New shores, Southside and centre.
There’s a wee jaunt along the coast in this issue – taking in Port Glasgow, Greenock, Prestwick and Ayr. Also, a potential route from Paisley’s (dried up) canal to its town centre. In Glasgow there are Southside surveys and George Sq has gardens galore. Also, East Dunbartonshire Council update on some of their plans.
*Addition* Forthcoming consultations
Events about the ‘Argyle St East’ Avenue (Central Station to Barrowfield Park) are taking place early next week:
- Monday 25 July 2022 – 10am to 6pm at St Enoch Centre.
- Tuesday 26 July 2022 – Argyle St East online event, 7–8.30pm.
Contents
(new/updated items in bold – link jumps to article)
Section 1: Current Consultations
- Port Glasgow 20mph zone
- Paisley Town Centre – Causeyside Street Regeneration
- Ayr to Prestwick Active Travel Route
- Connecting Battlefield
- George Square & ‘Block C’ Avenues – ‘Our Place’
- Greater Pollok Strategic Development Framework
- Greenock to Battery Park SfP lane
Section 2: Consultation Feedback
1: Current Consultations
(in date order for responses)
1.1: Port Glasgow 20mph zone
Council: Inverclyde.
Area: Part of upper Port Glasgow, west of Kilmacolm Rd/A761. Includes Bardrainney, Mid-Auchinleck and Slaemuir neighbourhoods.
Subject: As well as a 20mph zone this plan links into changes to NCN75. “The proposal is being supported by Sustrans Scotland as part of a proposal to reroute the National Cycle Route 75 along Auchenbothie Road.” Auchenbothie Road has a pink dashed line on the map, showing where traffic calming is planned. NCN75 already connects to it (red dotted line on map) but currently goes along Montrose Ave and Dubbs Rd (blue dotted line).
Website links: Port Glasgow 20mph zone survey.
Deadline: 29 July 2022.
1.2: Paisley Town Centre – Causeyside Street Regeneration
Council: Renfrewshire.
Area: Causeyside St and St Mirren St between Paisley Canal and Gilmour St train stations.
Subject: A potentially very useful link on a main road. A segregated cycletrack is proposed between the pedestrianised part of Gilmour St down Causeyside St to just past Stow Brae (where there’s a link to NCN75 at Telford’s). Renfrewshire Council removed some Spaces for People projects and have very little protected, on-road infrastructure. So, even though the proposed cycletrack would be 2-way, it’s still a big step forward for the area. Talk of keeping/adding car parking spaces may jar but it’s one less stick for critics to beat it with. There will still be many hurdles to clear, including accessibility and reaction from shoppers/shopkeepers. The plans are by Amey, better known for their trunk road work. That may explain the lack of trees and the convoluted junction south of Stow Brae.
Website links: Causeyside St ‘storymap’ (with survey at end).
Deadline: 7 August 2022.
1.3: Ayr to Prestwick Active Travel Route
Organisation: Ayrshire Roads Alliance (on behalf of South Ayrshire Council).
Subject: An upgraded “active travel route linking Ayr Esplanade to Prestwick Town Train Station will be proposed. It is envisaged that the proposed route will also connect to existing core paths in addition to future aspirational schemes such as Accessible Ayr, The Culzean Way and the Prestwick to Barassie Active Travel Route.” If it goes ahead, it would replace part of the current NCN7 along the coast, so has potential for cycle tourism as well as local journeys. There are photos of issues along the current route but no plans/visuals. So, it seems to be an early consultation to get comments (and maybe gauge demand?). If so, the more responses the better.
Website links: Ayr to Prestwick survey.
Deadline: 12 August 2022.
1.4: Connecting Battlefield
Council: Glasgow City.
Area: Battlefield Road, Grange Road, Langside Road and Queens Drive (between Queen’s Park and Mount Florida).
Subject: Relaunch of the former Battlefield Street Design project after a few years on hold during the pandemic. It features a uni-directional extension to the South City Way cycletrack running alongside Queen’s Park and down Battlefield Road. Also, there would be major changes to junctions at Queen’s Drive, Langside Rd and Battlefield Rest (removing a road between it and the old Victoria Hospital site). The consultation site mentions the Liveable Neighbourhood plans for Langside to Toryglen so hopefully these will dovetail with the Battlefield plans.
Featured: Consultation Extra, February 2020.
Website links: Connecting Battlefield ‘Storymap’ and Connecting Battlefield survey.
Deadline: 14 August 2022.
1.5: George Square & ‘Block C’ Avenues – ‘Our Place’
Council: Glasgow City.
Area: George Square and surrounding streets from Block C of the Avenues project.
Subject: The next step in consultation about the square and surroundings (last round was in Feb/Mar). New visualisations show the designers have got the message about more greenery. They’re an improvement on the current, quite barren square but are not the finished article. Which is just as well, since the shared spaces and road treatments at north and south look like they’d need more work. There are panels in the square for the public to view. Drop-in sessions will be held next to them on Saturday 6 August (1pm to 4pm) and Thursday 18 August (4pm to 7pm). There are two surveys – one for George Square and one for the proposed Avenues.
Featured: Digest 106, Item 1.5.
Website links: George Sq ‘Our Place’ engagement website.
Deadline: 2 September 2022.
1.6: Greater Pollok Strategic Development Framework
Council: Glasgow City.
Area: South-western corner of Glasgow at edge of M77 and East Renfrewshire. Includes Leverndale, Nitshill, Priesthill and Darnley neighbourhoods.
Subject: The latest SDF follows others for North Glasgow, Inner East, etc. and looks at the economy, environment and transport over the next few decades. This part of Glasgow juts out between Barrhead and Thornliebank so connections with East Renfrewshire are important. It covers part of Dams to Darnley Country Park so has some things in common with the recent Barrhead consultation map. Also, Braidcraft Rd and Brockburn Rd have Spaces for People lanes (as does Corkerhill Rd to north). However, there are some hellish junctions around Silverburn Shopping Centre. Later in the year GCC should write a draft strategy for further consultation.
First featured: Digest 113, Item 1.6.
Website links: Greater Pollok Commonplace map.
Deadline: September 2022.
1.7: Greenock to Battery Park SfP lane
Council: Inverclyde.
Subject: A Spaces for People temporary route between Greenock town centre and a coastal park. A council vote was 9:2 in favour of keeping the lanes for another six months, with a further review in September. Photos in the consultation survey show a mixture of on-road ‘soft’ segregation and painted lanes on footways and across side roads. While some of the junction and bus stop treatments may not be ideal, there seem to be decent protected sections too.
First featured: Digest 108, Item 1.12.
Website links: Greenock Town Centre to Battery Park – Community Engagement and Inverclyde Now article on council vote.
Deadline: No obvious deadline.
Section 2: Consultation Feedback
2.1: Local Development Plan Newsletter (EDC)
Council: East Dunbartonshire.
Subject: “This edition includes updates on the following: Proposed Local Development Plan 2 Examination Report; Planning Guidance; Circular Economy Strategy; Parking Management Plan.”
Website links: LDP Newsletter, edition 67.