A BUSY West End street is to be transformed in a bid to boost cycling and walking.

Plans to create 1.5-metre-wide cycle lanes as well as reducing the speed limit to 20mph on Byres Road could be in place by autumn next year.

City bosses also want to remove half of the on-street parking spaces and narrow the width of the carriageway to six-metres.

Roads officers have now been instructed to move forward with the plans, which will see a continuous cycle route created between Great Western Road and Partick Cross.

A report by Richard Brown, the council’s executive director of regeneration and the economy, said: A key component of the City Deal business case was the implementation of a comprehensive public realm scheme on Byres Road in order to improve place quality and physical connections with the university.

“These works aim to complement the significant capital investment proposed the by the University of Glasgow through its campus re-development and to support the ongoing economic contribution of Byres Road as a major retail and visitor destination.

“Council Officers have reviewed the consultation findings and are currently considering measures that could be introduced in order to improve the proposed cycle infrastructure and reduce traffic volumes.

“It is important that such measures do not adversely impact on the quality of the pedestrian environment which was identified as a strength of the existing proposals.”

A consultation, which gained 550 responses, ran between May 23 and June 27 this year.

The quality of the cycle infrastructure being planned was a concern for 43% of respondents, with many pointing to a lack of segregation between the lanes and the road and a risk of accidents.

The original proposals did not include an option for segregating the cycle lanes from the road.

But the public realm committee agreed to change that after Christy Mearns put forward alternative plans.

She said: “Although there are many good things in the initial proposals, without a segregated cycle lane in Byres Road this is not going to have the effect that we want which is to encourage active travel and to get people cycling.

“Making cycling safer is at the core of impRoving active travel. Cycle groups feel that those proposals won’t be a safe option for many people, including children. That is why I’m proposing an amendment to include segregated cycle lanes.”

Allan Casey seconded her proposals and added: “The amendment takes into account the public feeling and the results of the consultation. It reflects the feeling in the public submissions.

“Crucially it allows for the necessary technical issues to be looked at and addressed.”