It’s Recycle Week (20th – 26th June) and the community is letting us all down with empty blue recycling bins and overflowing green general waste bins. Please, please, please use the blue bins!

Although cardboard waste cannot be presently disposed of in the blue bins, it is anticipated that by the end of July this year we will be able to put cardboard into the blue bins. Keep an eye out for publicity leaflets from the council for when you can start doing this as it will help us to drastically cut down on the volume of waste in the green bins.

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See also the photos from the preparations earlier in the day.

If you have any photos for submission from around GOW or the local area, please send them to gowcommunity@gmail.com

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See also the photos of the successful Gala day itself.

If you have any photos for submission from around GOW or the local area, please send them to gowcommunity@gmail.com

Events often have unforseen consequences that ripple on.

In response to the unrest in the park following a facebook invite, Police units made their way to assist colleagues. Sadly, one of the Police vans collided with a taxi-driver, who died in hospital on Wednesday.

An investigation will be launched into the events surrounding the incident. Our thoughts are with the driver’s family.

BBC News – Taxi driver dies after police van crash near park party
Daily Record – Taxi driver dies 12 days after crash

The party in Kelvingrove park on April 29th descended at it’s forced closure into chaos. Organisers had called for respect to be shown for the park and other users, but significant numbers of attendees, overly drunk and of ugly mood helped the event to an ungainly conclusion.

Police were in attendance in small teams during the day, many on bike for quick mobility. However, throughout the afternoon large groups of young people were heading seemingly unchecked through the park entrances with crates of alcohol. Many were clearly underage and under the influence.
Beyond a request by the Police to deflate a bouncy castle, the policing was relatively hands-off at the offset. Yet when more officers arrived in force to shut down the decks, clouds had gathered and several hours of drinking later, the response from too many in the heaving crowd, was to rain bottles down the hill. A policeman suffered a head injury as did several people scrambling for cover. A horseback-led retort alarmed those in the dip, and Police vans, motorbikes and a helicopter were all employed to control and disperse the crowd. Vans were vandalised and skirmishes continued. Hours later still, all that was left was a drizzly, rubbish-strewn park and from now on, a more intense Police focus on activities there.
The other legacy, of course, is the bill of £40,000 for the clean up. At least one GOW resident was canny enough to take the opportunity to reclaim some of the discarded cans for our can crusher recycling scheme.

UPDATE :Taxi driver dies after collision with Police van attending disorder

A GOW resident was at the park when the Police stopped the party. Send us your photos gowcommunity@gmail.com

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Gibson Street will be closed off for 6th time for an afternoon of live music, entertainment and street stalls. The GOW backcourt will again open its gates to the public to host a music stage and a refreshments tent. Visit the new Gibson Street Gala website for full information.

Meet the Gala’s new mascot

May 2011 newsletter (6MB)

Stef Meens, a journalism student at Glasgow Caledonian University has written this article about the community’s concerns over the traffic issues with the new school

With the new Hillhead primary school set to open in August, residents, parents, councillors and teaching staff are concerned about the children’s safety and the area’s traffic flow.

Hillhead community council member Eric Kay said: “the new school will have more than 600 children; the traffic this generates can easily congest the busy area around Gibson Street and Westbank Quadrant.”

David McEwen, site manager for City Building said: “The main school entrance will be on Kelvin Way so most school traffic won’t pass Gibson Street area. However, the entrance of the community centre, which is part of the school, will be located on the Westbank.”

Local councillor for the SNP, George Roberts, said parents fear the drop off zone on Kelvin Way this will cause a tremendous bottleneck.

Mr Roberts said City council’s education department has emphasized the use of walking routes to reduce the amount of parent traffic both at the drop off zone on Kelvin Way as well as school traffic in the Gibson and Otago Street area.

“In many ways this line of thought has to be praised and encouraged, also from an environmental point of view. However the parents, teachers, residents and retailers, all realise that it’s a very short-sighted view of modern life. The car is far too much something people here depend on“, said Mr Kay, a founding member of the Gibson Street, Otago Street and Westbank Quadrant Triangle community (GOW).

Mr Roberts said the parents’ objection to the walking routes is that they are not deemed safe enough. “Especially in winter time, walkway through the park is not lit enough. Also, the walking routes will involve crossing busy roads.”

He added: “Children have to travel a distance along busy roads. When parents escort them it won’t be that much of a problem but when they get slightly older and travel alone the busy roads can prove very dangerous.”

Jean Charsley, Chair of the Hillhead community council, said: “Parents ideally want to use the main entrance on the Westbank, reserved for teachers and staff.”

However, residents and retailers are concerned that the drop off point at Kelvin Way will not be used and most of the school traffic will congest Gibson Street and Otago Street.

Sandra Graham, member of GOW, said: “People are not used to driving down such a narrow road in the city and …especially with children about ….the potential for an accident is very high if the one way system round Westbank Quadrant is reinstated”.

Mrs Graham, who lives on Westbank Quadrant, added: “My main worry is the vulnerable edge of the infilled land…along Westbank Quadrant. The road was built for horses and carts and constant traffic including heavy vehicles could destabilise the buildings once again.”

To prevent damage to Westbank Quadrant City Building opted for a temporary traffic order to take the strain off the area while the school was being built.

“At the moment there is a temporary two way system for easier access to the school’s building site. This resulted in a faster traffic flow, which is a must with over 700 children attending the school”, Mr Kay said.

Martha Wardop, local councillor and member of the Scottish Green Party, said: “The access route via Westbank Quadrant cannot take the strain from traffic. Residents worry about damage to the riverbank wall or railing. The two way system should therefore be made permanent.”

However, with the school being nearly finished, City council wants to impose the original one-way system.

Mrs Charsley said: “Although a two way system benefits the flow, parking spaces will be lost. Shop owners are worried they will lose customers, especially as community centre visitors will need parking space.”

Mr Kay said the danger of all the conflicting interests is that one group could be set up against another. “Change is never easy for an area, but we are in this together and we need to strive for a good compromise because a solution that makes everybody happy is doubtful at this stage.

The difficulty all along has been the official bodies have never really tried to bring people together. Numerous meetings between parents council, residents have been organised but the roads department have never been present at any consultation.”

Mr Roberts said the road engineers have indeed been conservative in their approach, mainly due to financial pressure.

He added: “I suppose it is never too late to change things, there are still a few months till the opening of the school and a meeting with Jean McFadden, the executive member for education, with local councillors is on the cards.”

Mr Kay said: “Even if we can’t change things over the summer it will be vital to liaise and monitor the situation on a day to day basis so we can identify the problems and find solutions and maintain and improve the community’s harmony.”

You can read more on the School in the Park website.