The Bears Way

The bears way is an award winning incomplete cycle lane project that was abandoned after phase one. This is part of my commute and cycling on the completed section is a much welcome break from traffic.
This is a perfect example of cycle infrastructure that has been stopped by aggressive campaigning from people who fail to see the long term benefits of protected bike lanes.
Many projects like this have been stopped or reversed by councils all over the uk and beyond and i’m sure every safe cycling campaigner has a local story like this one.
This video took six weeks to complete as it is very close to my heart and is a subject that is very emotional for me.

Public opinion is changing worldwide on this subject. The local government now has to take the brave step to safeguard everyone’s future and complete the Bears way.

I need to thank friends of the bears way for cataloguing a timeline of events and links.
It also has to be noted that some of the online local newspaper articles against this project have mysteriously vanished.

Massive thanks to David Brennan for letting me use the audio and his campaigning for safer roads for everyone who uses them.

Petition to complete the bears way here

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/complete-the-bearsway-project

More people support safer streets in your area. What can you do as a parent to become a local superhero? Set up a bike bus and be part of the magic that’s taking place worldwide.

Information you need to gain superhero status.
Setting up a bike bus links

Glasgow and Scotland
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/899357300897?aff=oddtdtcreator

Home

Scotland
https://cycling.scot/mediaLibrary/other/english/5539.pdf

UK
https://www.sustrans.org.uk/our-blog/get-active/2023/everyday-walking-and-cycling/what-is-a-bike-bus-and-how-can-i-set-one-up

USA

Sam Balto on how to start a bike bus of your own

January 2016

The Challenge

This is the 1st post on friends of the bears way it talks about the initial objections

October 2016 this is the letter in the herald by SNP councillor Keith Small

And what looks like support for the bears way by councillor Maureen Henry (Labour)
https://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/14791773.bears-way-cycle-decision-taken/

There is also a great comment in response to this letter putting all the points into perspective.

September 2016 phase 2 consultation

Phase 2 Consultation

This has the date of that Milngavie town hall “meeting”

This is the link to the councils page and the information and date that they decided not to go ahead with phase 2

https://www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk/bearsway

This is the recording from the actual event

This article is from the Milngavie and Bearsden herald showing support for the bears way

Stop Press! We’re Front Page News

Phase 2 being rejected by councillors 11-12

Phase 2 Setback

Myths about cycle lanes

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2019/jul/03/ten-common-myths-about-bike-lanes-and-why-theyre-wrong

Council election results 2017

https://www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk/news/scottish-council-election-%E2%80%93-east-dunbartonshire-results

Early plans for the Milngavie to Torrance A807 active travel corridor

articles

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2020/07/07/think-of-cycleways-as-priority-lanes-for-ambulances/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2019/jul/03/ten-common-myths-about-bike-lanes-and-why-theyre-wrong

The Clydebank blitz link

https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/learning/features/the-clydebank-blitz-13-15-march-1941

@EastDunCouncil @sustransscot @transportscotland @glasgowcityregion @glasgowcc

this is mgy in the Northwestern edge of Greater Glasgow it has a population of around 14,000 people mgy is a commuter town as much of the population travel to glas to work or study the town is served by m railway station on the North Cay Lane this links it to Central Glasgow mugay is a popular retirement location so has a high amount of elderly people living here the town is a starting point of the West Highland Way longdistance foot path and that runs northwards for 6 mil to the town of Fort William this granite oblisk in the Town Center marks the official starting point to the north of mugay you have Craig M and mugdock reservoirs these crucial pieces of infrastructure store water that flows via two aqueducts from lck cing 30 Mi to the north these were opened by Queen Victoria in 1859 this is glasgow’s main water supply the town Grew From A Country Village in the Parish of n Patrick to a minor industrial center in the 19th century a local Authority housing scheme was built to the west of the Town Center after the second world war to House people from Cay Bank after that area was targeted by a pair of raids on the nights of the 13th and 14th of March 1941 beend is south of Mugi and has an estimated population of over 28,000 the Roman antonine wall runs through the town and the remains of this Roman bath house can be seen here near the town center after the north C Railway Lane was constructed in 1863 this area developed into an affluent suburb of the city of Glasgow the neighborhoods of B’s Dan can be described as follows the Town Center this is also known as B’s Dan Cross and this has a few shops four Church buildings B’s bar Hall and Brookwood Library old B’s Den describes the area of Central and Western B’s den and this area contains some of the most desirable residential areas in the country with its sizable Sandstone Villas westerton is in the southwest and has a conservation area of 1920s buildings around Maxwell Avenue it also has a train station Castle Hill and B Jaffrey are in the Northwest and this area is mostly made up of 1970s developments the name Castle Hill refers to the anonine wall Roman Fort that was in this location Moss head lies to the north of the town and has a boundary with mugay Hill foot lies to the east of the town center and was once a large house that was demolished and built on in the first half of the 20th century kington and killermont cover the remainder of the East section of Bear’s dend roughly divided by a line from BCL Academy to kington Hall this area is served by Eastern bartonshire Council and be Den is the biggest town in the area of Easton bartonshire whose headquarters are based in Kirk and TK in 2014 work started on phase one of the B’s way a bidirectional cycle Lane that would give residents of B’s Dan and M a safe cycling route from M Town Center to the start of the Kelvin way via the a81 this was a groundbreaking project for active travel in Greater Glasgow and a fuss for its kind in Scotland this would create a safe cycling route to the city of Glasgow this project would be an active travel Highway the other routes could Branch out from reaching more households by creating a safe Network for people of all ages to travel on for short everyday Journeys shops schools gyms and Halls these places would be within safe easy reach for everyone without the need to use a car this would also create a safe cycling route to train stations removing the very unnecessary desire to increase car parking at the four stations in m and Bell’s Den as well as creating a safe Passage through mgan B’s Den for non-residents the B’s way would give locals the option of active travel for shorter everyday Journeys in terms of project size a very high volume of people would be positively affected local residents would have an increase in health benefits due to cleaner air less noise pollution and safer streets this type of active travel infrastructure also gives children their independence through freedom of movement reducing the need for things like the school run talking about school runs why isn’t there a bike bus in be’s day noral guy these things are awesome and here are some of the great people of Shan’s bike bus leading away on a cold winter morning for anyone who is interested in starting a bike bus I will provide a link in the description to this site that helps you to get started older people would also benefit from using an active travel route like the Bear’s way as moderate exercise helps to keep people fitter and healthier into the latter years having a route like this one helps everyone achieve this through passive everyday exercise during construction of the first phase a small but vocal group of household and business owners Express vocal opposition using what has always been known in the cycling Community as easily debunked concerns and phrases to try and instill fear into local opinion about the project the Press Amplified and distorted their concerns through adverse stories and their skeptical editorial stance around the same time friends of Bear’s way was created friends of Bear’s way are a group of people who drive in cycle a group of people that support the creation of a safe cycle route for everyday journ this is their website and its main purpose is to Showcase and promote the benefits of the this exciting project and also to document a timeline of events relating to the Bear’s way this site also easily debunks the myths and concerns that the objectors had been spreading through what was turning into an aggressive campaign from the objector side I will provide a link to this website in the description as if it wasn’t for this fantastic resource this video wouldn’t have been possible so in September 2016 when the first phase was nearing completion Easter barer Council released their plans for phase two of the bell’s W this was going to take this exciting project through the most dangerous part of the proposed route giving cyclists of all ages a safe Passage through three very busy and unsafe Junctions the first one is a busiest and it’s here at Roman Road the second one is a junction at the Asda supermarket in West chapleton Avenue with the final one at kington Road this was the most essential part of the project that when complete would make these Junctions safer for all users by slightly slowing down traffic there would be less collisions giving separate space to cyclist also creates a better flow for traffic and also encourages more people to give up the car and cycle for shorter Journeys so in the long term a cycle Lane creates even more space for cars having a cycle Lane between the road and pavement also creates a buffer zone between pedestrian and cars making walking along the Route a slightly more enjoyable and less stressful experience as well as releasing these plans the council held a few meetings to inform residents of the project and show everyone the options to see if a few tweaks were needed the obors hijacked these meetings shouting down anyone who tried to be positive about the project as well as shouting out their objections anytime the speaker tried to talk about Phase 2 creating a hostile environment and what can be best described as Pitchfork mob mentality I’m pretty sure there would have been plenty of decent people in the room at the time going in with an open mind with questions that could have shaped the outcome of the project in a positive way but didn’t want to ask questions or voice their opinions or concerns because a few billion Petr headed man babies had decided to throw their toy cars out of the pram David Bron was at one of these Mee me in Muay town hall and recorded audio from this meeting and here are a few choice picks that sum up the tactics that went on that day so as I said earlier engagement began in 2011 at that time we went and we had a number of events and the question we asked people was how could we encourage you to not take every journey by car how can weour you to do a journey that’s maybe 5 10 15 minutes or onward but not take your car and what the clear answer was at that time was I need high quality infrastructure that makes me feel safe when we look the reason that it is it became a segregated Lane and it’s a two-way segregated Lane which at the time people were very keen to see on both sides we have had a confirmation from the fire brigade that the road layout causes them no issues weote to the we wrote to all the emergency services and the fire responded and said that they had no issue with the road layout a year on we’re seeing an average including winter and bad weather of over a th cycle trips per week but there that’s a thousand cars that aren’t on the rules so if you if you think of the fact that in peak time in the summer I just look listen we are here to hear a presentation I understand there’s a great deal of feeling the vast majority of people are listening okay we just need to make sure we don’t cheer people who are speaking they’re trying to do the very best to articulate what is quite a complex complex proposal withot of option are out of touch with Mr Mrs Joe is out of touch with unbelievable respect ladies to listen some about phase you are working on the Assumption you’re also bloody clever we’re going to have it pushed on to us whether we want it or not thing is a nightmare and I with this nightmare for a year now as have others Road these people here just told you we don’t want ra one Al I think that’s enough of that it’s a very difficult lesson and I’m glad that David managed to record it here are a few things that get brought up by people that oppose cycling infrastructure people in cars won’t be able to park and the shops will go out of business this is a story that comes up any time there’s a proposal for a cycle in and it’s been proven false time and time again shops go of business all the time and a lack of parking isn’t the main reason with the Bears way there was only going to be around 8 to 10 spaces lost and these would have been on the other side of the road from the shops I cycle past these shops all the time and there are always lots of empty spaces traffic will be at a standstill and there will be delays this was probably backed up with the delays during construction of the first phase and is more to do with there being temporary traffic lights as these will always cause delays for some strange reason it always seems to be a major problem when there is a cycle Lane being built Emergency Services won’t get through this myth has been dispelled on so many occasions and there is even a video online of an ambulance going into a CYO Lane with cyclists easily getting out of the way all emergency services were contacted about the construction of the Bears way and there were no objections there are going to be reduced lanes for cars this is a claim that was made after the first phase of the Bears way was completed that the road had been reduced from four lanes to two all we have to do to prove this as a false claim is to go onto Google Street View and look at the earlier dates before construction to prove this is false look only two lanes and a painted bicycle cutter on both sides when you get to the Hazardous Junctions that I mentioned earlier the design team had drawn up plans to show that when traffic would be turning right at a junction the approach would get two lanes and the traffic exiting at the other side of the junction would get one lane and that simply is all that’s needed to keep traffic at a constant flow as shown from this aerial view from the East City way nobody uses it this is a favorite for people who oppose cyc lanes and can’t really be used in the case of the Bear’s way as it’s not complete and doesn’t really go very far this also doesn’t take into consideration that it goes from one side of the road to the other only about 200 M from roundabout where people on bikes could have joined from the other Road why would you cross a road here to get onto a cycle Lane just to have have to cross back over a short distance further along the road like I do from the road that I approach your B’s way from anyway this is besides the point as you are not required by law to use this cycle Lane as it’s not mandatory the only reason this phrase is used is to turn people against cyclists around October 2016 the council held a vote about phase two of the Bear’s way and it was rejected 11 to2 the Bear’s way was now in danger of going nowhere add to the mix that the council elections were only 6 months away and this project was starting to turn into a political Hot Potato the people of mgy and Bear’s Den deserve better as they were not only losing a transport choice that were delaying a brighter safer future for themselves and for their children the council then announced a horrific decision that they were not going to go ahead with Phase 2 s SMP counselor Keith Mo wrote a letter explaining the decision in a local newspaper and it was a cut and paced job from the objectors list the reason I mentioned that he was an SNP counselor is that this decision went against what was the SNP and government policy at the time this was a commitment to get more people to walk wheel or cycle for shorter everyday Journeys a quiet way was created further along the proposed route using parallel mcfallen road and kman road this is a slightly good compromise but it still doesn’t address the Hazardous Junctions that I’ve already pointed out in this video and now includes a Crossing with kington Road creating a new Hazard for cyclists so what we are left with is a great award-winning piece of infrastructure at one end of three hazardous Junctions and a quiet way compromise at the other when traveling along the completed section of the Bears way it feels great being segregated from traffic and then all of a sudden you have to negotiate with traffic at what was to be Phase 2 it’s at this point I hear the obor’s voices from that public meeting and think about these people and blame their ignorance for placing my life in danger at this moment in time people who will never ride a bike people who get angry and stressed about change even if this benefits everyone in the surrounding area if only these people could get themselves on a bike and go for a cycle along the protected section of the Bear’s way to experience this great piece of infrastructure from a different perspective as frequent cycling has been proven to reduce stress create a sense of well-being and prolong life it’s a win win win on the 12th of March 2024 an 8-year-old boy was knocked down by a car on Roman Road in Bear’s Den on the 19th of March 2024 youa brandriff tragically lost her life in a collision with a heavy Goods vehicle while cycling at this Junction on Main’s Road in Bear Den on the 22nd of March a 64y old woman was struck by a white car in a hit and run on Bear’s Dan Road there was a call for safer streets in Bear Danimal guy with hundreds of locals turning out on the 11th of May to March for safer streets a call for easn barer Council to take action and fully commit to making our streets and Roads safer do not let there be any more needless injuries or deaths on your watch nearly 10 years has passed since the Bear’s way was started and public opinion has shifted the world over cities are starting to embrace the benefits of creating a cycle Network and in turn creating a healthier population saving millions in the long term from such a small investment completing the Bear’s way now would be quite an easy job compared to 10 years ago since the Wayside infrastructure is constructed has come on Leaps and Bounds Glasgow is a prime example on how to learn as you go on take the spaces for people projects in Glasgow as an example and look at how the construction evolved from one project to the next from the rush cly Street brw London Road and Wallace wh road then as a project team learned and evolved we then started to see better infrastructure that is more permanent and built to last like royon Road and St Andrews Drive the key here is to get the Junctions Crossings and bus stops completed independently as this minimizes disruption do any surface work if needed to smooth the road and then put down the soft segregation with paint and you have great infrastructure in place and the great thing is this will only take a few months to complete this infrastructure in St Andrew’s Drive is the exact model that Eastern bartonshire council could use to complete the B’s way along these sections at a fraction of the cost in late 2023 Eastern barire Council released a bold active travel project that would Link muai train station to torren Via Oken Road and BCL Road there was an online public consultation as well as dropping events in m and Torrance to which there has been little or no objections so far if this project goes ahead this could pave the way for the completion of the bell’s way creating a brighter better and safer future for everyone who lives on or travels through b St and mugay [Music] [Music]