CAMPAIGNERS have handed a petition to Glasgow council bosses calling on them to commit 5% of the city's transport budget to cycling infrastructure.

As nearby George Square buzzed with Commonwealth Games fever, the cyclists gathered outside the City Chambers to deliver their Cycle Friendly Glasgow petition.

The 1500-signature petition was handed to the city's "cycling czar", Councillor Frank MacAveety, and the council's transport spokesman, Councillor Alistair Watson.

The petition demands the council allocate a minimum of 5% of its transport budget to cycling and develop a "clear masterplan" for increasing and improving Glasgow's cycle infrastructure.

David Brennan, the cycling blogger who began the petition, said current efforts were "haphazard" and the city needed a lasting legacy from the Games.

He said: "Now is the time to develop a proper legacy for Glasgow.

"We have got so many problems in Glasgow with obesity, poor health, congestion and pollution. Glasgow is failing its EU targets for air quality - Hope Street and Byres Road are among the most polluted streets in Europe.

"This is a perfect time for the council to invest to tackle these issues and that is really what we are pushing for.

"The Games are a short-term thing, but are almost like a microcosm of the way Glasgow City Council treats cycling - it is always an afterthought, something that has to be patched on at the end."

Mr Brennan, who cycles about 20 miles a day from his home in Torrance, Dunbartonshire, to work in Glasgow, said the "vast majority" of his journey was made on roads with almost no cycling infrastructure en route.

He said the city's cyclists had been particularly frustrated over the decision to exclude bikes from the Fastlink project, a new dedicated bus route that will connect transport hubs, including Buchanan Bus Station and Central Station, in the city centre to the new Southern Glasgow Hospital.

A number of lanes along the route, which is due to be completed next year, will be bus-only, with cyclists and taxis banned along with motorists.

A council spokesman said: "Over the last five years we have spent almost £14 million of capital funding in sustainable transport. In addition, we have allocated road space to segregated cycle routes in London Road and on the Connect2 Kelvingrove to City Centre project.

"The Smarter Choices, Smarter Places initiative has also led to segregated cycle routes in the East End and we will shortly be consulting on the Tradeston Cycle Route, which will be a fully segregated route linking Pollokshields to the Tradeston footbridge."