Mark McIntyre
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markjmcintyre.bsky.social
Mark McIntyre
@markjmcintyre.bsky.social
380 followers 680 following 330 posts
Keen on active travel 🚲 music, cities, odds and ends of Glasgow history, transport. Powoli uczę się polskiego 🇵🇱 posting my own views
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markjmcintyre.bsky.social
Glad to see the empty Mercat Building's going to be put to use soon (housing I think).

This is a pipe dream I'll always have for it though: a grand gateway station for the old centre of Glasgow. An idea Angus Doyle also had in his imagined 'Glasgow Metro' map from a few years back.
Google Street View image of the Mercat Building, at Glasgow Cross, the old centre of Glasgow, but now largely on the eastern edge of the modern city centre. A railway viaduct runs behind the building, carrying the largely disused City Union Line. This line was once used by passenger trains heading towards the former St Enoch Station, but is now used only for moving freight. It is the only rail line which links the separate north and south rail networks on either side of the Clyde. Bird's eye view of Glasgow Cross taken from Google Earth, looking east. The Mercat Building can be seen in the upper centre of the view, with various Victorian, Edwardian and modern buildings flanking Glasgow Cross. Zoomed in screengrab of part of a hypothetical Glasgow Metro map, designed in the mid 2010s by Angus Doyle. The image shows a hypothetically reinstated Glasgow Cross rail station, acting as an interchange between several rail lines, both underground and overground. Full map and info linked. https://angusdoyledesign.blogspot.com/2015/03/glasgow-transport-map.html?m=1
November 29, 2025 at 3:43 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
Here's my favourite way of visualising this 👇

(🔴L) The 15 min catchment of your station by foot.
(🔵R) The 15 min catchment of your station by bike.

Hundreds, thousands more potential passengers to sustain the railway. All within grasp, by providing bike parking and the routes to get there. 🚲🚆
Screengrab from app.traveltime.com. A red zone on the map shows the area than can be reached within 15 minutes walk from Delft rail station. Screengrab from app.traveltime.com. A larger blue zone on the map shows the area than can be reached within 15 minutes cycle from Delft rail station.
November 24, 2025 at 7:44 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
Anyone unsure what the proposed changes to UK immigration law will mean (incl. extending pathway to permanent settled status for most migrants to anywhere between 10 and 15 years), please take one minute to read these short statements from @refugeecouncil.bsky.social and @workrights.bsky.social.
Nick Beales, head of campaigning at the Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London (RAMFEL): "Today’s announcements are truly horrifying and will harm some of the most vulnerable people in society. Shabana Mahmood has said that anyone who ever falls into debt or loses a job and even temporarily relies on state support will now face extended, potentially indefinite, bans on securing permanent immigration status. The people affected and who will now be locked out of permanent immigration status include parents of British children, partners of British citizens, the sick and the elderly. These policies will create an under-class of people, living here amongst us but never allowed to hold permanent immigration status. It will also flood the Home Office with additional work, which they are woefully ill-equipped to manage. They already take a year to process the most straightforward visa renewal applications, but Mahmood’s announcements this week will create hundreds of thousands of extra applications for them to process." Jon Featonby, chief policy analyst at the Refugee Council: "The settlement consultation would seem to confirm that the switch to a 20 year route will apply to those already with refugee status. A refugee who got their status 4 years ago could, depending on timings, find themselves suddenly facing an extra 15 years, with status reviews every 30 months." Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol, CEO of the Work Rights Centre: "Shifting the goalposts on settlement is an extraordinary betrayal of migrant communities, the people and businesses who need and value their contribution, and the very idea of British solidarity. Ten years is long enough for many people to build a career, get married, and have children, so to put baseline settlement out of reach for that amount of time is nothing short of callous. It won’t make the system fairer or promote integration. It will just keep people on high-risk employer-tied visas for longer, and drive wedges between communities." "The government’s plan to add another 10 years for migrants who have been in receipt of public funds at any point during their stay in the UK is particularly dystopian. Most migrants are already excluded from public funds, so when they are permitted to access benefits, it is either because they are refugees escaping persecution, or because the Home Office has determined they are in a state so vulnerable, a change of conditions is vital. With the new proposals, the home secretary is punishing migrant families for getting sick, or becoming vulnerable." "Extending the baseline qualifying period for those sponsored in roles below RQF Level 6 (mainly carers working in social care) to a further 15 years is a stab in the back to those who answered Britain’s call for carers after Covid. Care workers were made eligible for the health and care worker visa in 2022 after the previous Conservative government recognised significant staff shortages in social care brought about by the pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic."
November 21, 2025 at 5:32 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
Gave the brand new Voi bikes a go on the way into town this morning. Really neat and very glad to see a citywide hire bike scheme continuing.

Pricing structure seems a bit on the steep side, so hope there's scope for that to be looked at. First 15 mins freebie was very welcome.
Photo of new hire bikes parked at an official parking location on the Southside of Glasgow. Photo of parked Voi hire bikes outside Queen Street Rail Station in the centre of Glasgow.
November 12, 2025 at 6:06 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
Looks like the new Voi bikes have started to appear in Glasgow 👀
Screenshot of the Voi bike rental app, showing hire bike and parking locations across the city (which appear to be unavailable at the moment). Screenshot of the Voi hire bike app, zoomed in on a location with the new hire bikes.
November 9, 2025 at 8:01 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
This is excellent - the new masterplan for Laurieston, which sits on the south side of the River Clyde directly facing Glasgow city centre.

Currently underpopulated with lots of big gap sites, this would really transform the area. Importantly, building more density around Bridge St subway station.
Concept image from the North Laurieston Masterplan consultation (which will act as a guideline for the regeneration of Laurieston, on the southside of the Clyde close to Glasgow city centre). This view appears to be looking south down Bridge Street. The concept image indicates the ambition for the area is to have 4-6 storey buildings lining the main streets, with a reduction in space dedicated to roads, larger pavements, street trees, and generally creating an active, appealing streetscape. Concept image from the North Laurieston Masterplan consultation. The image shows indicative massing of buildings around Bridge Street subway station - currently a space dominated by a barren surface car park. In the concept image, the subway entrance building is flanked by two 5-storey housing buildings, with active ground floor retail spaces and street trees. In many ways, this would be an example of transit-oriented-development, helping support the subway with new users, as much as benefitting residents with access to facilities and transport options across the city. Google Street View image of the area around Bridge Street subway station today. It shows the station entrance building, with a large underdeveloped space currently used as a surface car park. The local masterplan proposes to build housing on this land, bringing more people within walking distance of the subway and helping to create an active, thriving street.
November 7, 2025 at 5:58 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
A more local one... before & after on the route of the #SouthCityWay in Glasgow. @brenttoderian.bsky.social

New street trees 🌳, easier crossings 🚶, bus gates 🚍 and a new dedicated cycle lane that's helping thousands of people travel into the city by bike every day. 🚲
Google Street View image from 2010 looking south away from the city centre, at the junction of Gorbals Street and Ballater Street in Glasgow, just south of the River Clyde. The view shows a wide four-lane arterial road, lined with fencing to limit pedestrian crossing. At this time, the road was typically dominated by heavy traffic, and unwelcoming for people walking or cycling. Photo taken by me in summer 2025 at the same location, at the junction of Gorbals Street and Ballater Street in Glasgow, looking southwards away from the city centre. The photo shows the changes following the renovation of the street in 2023: a drastically narrowed roadway, with space given over to street trees, wider pavements, and a wide, protected cycle lane (part of the 3km city's 'South City Way' cycle route). New modern red-brick tenement style housing can be seen beyond the junction, lining the street into the distance. Many people can be seen cycling, including women with young children.
November 4, 2025 at 8:05 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
Also! Stopped by Deanston Bakery round the corner and neat to see they have somewhere right outside for customers to park a bike.

Small things like this make a difference.
Photo of Deanston Bakery, bakery and coffee shop run by a Ukrainian family on Deanston Drive in Shawlands, in the Southside of Glasgow. The bakery entrance is pictured on the ground floor of a tenement, with a blue neon sign and bike parking outside.
November 3, 2025 at 1:31 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
A really nice way to start the week, joining Shawlands Bike Bus on its 4th anniversary, as it weaved through southside of Glasgow to the happy sound of bike bells and chattering kids! 🚲🔔🚲🔔🚲
Photo of the Shawlands Bike Bus cycling on a residential street in Shawlands, in the Southside of Glasgow, Scotland. Young kids can be seen cycling to school, sheparded by their parents #Bikesky
November 3, 2025 at 1:13 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
One of my favourites, that I saw for myself last year: Neuer Markt in central Vienna.

One of Vienna's main civic/market squares, choked by vehicles & turned into a grim 20th century car park. Transformed back into a space for people in the last few years.

Before (📷 2017) 🚗🚗🚗🚗🚗
After (📷 2024) 🚶‍♂️🚲🌳🌲🌱
Google Street View image from 2017 looking onto Neuer Markt in central Vienna, one of the city's main historic civic squares. The square is filled with parked vehicles, with very little space for people to move or even sit. In the distance is a historic water fountain, inaccessible due to the parked vehicles. The square has since been transformed for the better (see next image). A photo I took at the same location as the previous image on Neuer Markt in central Vienna in November 2024. Gone are the parked cars that once filled the street - replaced by a completely renovated civic square, with space for walking, sitting, plenty of bike parking, and an overwhelming amount of new planting and greenery.
November 2, 2025 at 2:55 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
Every night.
Slightly blurry photo taken from behind a cat as it stares down from a tenement window into the garden, where a fox is staring right back.
October 30, 2025 at 10:18 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
Getting carried away, but playing around with other ways of visualising this after a look on Google Maps.

🌳🚶‍♀️ Streetscape changes on Carrer de Girona, Barcelona. Before (2012, right) and after the city's #superblock programme (2024, left).
A split image showing the view at the junction of Carrer de Girona and Carrer de Mallorca in Barcelona. The left side of the image shows the street in 2024 after public realm works to introduce near fully pedestrianised plaza, with seating, new paving and many new street trees. The right side of the image shows the same view in 2012, with vehicle traffic dominating the junction. Images taken from Google Maps Street View.
October 26, 2025 at 5:31 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
Been messing around with GIF maker.

👇 Before and after of Carrer de Girona, Barcelona. Showing the changes brought in as part of the city's #Superblock programme to green and dramatically traffic-calm streets across the city centre.
October 26, 2025 at 11:32 AM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
Like clockwork
Photo of a fox, curled up and having a nap in a garden underneath overhanging tree branches.
October 24, 2025 at 10:11 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
First finished section, just up the street.

☔ Rainy days are pretty frequent here! All the more reason why rain gardens (🌱"sustainable drainage" if you're feeling fancy) are so vital. 🚲 As are separated cycle lanes that take people from A to B safely. Loads of positive changes in Glasgow at the mo.
Photo of Argyle Street in Glasgow, looking east towards Central Station on a very wet, rainy day. In the foreground is the very first completed section of 'Avenues' project works on this street: brand new paving, street lighting, improved side street crossings, rain gardens, and a wide, beige coloured cycle lane can be seen.
October 19, 2025 at 4:56 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
☔ A rainy stroll down Argyle Street in Glasgow. #umarell

Brand new raised continuous pedestrian crossings at every side street, and cycle lanes under-construction leading towards Central Station.

Part of the 'Avenues' project, clawing back space for people on key streets across the city centre.
Photo looking east along a rainy Argyle Street in Glasgow City Centre. Brand new paving and new a 'raised table' crossing of a side street can be seen, alongside lots of plastic construction barriers. Major works are taking place to calm traffic, expand pavements, introduce planting, rain gardens and physically protected cycle lanes on the length of this street (one of Glasgow's main boulevards) - part of the city's "Avenues" project. The green and glass canopy of Central Station can be seen in the distance at the end of the street.
October 19, 2025 at 4:41 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
The crux of Tim's point: children should be free to roam.

Streets lined with cars hem in that freedom and have done over decades. Not only introducing danger & risk-averse attitudes to childhood freedom, but stealing the physical spaces nearest to home where kids can meet, play, explore and grow.
Photo of a residential street in the UK, lined on both sides by cars. (Super Straho / Unsplash)
October 18, 2025 at 1:30 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
The framing of that post has sat with me all morning.

"New flights from Edinburgh to stunning capital city with beautiful castle, bridges and walkable old town" Almost wonder if it was on purpose!

Anyway, to labour the point, let's do the same here and swap space for vehicles for space for people.
Photo looking down on the centre of Ljubljana, Slovenia, from Ljubljana Castle.
October 17, 2025 at 12:46 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
Highly walkable Ljubljana, with its Old Town, hilltop castle and iconic bridges, banned private vehicles from streets across its city centre in 2007.

It hasn't looked back.
Screengrab of Edinburgh Evening News post on Facebook, linking to an article about new flights from Edinburgh to Ljubljana, featuring an image of the Slovenian capital in summer sunshine.
October 17, 2025 at 8:52 AM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
I'd missed news of this earlier in the year: quite advanced (and really exciting!) plans for a comprehensive network of protected cycle lanes and all manner of public realm improvements for the centre of Ayr.

🚴‍♀️🚶🧑‍🦽🌳 Worth a look: accessibleayr-swecouk.hub.arcgis.com
Google Earth satellite view of Ayr, a major town on Scotland's west coast. The view is looking out over the town, westwards, towards the sea. Overview map of the 'Accessible Ayr' project area, showing a network of red lines on streets which will receive public realm upgrades and/or the addition of cycle lanes. This would provide a safe, well connected cycling network in the centre of Ayr, Scotland's 15th most populated town. A technical drawing from the 'Accessible Ayr' project, showing two streets which intersect each other, with plans for bidirectional, protected cycle lanes. Still from 'Accessible Ayr' fly-through video on YouTube, with a computer generated visual of New Bridge Street / Sandgate, one of the main streets leading into Ayr town centre. The image shows a reduced road lane, with bidirectional cycle path on one side of the street, running from the edge of town to the centre along this street.
October 16, 2025 at 7:48 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
Well, tried my best. Think that's one of those 'you either know it or you don't' ones. End of a good run. #unzoomed
A mystery city in the browser game 'Unzoomed'.
October 14, 2025 at 10:11 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
Let this be the inspiration for cities everywhere.
Photo of a school street in Paris (Rue de l'Arbelete), Christophe Belin / Ville de Paris. A woman can be seen pushing a child's scooter along a street outside a school building in central Paris, newly lined with trees, greenery and abundant street space for children to play and move safely, which has been reclaimed from vehicles. A young girl playing on newly renovated school street in central Paris. Trees and brand new pedestrian-focused paving can be seen in the background. Josephine Brueder / Ville de Paris Photo of children walking down a school street in central Paris. The entire street has been transformed into a fully pedestrianised space, with new planting, bushes, and space for children to walk safely and easily to school. Christophe Belin / Ville de Paris. A woman cycles down a new school street in Paris, as children gather outside the school's doors. Abundant new planting can be seen in the centre of the new pedestrianised street. Christophe Belin / Ville de Paris.
October 14, 2025 at 5:28 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
🦊 Blurry, night time shot of the fox that's been settling down in our tenement back court at the same time every night, like clockwork, for the last 3 months.

We think she's a mum catching a quick nap - usually disturbed an hour later by two younger foxes before they all disappear off together.
Slightly blurry photo of a fox resting on the grass in the middle of a back court garden in Glasgow, close to a brick garden wall and underneath overhanging trees.
October 13, 2025 at 9:54 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
What a run #Unzoomed
www.unzoomed.com/en
Satellite view of a mystery city in the browser game "Unzoomed".
October 6, 2025 at 6:53 PM
markjmcintyre.bsky.social
More detailed article here from the archaeological team themselves, including a map showing where this is - right on the edge of the old centre of Glasgow (which today more or less marks the boundary between the centre and the east end). www.guard-archaeology.co.uk/GALNews/?p=824
Map from Guard Archaeology (in linked article), showing the approximate layout of mid-14th century Glasgow, when the population would have been around 1,500 people at the most. The map shows the layout of the main streets of the town: two main east-west streets connected in between by High Street, running from the river up towards the cathedral. The dig site that's uncovered medieval artefacts from this time is marked in a red dot at the centre of the image, close to Glasgow Cross but believed to have been outside the town itself at this time. Google Earth satellite view of the same location in modern Glasgow, with the centre of the image located roughly at Glasgow Cross. The gap site where this dig took place is marked as a red triangle, and yellow lines mark the rough route of streets in 14th century Glasgow, included on the other map.
October 4, 2025 at 4:37 PM