is not happening in Glasgow does not mean nothing is happening in Glasgow, though; quite the opposite! GoBike has been expanding its campaigning work in Glasgow and surrounding areas and would really benefit from your input, help and support – join GoBike as a member here. Recently, two members of the Glasgow PoP team, David Brennan and Iona Shepherd, took on the roles of GoBike Conveners.

GoBike is helping to run a campaigner’s workshop in March, helping to coordinate the ‘Insert Loved One Here’ (#iloh) campaign, supporting local campaign groups such as Friends of Bearsway and Friends of South City Way, and starting a new monthly consultations digest.

The current focus of GoBike is on proposals for Byres Road and, in collaboration with Space4people Byres Road, they have been working for a people-friendly Byres Road. Keep an eye on their website and follow them on Twitter @PeopleByresRoad! A bike ride and walk on Byres Road is planned for 2.15pm on Sunday 25th February and will be followed by a public meeting with local councillors. Meet at the Riverside Museum for the bike ride and Nam-Tuk near Partick Cross for the walk.

Although there won’t be a PoP Glasgow this year, with GoBike’s help and your help we will continue to push hard to make Glasgow and the surrounding areas cycle-friendly.

Keep tabs on what’s happening and plan your trip to Pedal on Parliament in Edinburgh or Inverness (or maybe even Aberdeen) on the 28th April at the Facebook page, website or Twitter feed.

** There is some good news for future years; Glasgow City Council have started a review of Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders with the aim of making friendly demonstrations like PoP and community-led road closures easier in the future. Who knows, perhaps this will lead to city centre traffic free days in the future? Something we can all encourage the council to do!

Why Glasgow won’t be going to PoP