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Strathbungo Traffic (and what to do about it)

Well, 17 of you responded to the traffic survey over the past couple of weeks so thanks to everyone who gave a bit of their time to get back to us.

With the roads in Strathbungo in such a shocking state since the start of the winter it was no great surprise that all but two respondents thought that road resurfacing would be a jolly good idea.

Over half the respondents (9) thought we should cut our hedges to give pedestrians a little more space, while just under half though that we should have the Twenty’s plenty voluntary traffic calming scheme. Four people thought speed humps were a good idea while two thought that the council should upgrade the traffic signage in Strathbungo.

Loads of people had various comments also. One person thought that the Twenty’s Plenty scheme wouldn’t work saying that they felt that vehicles didn’t speed much anyway.

Rat running was a concern to a couple of people with the suggestion that various entrances and exits to the back lanes be blocked off to deter non-residents who would get lost in the labyrinth. Now one comment I thought was very good idea was for commercial vehicles to park elsewhere. The roads are narrow enough as it is with cars parked on both sides let alone vans. One needs to have a pretty good spacial sense to avoid clipping wing mirrors sometimes. And for some reason they always manage to park opposite each other at the most narrow point in the road. Why is that?

Someone thought that permitting parking only on one side would help matters. Not entirely sure where vehicles on the other side should park mind. Darnley Road? It’s certainly wide enough though we might need to re-install the old pedestrian bridge around the end of Marywood Square to give residents better access to their cars. Might also be a car thief’s dream come true – lots of nice cars and not an owner within earshot!

Painting the road to delineate parking spaces was someone’s suggestion.

My favourite however was the suggestion to have both vehicles and pedestrians use the road and have signage to indicate as much. I love the idea of pedestrianising the whole of Strathbungo eliminating both pavements and road and have everyone use the same space with lines to suggest where people should park. We all continually jump from the road to the pavement and back anyway a cars come by. Why not make it official? Cars would then be forced to go slower as they would effectively be driving on the pavement and pedestrians wouldn’t have to continually jump from road to pavement and zigzag between parked cars to avoid on-coming traffic.

I see that in the past couple of days the council has come round and filled in the holes in most of the roads in Strathbungo, but to be honest I would be prepared to wager a tidy sum that it won’t last! Filling holes does the job in the short term but come the next big rain it just takes a thimbleful of water to get under the newly laid tarmac for the next car to force it out in any direction save the one it came in through.

Behind The Scenes At Scottish Ballet

Scottish Ballet VieEver wondered what goes on under the jagged yellow roof on the horizon? Scottish Ballet have started to provide live streams of their practice sessions. It makes fascinating viewing, even for complete novices to the subject like me. Plus you get a sneak preview of their upcoming performances. At the moment they’re rehearsing Alice. You can see the streams here.

Looking to Borrow somethings for an 18month old Girl

Hi There,

My wee Niece is coming over in July for 8 days and I am looking to see if I can borrow somethings while she is here.

I am looking for a Carseat, a wee cot/bed for her to sleep, a few toys; nothing big/special, DVD’s that are suitable for her age-as North American ones can not be read over here.

Please let me know if you maybe able to help out

Thank you,

Strathbungo Traffic

The issue of traffic was discussed at the last Strathbungo Society committee meeting and it was suggested that I put up a survey on the blog to gauge residents’ feelings about the issue.

There are a number of options we can pursue each of which will likely take a while to get agreement on let alone push through. The Traffic Road Order which the Society has been chasing for a couple of years only now has been approved and work is scheduled to begin in May 2011.

You should also know that arrangements have been made to carry out a condition monitoring survey of several roads within the Strathbungo area, including Moray Place, Marywood Square, Queen Square and Regent Park Square, in order that it may be presented for inclusion in a future carriageway resurfacing. This programme however will be subject to funding.

It is worth considering each of the options a little before expressing a preference. 20’s plenty for instance is not legally binding and involves additional signage which will further clutter the roads. Road resurfacing will give us nice smooth roads, but will likely involve more people speeding through the Squares. (One benefit of having lots of potholes is that people are forced to drive slowly). Traffic calming measures (aka road humps) will certainly slow the traffic, but we may lose parking slots and sharp braking by speeding drivers may itself cause a hazard. Widening pavements will have to eat in either to people’s gardens or the road. Cutting back overgrown hedges that intrude onto the pavement will have the same effect however.

Anyway, give it a shot and let us know what you think. Click here to take survey Don’t however expect changes overnight. These things do take a while and will need a champion to drive them through the council including canvassing residents more formally for their views.

I’ll certainly update you regularly on any progress made and of the outcome of the condition monitoring survey and what the Council plans to do about the roads here.

Spring Fling – extended deadline

Due to popular demand we will take entries for the Art Competition on Monday 28th Feb 2011 between 7.30 – 9.00pm.

Come join us for the Strathbungo Society’s annual Spring Fling!

The 2011 Spring Fling will take place on Saturday, 26 March in Queens Park Parish Church Hall at 170 Queens Drive tentatively from 10.00 to 13.00 hours. Strathbungo’s Spring Fling is an annual coffee morning which includes our Children’s Art Competition. As well as announcing the winners of the art competition, there’s always fantastic home baking, interesting art and craft stalls and a tombola or raffle on offer.

Click prizes & rules info for art competition Spring Fling 2011 for entry forms and rules for the Children’s Art Competition. This year’s theme is Life In Strathbungo. Download the entry form for the relevant age group by clicking on the appropriate link.

entry form for art competition Spring Fling 2011 Under 5 years

entry form for art competition Spring Fling 2011 5 – 8

entry form for art competition Spring Fling 2011 9 – 12 years

entry form for art competition Spring Fling 2011 13 – 16 years

Spring Fling under its current guise has been going for three years.  Previously, the Society held regular coffee break events—one in spring and one in autumn. Spring Fling really came out of a desire to make more out of the coffee break (and also because we found it difficult to do an extra event in autumn as well). In previous years, craft wares have been sold by Rosie Ilett and other crafty people while the Glasgow Playschemes Association held children’s art and crafts sessions.

Help us make this a success by volunteering to bring home-baked goodies, set-up or clean-up.

Remember that all entries must be handed into 53 Queen Square by 09.00pm Monday 28h February 2011

We hope to see you there!

Working from Home

My home office

My husband and I moved the Strathbungo from Toronto last summer, based on a job offer he’d received.  Six months after arriving in Glasgow, I finally found a job as a project manager for a renewable energy developer… in Edinburgh.  Thankfully, they’re letting me work from home 3-4 days a week.

I’ve never worked from home before and am finding that it has some unique challenges and can be lonely, too.  I know one other person in the neighborhood who’s doing this for pay (Hi, Matthew!), and there have got to be others out there, right?  I’m not the only person sitting in the local cafes with a laptop.

Maybe we can get a group together for coffee, lunch, and/or beer?

Stay at home moms and dads and job seekers might want to be join in too!

I started a topic in the forums.

Scottish Civic Trust ‘My Place’ Awards

After being approached by a user of the new Scottish Ballet headquarters on Pollokshaws Road, the Strathbungo Society have nominated the building for a My Place award. The Scottish Civic Trust requires that the nomination is made from an SCT-affiliated society, and we were well placed to make the nomination.

The building was designed by Malcolm Fraser Architects, and has given Scottish Ballet an optimally designed building which allows the many facets of Scottish Ballet to come together under one roof. The Scottish Ballet building was open to the public on Doors Open Day in September, allowing us to have a window into a world that I, for one, will certainly never be able to take part in! The building was already winner of Scotland’s best new building at the Scottish Design Awards in 2010, and lots more information can be found at http://www.glasgowarchitecture.co.uk/scottish_ballet.php.

The winner will be announced in March, and we’ll keep you posted.

Let’s go holistic for the Eilidh Brown memorial fund

Hi my name is Karen and I live on Marywood Square, Iam a holistic therapist. On Sat 12th March I will be holding a day of holistic therapies in aid of the Eilidh Brown memorial fund.

We have 3 therapists working round the clock, the therapies available are:

Aromatherapy

Swedish massage

Reflexology

Indian head massage

Reiki

Relaxation through hypnosis

These therapies would normally cost in excess of £20 all we ask is that you give what you can. To book an appointment please contact us at letsgoholistic@gmail.com

There will also be a raffle with lots of lovely prizes donates by southside businesses.

Eilidh Brown was a beautiful brave girl who sadly lost her life to cancer on the 25th March last year only 9 days before her 16th birthday, since this tragic event her parents have been working tirelessly to raise money to build a repite home for families in similar situations. For more information check out www.eilidhbrown.co.uk.

Thank you

Karen xx

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