Light the Way: Three parks WILL have lighting installed
Our Light the Way campaign is celebrating success as Glasgow City Council's confirmed at least three parks will have safety lighting installed.
Last updated 24th Nov 2022
Our Light the Way campaign is celebrating success as Glasgow City Council's confirmed at least three parks will have safety lighting installed. However, the fight's not over yet as the local authority still need to allocate cash to the project, and it could be at least another two years before work starts.
The confirmation came following a Glasgow City Council committee meeting on Tuesday, where a report was presented to councillors that stated Kelvingrove, Cranhill and Queen's Park have all been green lighted as pilot projects and lighting will be installed there.
Radio Clyde's Light the Way campaign
For the last 12 months we have been calling on the local authority to light parks in the middle of winter so that they can be used safely by all.
Last year we held a hugely successful rally in Kelvingrove Park, and plan to return again this year at 5.30pm on Thursday 1st December to demand the local authority take urgent action on this issue.
Sign the Petition
We've started a petition demanding the local authority allocate the necessary funding and speed up the process of installing park lighting.
Long running argument
It has been an issue in Glasgow in parks like Kelvingrove for a number of years, with women's groups and runners all calling for better lighting in the evenings.
The debate over lighting in the park was reignited during COP26 after a Police diversion forced women to walk through a dimly lit area of Kelvingrove to get home. Police Scotland issued an apology.
Generator powered lights were also put in place in some areas for the climate conference, something campaigners have been calling for years to improve safety and there were hopes this would be made permanent.
Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Well, maybe a glimmer...
The local authority commissioned Green Space Scotland to investigate the possibility of lighting safe routes through three city parks following our campaign. Those parks were Kelvingrove, Cranhill and Queen's Park.
Labour councillor Jill Brown said: “The good news is that almost a year to the day that the late that we motion was unanimously passed, it was confirmed in committee that lighting will be provided and parks, it was also acknowledged that the consultation process could have been more inclusive and that going forward, there will be more consultation including with the Radio Clyde campaign so the team who actually started this whole process will get to input into it, which is great news.
“My concerns arising from the committee though are that there was no funding allocated to providing the lighting and the parks and given that 86% of the respondents who fed into the consultation, said that they either didn't go to the park after dark, or they felt unsafe in the park after dark is deeply worrying about your safety is on the priority list for this council.
“And with the cost of living crisis really biting, being able to walk safely home instead of incurring travel costs would really make a difference for very many people.
“Even if funding is identified, and at best, there will be lighting in Kelvingrove Park for Christmas 2024 but far more likely, it will be 2025 and that means it'll have taken four years to Light the Way through the park.
“So is there light at the end of the tunnel? Well, maybe a glimmer, but there certainly isn't any light in the park.”
A further report will be presented in April
A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: “Our engagement sessions with stakeholders and community representatives have provided a clear steer on how to deal with the issue of introducing more lighting into parks.
“The evidence we committed to gather in relation to the three parks involved in a pilot programme will now help inform a series of workshops that will consider a range of technical issues in much more detail.
“Issues to be gone through will include potential routes or areas to be lit, the type of lighting to be used, ecological impact and any tree management work that may be required.
“A further report on the outcome of the forthcoming workshops will be given to our environment committee in April next year.
“Funding for any project has still to be identified and any work to remove any vegetation will be undertaken out with bird nesting season.”