With the final leg of the route now fully constructed and ready for use, the South City Way ensures cycling from Queen’s Park in the city’s Southside to Trongate in the centre is possible in just 14 minutes along two miles of safer, segregated cycling infrastructure. A walk along the same route is achievable in around 45 minutes.

Passing through the Govanhill and Gorbals areas of the city, the South City Way is already proving to be hugely popular with just over 3.9million cycle journeys recorded along the route in the past three years, accounting for 13% of all trips along the roads where infrastructure has been installed.

Safety is a primary concern for active travellers and the South City Way incorporates several ‘protected junctions’ where traffic signals prioritise active travel and ensure walkers, wheelers and cyclists can safely cross busy roads at all times. The route also links with National Cycle Network 7, which allows further connections to the emerging City Network for active travel to the east, west and south-west of Glasgow.

To mark this significant progress for active travel in Glasgow, Councillor Angus Millar, City Convener for Transport, Fiona Hyslop, Scottish Government Minister for Transport and Karen McGregor from Sustrans visited the final leg of the route to be completed, which runs between Victoria Bridge and Trongate.

Councillor Millar believes the finished route will support more sustainable transport when people travel into the city centre. He said: “The numbers we have for the South City Way speak for themselves. When we create a better balance on our roads network by introducing active travel infrastructure people respond positively.

“Many people want to get about by bike and other modes of active travel but are often put off by safety concerns. It is essential we respond to the desire to travel more often by walking, wheeling and cycling by creating a safer environment for this kind of transport.

“Active travel is a cleaner, cheaper and healthier form of travel that can also help to create a more efficient transport network overall. More people making better use of limited road space helps the city’s network run more efficiently and that will make it easier for everyone to get about Glasgow.”

During her visit to the South City Way, Scottish Government transport minister Fiona Hyslop learned more about the design challenges faced by the project team and how these were resolved.

Ms Hyslop said: “I’m pleased that the South City Way active travel route in Glasgow is now fully completed. Where local authorities build high quality infrastructure, people will use it and this route has seen a 100% increase in cycling journeys representing over 10% of all journeys across the route.

“This investment of over £3.5 million by the Scottish Government is helping us to build a more active nation, where more people choose to walk, wheel and cycle for shorter everyday journeys and can take climate action. In doing so, we’re empowering people and with healthier and happier travel options - and building thriving communities, where businesses can flourish and everyone can enjoy improved public spaces.

“Through our continued investment in active travel, I look forward to seeing more infrastructure which is similar in the scale and success of the South City Way, in towns and cities right across Scotland.”

Karen McGregor, Scotland director for Sustrans, said: “The South City Way is changing people’s lives in Glasgow every day. By providing a direct and accessible route to and from the city centre, the South City Way is connecting people with schools, hospitals, and other employment opportunities. With almost 50% of people Glasgow wanting to walk, wheel and cycle more, we need to deliver more segregated routes like the South City Way to link up key destinations for active travel whilst also keeping people safe and protected from traffic.”

Almost £3.8m in funding for the South City Way was awarded through Places for Everyone, an active travel infrastructure fund backed by Transport Scotland and administered by Sustrans. The remaining funding was supplied through Glasgow City Council.

Plans for a City Network for Active Travel aim to ensure no school in Glasgow is more than 400 metres from a safer, segregated route and no resident lives more than 800 metres from such a route. The council’s Liveable Neighbourhoods programme also aims to ensure public realm improvements throughout the city make local amenities more accessible by walking, wheeling, and cycling.