Local councillor calls out Glasgow City Council for ‘shambolic’ communication with residents during UCI

A call for clarity over road closures in Glasgow during the Cycling World Championships has been issued by a councillor who claimed communication with residents has been “shambolic”.

The UCI event is being held in the city until Sunday, August 13, with thousands of cyclists from across the world competing.

It means restrictions and closures are required over the next ten days for races to go ahead, but Cllr Jill Brown, Labour, said some of her constituents “cannot get a straight answer” on how the changes will affect them.

The Partick East and Kelvindale representative said she has received a “stream of enquiries” from people who are “rightly worried about unforeseeable events”.

She added: “Glasgow should be proud to host events but, with clear communication, residents could have been looking forward to the cycling rather than worrying about how to get to essential hospital and work appointments.”

Events will pass through the area on August 6, 8, 12 and 13. Organisers have said closures will come into effect from 12.01am on Friday, August 4 until 11.59pm on Tuesday, August 8 and then again on 12.01am on Saturday, August 12 to 11.59pm on Sunday, August 13.

Maps and more details can be found online at: https://www.getreadyglasgow.com/cycling-worlds/traffic-and-travel.

A spokesman for Glasgow Life, one of the host partners of the championships, said the Get Ready Glasgow campaign has been running since March.

It has “undertaken a programme of communication and engagement work to tell businesses and residents about the event, its impact on the city and how they can plan ahead”, he said.

Cllr Brown said some residents in her ward would have “no access out of the area or in”. She has written to council chief executive Annemarie O’Donnell requesting clarity for residents.

The councillor believes removing bollards at Chesterfield Avenue/Weymouth Drive “would alleviate the whole situation”. “These have been removed for previous events but not this time and no reason has been given why not this time,” she said.

In a response to her queries, an official said the bollards are not being removed for this event. She was told Cleveden Road would be “closed and opened on a rolling basis so that the riders can pass through”.

The road should only be closed for “a short period”, the response added. “The only time the road will be affected for the day is on August 8, when it will be closed up until the Beaconsfield roundabouts.”

The Glasgow Life spokesman added the Get Ready Glasgow campaign has included “attending community council meetings, drop-in sessions, letters to residents and providing information through getreadyglasgow.com and social media”.

“We have a number of ways in which people can get in touch with us including through email and telephone and can provide information in alternative formats, if requested.”

He also said access and egress locations would be operational overnight between 8pm and 6am on August 4, 5, 6, 7 and 12. On August 8 and 13, access and egress will be permitted following the reopening of the entire road circuit after 11.59pm.