Q. What is Smarter Choices Smarter Places?

Smarter Choices Smarter Places is a Scottish Government project where 7 communities across Scotland have been chosen to receive funding to improve the built environment and work on projects that will encourage active travel. The budget for Glasgow’s East End has been augmented by Glasgow City Council, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport and Clyde Gateway to a total of £2.5 million. This money will be spent exclusively in the East End of Glasgow between 2009 and 2011.

Q. ‘Glasgow East End on the move, what’s that?

In 2009 residents of the east end of Glasgow were asked to choose a brand that they would identify with to promote active travel in the area. Following several months of consultation, the ‘Glasgow East End on the move was chosen by you.

 

Q. What is active travel?

Put simply, active travel is using your own power to travel. Active travel doesn’t have to take up the whole journey, you could walk to a bus stop, use the bus, then walk to your destination. Alternatively you could use ‘park and stride’ to drive to a convenient car park near your destination then walk the rest of the way, rather than trying to park outside. Walking and cycling are the most common forms of active travel, but there’s nothing to stop you rowing along the Clyde or skateboarding into town as well.


Q. Walking can’t really be that good for me, don’t I need to jog to burn calories?                                             

The rate walking and jogging burns calories is based on the distance you travel, so although jogging burns calories quicker, you also cover the ground quicker, so at the end of 1 mile, the jogger and walker will have burnt up the same number of calories (although the jogger will have more time to go for food afterwards)

Q. What do I need to cycle?

A bike is the main thing you will need. Glasgow East End on the move will be helping to set up a number of community run bike recycling programmes. These will help refurbish used bikes to make them run like new, and will be sold on for much much less than a new bike. If you are cycling at night, you will also need lights for your bike to make you visible to other road users. You can use the free East End on the move lights to augment these and make you even more visible, as do the free reflective bands, which can also be used to keep your trousers away from the bike chain.

 

Q. Will I get wet?

Possibly, it is Scotland after all, but it’s only rain and believe it or not, the vast majority of the time it’s not actually raining. You’re more likely to be dry than wet after walking or cycling.

Q. Isn’t cycling dangerous?

No, not really. Figures for Great Britain as a whole from 2000 show that, once motorway miles are removed from the data (as cyclists cannot use the motorway) cyclists are involved in 21accidents per million kilometres cycled, compared to motorists who are involved in 20.8 per million km driven.