Over the past few years, in particular since the start of the pandemic, the SNP minority administration running Glasgow City Council (GCC) has shown total disregard for local democracy by implementing changes to roads and roads infrastructure with little respect for motorists and the safety of pedestrians. In the name of environmental protection and concerns for public health, GCC has put in place ill-thought and hastily arranged measures designed to frustrate motorists. These area all part of a wider agenda targeting people who own cars. Unfortunately, to date, my fellow motorists have been complacent and not mobilised effectively to challenge GCC. The following are examples of GCC's anti-car agenda:

• Unnecessary closure of roads which are counterproductive and actually add to congestion elsewhere. One example is the needless closure of Kelvin Way in the West End of Glasgow which is now virtually deserted.  What an absolute waste when it could be used to ease congestion elsewhere.
• Installation of physically segregated cycle lanes which again add to congestion by reducing the number of lanes for vehicles, narrowing the size of roads and increase the chances of collision between vehicles going in opposite directions. A few examples include the areas of Govanhill and Royston.
• Hastily arranged and methodologically flawed consultations have been undertaken by GCC with questions designed to elicit responses from those with a pro-cycling and anti-car agenda. The results of these flawed consultations have in some cases been used to justify making some temporary cycle lanes permanent. Examples include Dennistoun and the Broomielaw. It is staggering that so many cycle lanes are virtually deserted with very few or no cyclists in sight.
• Failure to act promptly to fix potholes across the city whilst at the same time wasting taxpayers money in rapidly implementing cycle lane infrastructure.
• Pampering to the needs of a 'mouthy' cycling lobby whose members contribute nothing to the roads budget (i.e. pay no road tax) but expect the use of both our roads and demand separate cycle lanes as well.
• 'Spaces for People' Programme designed simply to harass motorists and lacking any rationale. Given that less people were out and about during the pandemic and there was plenty of spaces, why did we need this Programme? In fact, during the pandemic, the car has been the safest form of transport as it allowed people to socially distance more effectively. However this was never going to promoted by an administration aiming to reduce the number of cars on the road.
• Planting trees and planters which are an eye sore and on some routes impede visibility for pedestrians and motorists: a good example being Cambridge Street.
• Further vanity projects planned in the form of 'Liveable Neighbourhoods' which make assumptions that our neighbourhoods are not liveable and that by reducing access to neighbourhoods for cars our communities will benefit when it is the very communities that own cars and need those for essential day to day activities often out with the vicinity of their neighbourhood. If anything, these projects will simply cut off communities from other parts of the city.

GCC continues to demonstrates a complete lack of understanding that the majority of people who own cars have a valid reason for their use (not that we should have to justify the right to drive in a free country).

I urge all fellow motorists both in Glasgow and elsewhere and other interested stakeholders who are fed up with the dangers and inconvenience posed by cycle lanes and badly planned changes to roads layout to support this petition and send a message to GCC that it should reconsider its 'active travel' agenda and not enforce change on the people of Glasgow. We should instead ask GCC to focus on more noble and worthwhile causes that actually matter such as ending the shame of foodbanks, fighting hate crime, protecting the interests of the disabled and the elderly, and providing resources to help keep community centres open rather than wasting money on vanity projects. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on her campaigning for the local elections that the priority of councillors should be to help families who cannot make ends meet. However is GCC listening? Perhaps you can make them listen by signing this petition.

I also urge those who sign this petition to be more proactive and take the fight directly to GCC via their local councillors to express their concerns. We know that it is the SNP and Greens who have been the chief culprits in the mess on our roads across Glasgow. You only have to look at the decline of Glasgow city centre and it is only going to get worse once barriers are placed in the way of cars coming into the city centre. As more drivers move towards hybrid and electric the climate change argument is going to become even more weaker. We need to challenge the narrative that cars are solely responsible for damage to the climate. This is simply not true and is designed to make you feel guilty about owning a car. Don't be bullied and protect your right to own and use your car. We all want to do our bit for the planet but expect this to be done fairly and sensibly and not by pursuing an open agenda against motorists. 

Dear fellow motorists: you pay to purchase or lease your car; you pay insurance; you pay for the MOT where appropriate; you pay for servicing; and you pay rip off prices for petrol considering how much goes to the Treasury. You do so because in the vast majority of cases you need the car to carry out a range of day to day activities which are not practical to do via public transport or by bike. So why are we sitting back and allowing GCC to bully us? It's time to fight back. A facebook page has also been set up so after signing the petition, if you wish to join please do so at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/597500641623021/members?notif_id=1630360802332079&notif_t=groups_invite_more_people&ref=notif

We can continue the conversation there.

Please encourage others you know who share our concerns to sign the petition and join our collective fight to remove dangerous and unnecessary cycle lanes and oppose the installation of new ones. Glasgow does not need them!

Thanks

Abid

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Dr. Abid Ishaq