Glasgow clyde cycle tunnel upgrade

[CharlesF]

March, the Northbound Tunnel comes out on Dunbarton Rd with Smith St just to your left, enter it from Berghead Place off Govan Road.

Last time I used the tunnel, only the Southbound was open and operating with no security. That one comes out in Balshagray Crescent, if you are travelling north. You access the tunnel from Govan Rd just by the Linthouse Hosuing Association.

After an experience with a cyclist coming the other way who refused to move over, and then with some neds, I have a new route to work via the Squinty Bridge. Quite a big loop from Maryhill to Braehead, increasing my commute from 5 to 8 miles. I will only use the Tunnel if I have to visit Gartnavel.

 

[CharlesF]

Just seen I forgot to say "Welcome MarchwithOneill"!!

 

[magnatom]

I've had a reply this morning:

Thanks for your email. Your potted history of the upgrading of the cycle tunnels is basically correct and I apologies for the length of time it’s taking to sort things out.

We have problem with the voice comms on the system and are pressing our maintenance contractor to sort it out. Also we are waiting on delivery of a new gate opening actuator which is proving difficult to source. To prevent this happening in future a spare is being purchased to keep on the shelf for immediate swap in and out.

I am assured by our maintenance contractor that the faults will be sorted out very soon, so in the meantime all I can ask is that you bear with me until then. We will also be fitting permanent signage at the tunnel entrances and exits which should further improve matters.

Both tunnels are mechanically swept once a week, generally on a Tuesday morning, with manual assistance to cover various nooks and crannies which should prevent any debris build up. I will keep an eye on the silt issue. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

Regards

Marco Bardelli
Structures Manager

Hopefully these issues will be resolved soon....

 

[toroddf]

I have been through the tunnel twice during the last week from north to south. The entrances is not easy to find, to put it politely. The silt makes the descent to the bottom with a racing bike a bit of a Glaswegian Roulette. Oh, maybe this is the Glaswegian Roulette.
I do not dare thinking about what happens if you get a two cyclists hitting each other.

The main problem is the sign posting though. A needle in a haystack and all that. And I have been using the tunnel closest to Glasgow on my way back to Paisley again. I prefer the ferry or the bridge.

 

[Joseph]

They're been promising to improve the sign posting for a good 2 years from what I remember... not seen one single new sign in that time though. (I've still no idea what the 'official' way to continue North after coming out the tunnel is.)

 

[toms87]

Hi all - used the tunnel for the first time on Sunday and found the half-heartedness of the whole system pretty amazing to be honest, this got my curiosity going and I happened across this thread!

As a lot of you will probably be aware, only the southbound tunnel is open with no security at the moment. Strangely enough for a sunday morning the only person I passed was (presumably) a council worker, who was picking up litter! Didn't notice any problems with silt though so maybe that's improved, not too much glass either.

When I returned to use the northbound tunnel, after much frustration trying to follow the very indistinct and eventually non existant signage, needless to say the gates were locked. I can't understand why there is no sign directing users to the other tunnel if this has been the case for a long time, especially given that the no entry signs are so forbidding that I buckled and cycled up to the SECC before crossing and returning to Scotstoun!

In any case, many people will just go the other way and so signage warning of conflicting traffic would be very sensible at both ends of the tunnel. I certainly proceeded happily south, watching where I was going of course but not really expecting anyone to come the other way given I had no reason to think the other tunnel was closed.

As for the intimidation factor, this is certainly there but I'm not sure there is much you can do to avoid this in a 7-800m long cycle tunnel. The best bet would probably to have police cycle through at regular intervals, but would this be too dangerous for them and what can they really do to arrest someone when they are on a bike? Alternatively, somehow encouraging user levels to the point there is a fairly constant stream of people going through would limit the appeal for neds to hang around I think.

 

[Joseph]

Still waiting for the response to my FOI request. I think technically they have another couple of days before it's "late"....

 

[magnatom]

Hi all - used the tunnel for the first time on Sunday and found the half-heartedness of the whole system pretty amazing to be honest, this got my curiosity going and I happened across this thread!

As a lot of you will probably be aware, only the southbound tunnel is open with no security at the moment. Strangely enough for a sunday morning the only person I passed was (presumably) a council worker, who was picking up litter! Didn't notice any problems with silt though so maybe that's improved, not too much glass either.

When I returned to use the northbound tunnel, after much frustration trying to follow the very indistinct and eventually non existant signage, needless to say the gates were locked. I can't understand why there is no sign directing users to the other tunnel if this has been the case for a long time, especially given that the no entry signs are so forbidding that I buckled and cycled up to the SECC before crossing and returning to Scotstoun!

In any case, many people will just go the other way and so signage warning of conflicting traffic would be very sensible at both ends of the tunnel. I certainly proceeded happily south, watching where I was going of course but not really expecting anyone to come the other way given I had no reason to think the other tunnel was closed.

As for the intimidation factor, this is certainly there but I'm not sure there is much you can do to avoid this in a 7-800m long cycle tunnel. The best bet would probably to have police cycle through at regular intervals, but would this be too dangerous for them and what can they really do to arrest someone when they are on a bike? Alternatively, somehow encouraging user levels to the point there is a fairly constant stream of people going through would limit the appeal for neds to hang around I think.

Always interesting to hear the views of a new tunnel user. I agree it is currently VERY poorly signposted. Hopefully things will improve soon. If they don't I'll be back onto Marco. He responded to a second e-mail about silt very quickly (I linked to my videos). I think as he knows who I am (a pain in the a$$) he tends to actually read my e-mails. I'll chase him up in a week or two if nothing has improved.

Joseph, you don't actually expect them to get back to you on time, do you?!!?

 

[Joseph]

Finally got a response. With a rather 'generous' interpretation of the rules I think it is just within the time limit! It's a reasonable wedge of paper, I'll get it scanned and uploaded within the next few days....

 

[Joseph]

Here we go:

http://button.heenan.me.uk/~joseph/tunnel/all.pdf

was rather a pain to scan as the redactions have been done by physically cutting chunks out of the pages, meaning it wouldn't go through the sheet feeder!

A few interesting nuggets:

The total cost of the security system and associated bits appears to be in excess of 200K.

The official position appears to be that the signs clearly indicate that if the cycle tunnel for the direction you want to go is closed, you should push your bike through the pedestrian part of the other tunnel...

I'm not sure they've really included everything that was asked for; there's very little detail on the new system. Oddly there doesn't seem to be one single risk assessment either.

 

[magnatom]

Thanks for that Joseph.

I've had a quick look through it. Interesting to see the number of times that Mr Bardelli apologises for not replying sooner!!

The interesting fact is that in your FOI request it doesn't mention anything about waiting for gate actuators, which are mentioned in my e-mail reply. I read it more closely when I get a chance.

 

[magnatom]

I saw the aftermath of another cyclist coming off due to silt build up in the tunnel this morning. He was fine if a little shaken (and mucky). It really is an 'ice rink' at the moment and the problem keeps recurring.

I phone Marco Bardelli's department this morning (he is off) to inform them. I will also write an e-mail for a 'paper trail'. This is a serious safety issue, as it wouldn't take much for it to result in a serious injury.

 

[Joseph]

That sounds bad :-( Glad to hear he wasn't injured.

I can't understand why they haven't at least put up warning signs.

 

[magnatom]

That sounds bad :-( Glad to hear he wasn't injured.

I can't understand why they haven't at least put up warning signs.

This week has finally seen the reopening of the north bound tunnel. I was informed it was re-opened by another cyclist, so I wentthat way last night. I have to say I am not impressed. The lane that you used to be able to cycle down is permanently closed. To get to the gate entrance, you have to bump up a very high curb and cycle over some very rough tarmac pavement. It then takes you down a thin passage (which will be shared with pedestrians) to get to the gate.

They have also done no work at all in the tunnel since last November. There are still the remnants of a tunnel fire, probably from over a year ago (blacked out walls and rough surface).

Oh and signage, well, lets just say there isn't any.

Mmm. Another e-mail to the council is in order.

Sorry I don't have any footage. I'm waiting for a replacement cable to arrive.

 

[CharlesF]

This week has finally seen the reopening of the north bound tunnel. I was informed it was re-opened by another cyclist, so I wentthat way last night. I have to say I am not impressed. The lane that you used to be able to cycle down is permanently closed. To get to the gate entrance, you have to bump up a very high curb and cycle over some very rough tarmac pavement. It then takes you down a thin passage (which will be shared with pedestrians) to get to the gate.

They have also done no work at all in the tunnel since last November. There are still the remnants of a tunnel fire, probably from over a year ago (blacked out walls and rough surface).

Oh and signage, well, lets just say there isn't any.

Mmm. Another e-mail to the council is in order.

Sorry I don't have any footage. I'm waiting for a replacement cable to arrive.

Well, I will continue going via the Squinty Bridge, it is much more pleasant even tho it is 3 miles longer