We wheely need to put the brakes on nasty motorists

The meeting heard concerns about the lack of action taken against motorists who endanger cyclists lives on the road and the number of spaces provided for bikes outside supermarkets in the area.

MP Jo Swinson said: “This meeting is the first of many on the road to making East Dunbartonshire more cyclist friendly.

“We will continue work to protect the rights of those on two wheels and ensure that this healthy, more sustainable means of transportation is better promoted locally in East Dunbartonshire Council.”

Ms Swinson has now written to the council to try and set up a cycle forum in the area.

The summit took place in the run-up to the launch of Cycling Scotland’s Give me Cycle Space campaign in Lenzie and Bishopbriggs.

Mark Kiehlmann, founder of East Dunbartonshire Cycle Co-operative, said: “It was really good that Jo called the summit.

“There’s a good appetite for cycling within the school communities and more parents are wanting to get involved.

“Anything that the council can do to improve road safety would be a great advantage.”

The cycle co-op has already launched a campaign to reduce the speed limit on roads across Bishopbriggs to 20mph.

It has also been invited to visit Westminster next week to talk to members of the Government’s all-party cycling group about its success in promoting cycling in East Dunbartonshire.

Thomas Glen, head of development and enterprise at the council, said: “East Dunbartonshire Council has always promoted cycling both in schools and in our communities.

“We ran the Healthy Habits initiative in Kirkintilloch for three years to support active travel including cycling and walking, and carried out improvements in the path network.

“We continued this work and extended it through funding to the ED Cycle Co-op and are continuing to work with the co-op to deliver cycling and walking activities.

“We are always keen to look at new ways of encouraging greener travel and are happy to work with partners to achieve that aim.”

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