(Alistair Leith, Shutterstock)
AN architecture practice has launched a campaign to identify specific solutions aimed at improving safety at three traffic junctions in Glasgow.
New Practice’s Waiting to Happen campaign is in honour of friend and colleague, Emma Burke Newman, who was tragically killed at one of the junctions whilst cycling from her home in the southside of the city to Glasgow School of Art.
Through their daily experiences of commuting from the southside to the city centre, New Practice has identified three junctions which provide particular challenge at Broomielaw; Gorbals Street and Clyde Street; and Crown Street/Saltmarket and Clyde Street.
Describing the junctions as ‘incidents waiting to happen’, the practice said that it understands ‘sensible compromise’ is a core requirement of making urban infrastructure, and it will seek to find solutions that respond to actual use where this differs from the design.
Those who use the junctions are being invited to submit their experiences to the team via the Waiting to Happen website. The team will also be out and about at the junctions over the coming weeks to speak to people and record observations of how the junctions are used.
The outcomes of the data gathered will be presented to Glasgow City Council’s active travel committee via local councillors.
Becca Thomas, creative director at New Practice, said, “One of the things that still really resonates with the team at New Practice is how many people said that the junction at which Emma was killed ‘was a disaster waiting to happen’. To us, that’s an issue we would like to resolve. Waiting to Happen addresses the mentality and behaviour behind that statement and proactively looks to record data aiming to increase safety to all of the users of these three junctions.”
The campaign is being backed by John Gilbert Architects, Architects Climate Action Network Scotland, Many Studios CIC, Woodlands Community Garden, Raeburn Farquhar Bowen, Pedal on Parliament, Cycling UK, and Cycle Law Scotland.
Organisations and businesses interested in supporting the initiative can get in touch with New Practice at waitingtohappen@new-practice.co.uk.
