The funding comes from the South City Way Small Grants Fund, which was created to inspire communities and organisations along the 3km segregated active travel route to form new places for people to gather and mingle, new artworks and projects to encourage walking and cycling.
Projects receiving grants of up to £5,000 have been put forward by a range of local groups including the Govanhill Baths, local cycling charity Bike for Good and South Seeds, who have previously developed a community croft for the area. Other funded projects will see the creation of a new mural in the Queens’s Park Arena, development of a new public space by residents of Albert Avenue and new additions Glasgow’s rich landscape of city murals.
Lucy Gillie, General Manager of South Seeds said, “This small fund has enabled us to run some short life projects which we hope will have a big impact, the first is to brighten up Queen’s Park Station and we already have loads of volunteers.”
Several projects are focused on the challenges facing locals who want to cycle more. Soul Riders is restarting and expanding a group encouraging women to start cycling by hosting led rides, training and cycling events to inspire those who are unconfident on a bike or new to cycling. South Seeds are seeking to tackle bike storage issues common in tenements by installing a new secure cycle locker in the local area. Other projects include new facilities to secure bikes along the route and creation of sculptures from recycled bike components.
Tierney Lovell, Infrastructure Manager for Sustrans Scotland said, “We have had tremendous support from the local community for South City Way. We wanted to make sure that the project reflected the diversity and the passion of the communities along the route, and we have been able to give our support to an amazing array of projects as a result. We’re really pleased that South City Way is going to create an artistic and cultural legacy for the area.”
South City Way was the first project to be awarded funding from Transport Scotland though Sustrans Scotland’s Community Links PLUS scheme (now Places for Everyone), with match funding from Glasgow City Council. The project will see the creation of a segregated cycle route from Queens Park to the Trongate, with improved pavements and crossings. A brand new artwork is being created in cooperation with the New Gorbals Housing Association, Glasgow City Council and Pidgin Perfect.
Phase 3 of the project is currently underway, with the construction of new cyclelanes, pocket parks and upgraded pavements along Victoria Road between Queen’s Park Station and Coplaw Street. Phase 3 of the route is expected to be completed in early 2020.