A £6.5m cycle lane connecting the Southside of Glasgow and the city centre has fully open. 

After years of construction, the final leg of the South City Way is now complete. 

The two-mile lane means cycling from Queen’s Park to Trongate will now take 14 minutes and walking along the same route will be around 45 minutes.

(Image: Images by Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

Passing through the Govanhill and Gorbals areas of the city, the South City Way has already seen just over 3.9 million cycle journeys recorded along the route in the past three years.

The lane incorporates several ‘protected junctions’, meaning walkers, wheelers and cyclists can safely cross busy roads. 

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To mark the occasion, Councillor Angus Millar (city convener for transport) Fiona Hyslop (Scottish Government minister for transport) and Karen McGregor from Sustrans - a UK-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity - visited the final leg of the route, which starts at Victoria Bridge. 

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.

(Image: Images by Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

Karen McGregor, director for Sustrans, said the lane has been life-changing. 

She added: “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."

Councillor Millar 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 create 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.”

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During her visit to the South City Way, Fiona Hyslop added: “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 £3.5million 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."