Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
First of all, a quick note of context: I started my walk at the back of 9 on a warm and dry Tuesday just before the start of the summer holidays – not at 8am on a cold, wet, wet, early morning. . the depth of a Scottish winter. The roads were therefore quieter, and the environment in general much less hostile, than is likely to be the case for the young people who, according to the council, will safely walk to school on along this path.
But even with that caveat in place, this is still a busy road. It used to be the main route into Glasgow, and it still feels that way. I know some of it well as I used to use this route to get to work on my motorbike. When busy, it feels like a regular road trying to carry dual carriageway traffic, and frustrated drivers jumping red lights or generally behaving badly were a regular feature of my commute.
The entire route almost follows this main road to the east, going away from Millerston, through Stepps, and then out to Chryston. Even during the quieter times of the day, it’s still noisy, and I kept having to shout to make sure the parents walking the path with me could hear me properly as I cars, vans and lorries rub past what’s left, even with bypasses and motorways, a key arterial route. Some of the sections of the pavement are narrow, so some members of the group were still being pushed towards the road itself.
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Without doubt, the part of the route that causes the most concern is about halfway, where pupils will have to cross the Crowwood Roundabout. This is a large junction where several routes converge before joining the M80 motorway, and one of the first things I see is a damaged barrier where a vehicle has almost gone off the road and to the right on the pavement.
Not only is it not particularly pedestrian friendly – it is hostile to anyone traveling on foot. Young people will have to cross one of the connecting roads at the bottom of a fairly blind hill where drivers – heading towards a 70mph road on their way into Glasgow – are traveling very fast. The ‘island’ in the middle of the carriageway, which pupils will have to wait on if they cannot go all the way across this busy road at the same time, is extremely narrow.
But worst of all, there is no pedestrian crossing at all, so anyone trying to get from one side to the other has to do so between the flow of traffic. I am 37 years old and it felt unsafe to me, so I find it hard to believe that anyone could consider this appropriate for children walking to and from school.
From there, the route follows a narrow path that runs alongside a dual carriageway. Vehicles rush past at speeds well above the legal limit. In recognition of that problem, a sign warns of a speed camera that is not actually in use.
I also pass a few well-worn lines of desire in the long grass, each highlighting a spot where people are trying to cross the road – and they all feel like a disaster waiting to happen.
The proposed route then crosses the carriageway at a set of traffic lights and follows a smaller road into Chryston, but before reaching the school pedestrians have to take another junction which, at rush hour, got extremely busy – this time because people came from three. directions on their way to the M73.
The entire walk took well over an hour, and even in near-ideal walking conditions was a pretty unpleasant experience from start to finish. Cycling would, of course, be faster, but given the almost complete lack of safety infrastructure along the road (one section has a cycle lane painted on, and that’s about your lot) it would also is dangerous.
So, is this a reasonable and safe route for school pupils to travel to school? If you were just looking at a map, I can understand why you would think, but actually putting your feet on the pavement and walking it yourself would force you to think differently.
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
source link https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24411012.walked-school-route-council-claims-safe/?ref=rss
