Byres Road improvements to reach Great Western Road
July 23 2025
A second phase of public realm improvements to Byres Road will get underway next month with a focus on the northern end between University Avenue and Great Western Road.
The £5.75m project is to be delivered by MacLay Engineering and will include widened pavements, step-free crossings at side streets, segregated cycle paths and improved public realm.
In tandem with recently completed improvements to the southern end of the street, this will introduce a continuous cycle path to Partick Cross with hopes of reducing rates of retail vacancy.
Councillor Angus Millar commented: “The first phase of the public realm improvement works at Byres Road has been a great success, creating a more attractive environment for residents, businesses and visitors. The second phase of these works will extend the transformation of this key street, upgrading pavements and improving the pedestrian experience as well as introducing safer cycle infrastructure and greater greenery to the area.”
Completion is expected by August 2027, with temporary fenced footways in operation throughout.
Battered pavements are in need of some tlc
The latest works will usher in a unified appearance to the entirety of Byres Road
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15 Comments
#2 Posted by Freshly on 23 Jul 2025 at 15:32 PM
@1 Aesthetically/urban development-wise UK is mentally a so called third world country. Glad to see things progressing, even at glacial pace.
#3 Posted by FFS on 23 Jul 2025 at 15:49 PM
Completion in August 202....7?! I get that there's maybe some tricky stuff around the Byres Rd./Univ. Ave. junction but the pace of these works is utterly abysmal. I assume we can look forward to seeing sketch proposals for connecting Dumbarton Road and GWR cycle paths in the next decade or so, perhaps a start on site in early 2040? Or is that too optimistic?
#4 Posted by End User #23123 on 23 Jul 2025 at 15:54 PM
Albert Einstein supposedly said that "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".
This seems to perhaps apply here to these same failed projects being repeatedly rolled out and vast sums of money being wasted to disrupt everything and create very poorly designed and unfit for purpose results.
Calling it insanity would be too kind and a bit unfair actually as there is culpable blame here...
This seems to perhaps apply here to these same failed projects being repeatedly rolled out and vast sums of money being wasted to disrupt everything and create very poorly designed and unfit for purpose results.
Calling it insanity would be too kind and a bit unfair actually as there is culpable blame here...
#5 Posted by Roddy_ on 23 Jul 2025 at 15:58 PM
I wish them well for the next phase.
Couple of things. If they stopped using hand-drawn thermoplastic paint and instead used decals, it would look 100% better. See Paris for details.
Also those trapezoidal bounding 'kerbs' as trialled in Sauchiehall Street just don't work.Too easy to cycle over and into the pavement and -in the opposite direction- too easy for walkers to stray into the cycle lane without looking. We are conditioned from a very early age that stepping out and down over a proper kerb means that we look left and right. These 'kerbs' seem to stop folk from doing just that and walking straight in. Any cyclist (I'm one) in the city will tell you the same and we have not learned that lesson from Sauchiehall Street.
Couple of things. If they stopped using hand-drawn thermoplastic paint and instead used decals, it would look 100% better. See Paris for details.
Also those trapezoidal bounding 'kerbs' as trialled in Sauchiehall Street just don't work.Too easy to cycle over and into the pavement and -in the opposite direction- too easy for walkers to stray into the cycle lane without looking. We are conditioned from a very early age that stepping out and down over a proper kerb means that we look left and right. These 'kerbs' seem to stop folk from doing just that and walking straight in. Any cyclist (I'm one) in the city will tell you the same and we have not learned that lesson from Sauchiehall Street.
#6 Posted by FFS on 23 Jul 2025 at 16:01 PM
#4 Not an Einstein quote.
The rest of your comment is about as accurate.
The avenues project and associated cycle/pedestrian infrastructure works have been a massive improvement across the city. The southern half of Byres road is objectively much nicer than the northern part currently.
But car-brained people won't ever see this from inside their metal box. Their loss.
It's just a shame it's all taking far too long.
The rest of your comment is about as accurate.
The avenues project and associated cycle/pedestrian infrastructure works have been a massive improvement across the city. The southern half of Byres road is objectively much nicer than the northern part currently.
But car-brained people won't ever see this from inside their metal box. Their loss.
It's just a shame it's all taking far too long.
#7 Posted by End User #23123 on 23 Jul 2025 at 19:47 PM
Which is exactly why the word 'supposedly' was inserted in there in a tongue in cheek way as the quote is famous for being attributed to Einstein even though he (probably) didn’t say it.
In any case it doesn’t matter if you’re car-brained, bike-brained or just plain old-fashioned hare-brained and bigoted.
Pouring millions of tons of concrete and money in all the wrong places and making infrastructure that simply doesn’t work is not going to help anyone.
It seems that a lot of these schemes are about wasting public money on daft actions so that people who don’t understand real life and transport logic can feel good about themselves while sitting in their wee ivory towers.
In any case it doesn’t matter if you’re car-brained, bike-brained or just plain old-fashioned hare-brained and bigoted.
Pouring millions of tons of concrete and money in all the wrong places and making infrastructure that simply doesn’t work is not going to help anyone.
It seems that a lot of these schemes are about wasting public money on daft actions so that people who don’t understand real life and transport logic can feel good about themselves while sitting in their wee ivory towers.
#8 Posted by FFS on 23 Jul 2025 at 23:47 PM
It's a an unequivocal fact he didn't - it's a quote from a novel that has nothing to do with Einstein.
Anyway, this type of infrastructure does work. In this particular case, hopefully one day this stretch will join up to the wider cycle network more effectively, but for the time being it sure makes cycling and walking, and sitting out on Byres Road a lot more pleasant/palatable. That this sort of project helps encourage people to use active travel which has huge benefits for towns and cities has been proven time and time again.
It doesn't take much googling to find that out. Same goes for the quote. Perhaps the definition of insanity should be updated to be 'believing one's opinions to be factual even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary'.
Anyway, this type of infrastructure does work. In this particular case, hopefully one day this stretch will join up to the wider cycle network more effectively, but for the time being it sure makes cycling and walking, and sitting out on Byres Road a lot more pleasant/palatable. That this sort of project helps encourage people to use active travel which has huge benefits for towns and cities has been proven time and time again.
It doesn't take much googling to find that out. Same goes for the quote. Perhaps the definition of insanity should be updated to be 'believing one's opinions to be factual even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary'.
#9 Posted by bbox on 24 Jul 2025 at 08:34 AM
August 2027? Geezo!
#10 Posted by John on 25 Jul 2025 at 02:37 AM
It’s so tragic that the Council are now going to ruin the top half of Byres Road as they have ruined the bottom half of Byres Road.
It’s criminal that they are continuing with this even though they will be fully aware that what they have done to the bottom half of Byres Road is hated by local residents and has made Byres Road impractical for use as a major road artery, yet no alternative road way has been provided and Kelvin Way remains closed to traffic.
It’s criminal that they are continuing with this even though they will be fully aware that what they have done to the bottom half of Byres Road is hated by local residents and has made Byres Road impractical for use as a major road artery, yet no alternative road way has been provided and Kelvin Way remains closed to traffic.
#11 Posted by Lovely on 25 Jul 2025 at 13:00 PM
If you think the local residents 'hate' these interventions then try speaking to the local small businesses....
We really can do an awful lot better than this!
We really can do an awful lot better than this!
#12 Posted by Ross Mitchell on 25 Jul 2025 at 13:40 PM
Byres Rd should be treated as a destination and not a major arterial road. That's what these improvements achieve, and the folk complaining don't seem understand the value of this.
People like visiting places that have interesting shops, bars and restaurants and aren't filled with cars, noise and fumes.
This is a step in the right direction.
People like visiting places that have interesting shops, bars and restaurants and aren't filled with cars, noise and fumes.
This is a step in the right direction.
#13 Posted by Ross Mitchell on 25 Jul 2025 at 13:42 PM
#10 & 11 - if I remember correctly, the original Byres Rd plans didn't have the cycle lane, and it was the local community who campaigned to have it added. So I don't believe your comments are valid
#14 Posted by Lovely on 25 Jul 2025 at 14:36 PM
Everyone's comments are valid just perhaps not based in reality in some cases.
'Safe cycle routes' were in the original announcement in 2017 and am sure the locals do want them but just not like this.
It seems there is a strong misnomer here that keeps cropping up:
That anyone who does not fully support these failed plans is somehow pro-car and anti-cycling (or walking).
This is not at all the case, we'd love the shouted PR spiels to be true. However, they simply don't work well and can be done much better than these poorly implemented, boring and failed bad designs.
When described as a 'destination' it makes Byres Road sound a bit like some horrible Disney-esque thing. All a bit sad although that is seemingly the direction things are headed, too pricey for bohemian locals and full of people from boring suburbs coming in for their retail or drinking 'experience' and telling us all what to do!
PS- When traffic does not flow well and good public transport alternatives (unbelievably) are still not in place yet and parking is not to be found you get more jams and fumes not less....
'Safe cycle routes' were in the original announcement in 2017 and am sure the locals do want them but just not like this.
It seems there is a strong misnomer here that keeps cropping up:
That anyone who does not fully support these failed plans is somehow pro-car and anti-cycling (or walking).
This is not at all the case, we'd love the shouted PR spiels to be true. However, they simply don't work well and can be done much better than these poorly implemented, boring and failed bad designs.
When described as a 'destination' it makes Byres Road sound a bit like some horrible Disney-esque thing. All a bit sad although that is seemingly the direction things are headed, too pricey for bohemian locals and full of people from boring suburbs coming in for their retail or drinking 'experience' and telling us all what to do!
PS- When traffic does not flow well and good public transport alternatives (unbelievably) are still not in place yet and parking is not to be found you get more jams and fumes not less....
#15 Posted by Big Delicious on 25 Jul 2025 at 20:54 PM
Very disappointed in this proposal
All cycle paths should have big ramps and jumps to do tricks over and the best tricks each day should earn a free sausage roll from Greggs
All cycle paths should have big ramps and jumps to do tricks over and the best tricks each day should earn a free sausage roll from Greggs
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I've seen better pavements in so called third world countries. Shame on the council.