You heard it here first!
Just when you thought traffic problems couldn’t get any worse…
Scottish Water will be in touch shortly to inform residents that they will be closing Marywood Square completely for parking and through traffic for around four days in January, possibly from the 9th.
This will be followed by closure of Queen Square two weeks later, then Regent Park Square another two weeks later. The lanes will be left open, but otherwise residents will need to move their cars and find other places to park.
Official notice for this should follow shortly, according to Ian Stark, a Land Services Traffic Engineer who lives in Vennard Gardens and is a member of the Strathbungo Society Committee.
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Bring your friends and family to Strathbungo’s annual Hogmanay street party!
For the 8th straight year, Strathbungo will be bringing in the New Year with our annual Hogmanay street party at and around the corner of Moray Place and Marywood Square.
Bungo at the Bells 2006 will kick off from two gathering points - 1 Moray Place and Vennard Gardens at Titwood Road - at around 11.30pm on Saturday, 31st December - and from there we’ll be rounding up revellers to make their way to the main site in time for the countdown to the Bells.
Come along and enjoy some music and merriment with your neighbours before setting off on your own rounds of first footing. And do by all means bring your friends and family from outside the community - show them how we do things, Bungo-style!
What’s a little rain…
In case of truly dreadful weather on the night, check back here for the latest information. And remember, even last year when Edinburgh cancelled their Hogmanay event, Bungo at the Bells went ahead - so dress warm and be ready to party!
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Here’s a handy letter to send - or make up your own!
The Strathbungo Society had a very positive and encouraging meeting with Land Services chief Robert Booth on 30 November, during which the possibility of implementing a 20s Plenty scheme for the Bungo was discussed (among a number of issues - see separate story).
Help keep the momentumn going - add your voice to the call for action! If you’d like, here’s a sample letter you can use -and if you prefer, you can always email it to him.
(date)
Robert Booth
Glasgow City Council
Land Services
Richmond Exchange
20 Cadogan Street
Glasgow G2 7AD
Dear Mr Booth,
I support the call by the Strathbungo Society for 20mph to become the maximum recommended traffic speed on appropriate streets in Strathbungo and urge you to ensure that appropriate resources for enforcing a 20mph speed limit are made available.
A properly enforced 20mph limit has the potential to reduce death and serious injuries by over 50and create a road environment more suited to the needs of local residents, increasing the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.
(signed)
Your name and address
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1901 landlord hopes to turn around smoky Fothers/Horse Shoe image
It could be argued that 21 Nithsdale Road is simply a vexed location for licensed premises - since its heyday as the Fotheringay in the mid-70s it’s been a struggle for a succession of publicans who have had their turns at reinventing it.
Just 11 months ago, the bar was relaunched as the Horse Shoe amid high hopes that some of the magic of its famous namesake in Drury Lane might rub off on it. That’s not been the case, however, and its owner Dave Smith has now shut down. He blames the smoking ban, which will come into effect on 26 March, although the new landlord Jacques Boyeldieu reckons it’s just a matter of understanding your local market.
Jacques is well known to Strathbungo residents - after all, he runs our bar and beer tents every June for Bungo in the Back Lanes. He currently runs El Sabor in the Merchant City, the 1901 bar and bistro on Pollokshaws Road, a delicatessen of the same name in Skirving Street in Shawlands and he’s also planning to open a second deli in Broomhill.
He said: “I am hoping to turn it around, but I don’t want to compete with the other pubs in the area. It will be a wine bar but will also sell German beer.” Plans are to reopen before Christmas.
A spokesman for Punch Taverns, which owns the premises, said: “Jacques is a well-known and respected operator who has been very successful at 1901.”
But do spare a thought for poor Dave Smith, who did his best to make a success of the Horse Shoe. In a rather unfortunate choice of words, he called the smoking ban “the nail in the coffin, especially in that pub where four out of five customers smoke.”
Perhaps the new management will prove to be “a breath of fresh air” for Bungo barflys who have been at loose ends since the Georgiades family sold up the original Tav.
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Council supports comprehensive approach, including back lanes pilot
The Strathbungo Society met with Land Services boss, Robert Booth, this week to discuss local traffic issues following on from the recent closure of Titwood bridge. The meeting was the result of the Society’s view (stated in the October Strathbungo News) that a comprehensive approach needs to be taken to traffic and pedestrian issues in Strathbungo.
In a constructive meeting, Land Services accepted that signage in the area was either obscured or in need of replacement and that they, like residents, were in favour of introducing a 20’s Plenty scheme.
It was agreed that the Society would map the problem issues and send this to the Land Services Department which would then design up a plan for community consultation.
Robert Booth also indicated his support for the Society’s back lane upgrade to the rear of one of the blocks on Moray Place and pledged to do all he could to see the pilot go ahead.
Chair of the Strathbungo Society, Kevin Kane, said: “It was an excellent and constructive meeting and I hope that together we can address traffic and pedestrian issues in a way that improves the quality of life of neighbourhood residents.”
This is a major breakthrough in the dialogue between Strathbungo and the Council and it has come about after almost three months of having frustrated motorists cut through Strathbungo’s narrow streets in an effort to jump the queues in the main roads caused by the bridge closure. Thwarted by our one-way system, they have frequently chosen to exit illegally up Moray Place or through our private cobbled lanes, endangering pedestrians and pets, and causing chaos for all.
The Society aims to complete its mapping exercise and get back to Land Services with all due speed. Meanwhile, as they say, watch this space!
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