Consultation Digest (Local) Issue 144, 21 September 2023

Edgy centres…

There are plans for redeveloping both towns and neighbourhood centres in this issue. Information varies from big budget visuals in South Lanarkshire to the ‘secret squirrel’ approach in Renfrewshire. Many of them are in areas which don’t always get the spotlight, either in the ‘shires’ or the edges of the city. Even the latest Avenues project is at the edge of the city centre. Also, there’s a less edgy (but important) city strategy and North Lanarkshire’s development plan and new crossings. Plus, a Dutch-style junction comes to East Renfrewshire…

Contents
(new consultations in bold)

Section 1: Current Consultations
(in date order for responses)

1.1: Pollok Roundabout Replacement

Council: Glasgow City.
Subject: Replacement for Pollok roundabout (Peat Road, Barrhead Rd and Braidcraft Rd). It’s a collision blackspot and barrier to active travel near Silverburn shopping centre. The consultation mentions safety and active travel. However, the aims are all about reducing journey times for cars and buses (design funded by SPT). The proposal would replace the current three-ring circus of a roundabout with an even more complex signal-controlled double junction (add your own clown joke!). The plan has nine lanes on Barrhead Rd and would require six crossings to get from one side to the other. It could easily take 15 minutes or more for pedestrians to cross the road(s). There’s no segregated cycling infrastructure, possibly as plans date from 2016, before updated Cycling by Design guidance. An Information Day was held on 10 August at Pollok Civic Realm. Feedback from the event said the staff had little sympathy for cycling.
Website links: Pollok Roundabout plans and Pollok Roundabout survey.
Deadline: 21 September 2023.

1.2: South Portland St (Avenues Plus) TRO

Visualisation of South Portland St plans (looking north)

Council: Glasgow City.
Subject: The first Avenue plans for south of the river. At first glance, it may seem like there’s not much to it (which may be why it wasn’t featured in the last issue). However, there’s a bit more to the junctions and potential links, especially as it aligns with the suspension bridge. The two-way lanes on S Portland St moving to one-way lanes at the crossroads may need some working out (it’s due to go to the next AIDF meeting later this month). Also, some revisions have taken place since the earlier versions of the plans, including potentially reversing a few one-way streets (options in consultation).
Website links: S Portland St storymap.
Deadline: 22 September 2023.

1.3: City Development Plan Scheme Participation

Council: Glasgow City.
Subject: GCC say: “The Development Plan is Glasgow’s land-use plan that sets out strategic land use changes in the city for a 20 year period. This short survey is intended to engage interested parties on how best the Council can engage with citizens and stakeholders during the production of the city’s next Development Plan over the next 5 years.” So, engagement about engagement? The survey asks if you think GCC’s plans to promote the plan are sufficient or not.
Website links: Plan Scheme survey.
Deadline: 27 September 2023.

1.4: East Kilbride town centre: A new vision

EK town centre – map of proposed demolitions — Map of planned demolitions for East Kilbride’s town centre

Council: South Lanarkshire.
Subject: The same old story of changing (online) shopping habits, empty units and redevelopment. Surprisingly, the most recent building, Centre West, is due to be demolished for housing, with a new north-south street put next to it. Other demolitions would create space for a new town square and car parking by the Queensway trunk road. However, there doesn’t seem to be any new crossing to the square or the path along the south of the site. The existing underpasses often have issues with broken glass and poor sight-lines/personal safety. This is why SLC are building segregated on-road cycle lanes on Churchill Avenue (not in the plans). Will the path be upgraded with improved links west near Blacklands Rd or across to Churchill Ave’s 2-way protected lanes? Also, could there be a further north-south link between Brouster Gate and the new square?
Drop-in events are in the former Toytown shop, Princes Mall:
Thurs 21 to Sat 23 Sept, 10am – 4pm then Thurs 28/Fri 29 Sept, 10am – 4pm.
Website links: EK consultation boards and EK questionnaire.
Deadline: No obvious deadline but events finish late September.

1.5: Royston to Hogganfield Liveable Neighbourhoods

Council: Glasgow City.
Subject: The Liveable Neighbourhoods project aims to improve active travel links and placemaking in sections of the city. The Royston to Hogganfield area is part of ‘Tranche 2’, which had a consultation in February 2023. The plans that came out of that are now up for comment. There are seven projects, mostly in Royston and Germiston, with one in Hogganfield. They include a plan to put an active travel route through the former St Rollox train works between Royston and the retail park. Also, to simplify paths between Royston Rd and Castle St. Other projects in the area include Royston Road Masterplan, Flourishing Molendinar (Blackhill) and the replacement for Barlinnie Prison. Consultation events have finished.
Featured: Digest 129, 1.8.
Website links: Royston to Hogganfield plans and survey.
Deadline: 01 October 2023.

1.6: Yoker to Whiteinch Liveable Neighbourhoods

Council: Glasgow City.
Subject: Yoker to Whiteinch is also a ‘Tranche 2’ Liveable Neighbourhood. It has eight potential projects spread across the area. Most involve crossing improvements with one replacing an underpass at Victoria Park Drive South. There’s also some potential modal filters in Scotstoun and Hawick St (using bollards, planters, etc. to block through car traffic but still allow bikes and pedestrians). Some of the major roads, like Anniesland Road/Kingsway, will be picked up by the City Network program instead. LN’s are only funded to this stage as a whole so each individual project will need to get funding for detailed design and construction. However, the national funding for active travel projects has been increasing and is due to rise further to 10% of the Scottish transport budget (as asked for by Pedal on Parliament). Consultation events have finished.
Featured: Digest 129, 1.7.
Website links: Yoker to Whiteinch plans and survey.
Deadline: 01 October 2023.

1.7: Glasgow Transport Strategy – Spatial Delivery Framework

Council: Glasgow City.
Subject: A second attempt at this consultation, which seemed to have a false start last month (and still has a broken link to the Transport Strategy – fixed below). The Spatial Delivery Framework covers some important parts of the strategy, especially the Bus Priority Corridors and Active Travel Network, which may conflict on some key routes. Also, Mobility Hubs, Freight Hubs, Road Hierarchy and the Environmental Report. Online sessions with stakeholders are taking place during September and early October.
Website links: Spatial Delivery Framework survey and Glasgow Transport Strategy information.
Deadline: 12 October 2023.

1.8: Local Development Plan for North Lanarkshire (Participation)

Council: North Lanarkshire.
Subject: NLC say: “The LDP… sets out the policies and proposals for future land use and development in North Lanarkshire. For example, it will guide where new housing, business and infrastructure will be located. …we want to make sure everyone with an interest can get involved. To help with this, we have prepared a draft Participation Statement.”
But, since the Participation Statement is a PDF file: “Accessibility: These files may not be suitable for users of assistive technology. Please contact us to request an accessible format.” Sigh…
Website links: NLLDP2: Participation Statement Survey.
Deadline: 13 October 2023.

1.9: Connecting Battlefield Phase 1 (Queens Drive and Langside Road TRO)

Queens Drive/Langside Road TRO plans showing 2-way lanes on west side of Langside Rd — Queens Dr/Langside Rd TRO plans with 2-way lanes on west of Langside Rd (click to enlarge)

Council: Glasgow City.
Subject: A belated return for this extension to the South City Way. Last time, it had one-way lanes and went down Grange Rd. A lot seems to have happened since, including various comments by residents in Queen’s Drive. So, now there’s a two-way cycleway on the western side of Langside Rd (avoiding Queen’s Dr on the eastern side). Also, the route stays on Langside Rd instead of going down Grange Rd. After some discussion with GCC during Stage 1 of this TRO, we received the following:
“The proposed… Bi-directional cycle lanes on Langside to the monument are an addition to the project. I can confirm the cycle lanes towards the Battlefield monument will not replace the cycle lanes towards the [Battlefield] rest. The Bi-directional cycle lane on Langside to the monument will be constructed using light segregation. To confirm the cycle[way]s do connect, but for TRO purposes we only show the green hatch on the carriageway. The cycle lanes will join within the large buildout at the junction.” So, it seems we get a bonus lane with more still to come (even later than planned).
Featured: Digest 114, 1.7, Consultation Extra (18 February 2020) and earlier.
Website links: Proposed TRO webpage (original consultation storymap).
Deadline: 14 October 2023.

1.10: Our Johnstone (Town Centre consultation)

Council: Renfrewshire.
Subject: Consultation for Johnstone town centre, west of Paisley and Elderslie. The council say: “We want to hear from people who live, work and visit Johnstone Town Centre. This is to help us prioritise improvements, identify growth opportunities and develop a new strategic vision for its future.” There’s an online survey (by Page/Park architects no less) but no further details on any plans so far. There’s due to be a day of consultation events on 27 September taking place in Houston Square and a few surrounding locations.
Website links: Johnstone town centre article and Our Johnstone online survey.
Deadline: 16 October 2023.

1.11: Connecting Woodside – Phase 2 (St George’s Road)

Council: Glasgow City.
Subject: Updated plans for St George’s Road, between Charing Cross and N Woodside Rd. The 2-way protected cycleway will connect from the existing Avenue on Sauchiehall St and eventually link into existing infra next to Garscube Rd. There are some changes to junctions and new crossings along the route. The plans include the more direct crossing option at Phoenix Rd/Maryhill Rd. Also, there’s a rare sighting of a continuous pavement; at a side access road (with barrier) next to Woodside Library. Nearby is a novel cycle crossing going diagonally across a pedestrian crossing (with bike light phase apparently). Two side roads were already going to be restricted: Clarendon Place will be stopped up (opened at other end) and Glenfarg St will be filtered. Lastly, a cycle maintenance station has been added to the plans between Grant St and W Princes St (handy for the M8 off-ramp!).
Featured: Digest 121 (1.13).
Website links: St George’s Rd ‘Storymap’ (link fixed now), Connecting Woodside webpage (PDF drawings under St George’s Rd heading) and St George’s Rd survey.
Deadline: 20 October 2023.

1.12: Waiting to Happen (junctions consultation)

Company: New Practice (architecture practice).
Subject: Community engagement by the practice where Emma Burke Newman worked. She was killed by an HGV driver while cycling at the George V bridge/Broomielaw junction, near the casino, in February 2023. This consultation is about that junction and two others – Gorbals St at the Clutha Vaults pub and Albert Bridge/Clyde St (by the High Court). NP say: “These junctions are our focus of study as they feel like incidents-waiting-to-happen, and one is the site of Emma’s death.” Diagrams show movements around each junction (and include the council’s plans for the South City Way extension at the Clutha). New Practice carried out previous consultations like George Square and have applied their knowledge to make a user friendly page. “We want to hear your experiences when walking, wheeling, scooting, or as a driver to help inform solutions specific to these locations and create systems for a safer city for us all.”
Featured: Digest 141, 1.7.
Website links: Waiting to Happen consultation page.
Deadline: No obvious deadline (but New Practice say they’ll review the submissions and present to councillors).

1.13: ADDITION Queen’s Park consultation

Organisation: Queen’s Park Working Group.
Subject: A late addition – a community consultation about developing ideas of how to improve Queen’s Park & Recreation Ground. Queen’s Park is on the western edge of Langside Rd, with the Recreation Ground to the east. So, this separate consultation ties in with Connecting Battlefield, above.
Website links: Queen’s Park questionnaire.
Deadline: 30 September.

Section 2: Consultation Feedback

2.1: A77 Ayr Road Phase 2 update

Council: East Renfrewshire.
Subject: A milestone in phase 2 of the active travel project on the A77 at Newton Mearns. ERC report the new Dutch-style traffic light junction at Hunter Drive/Mearnswood Place is operational. As far as we know, it’s the first of its kind in a Scottish town. South Lanarkshire have been working on a similar junction on West Mains Rd, East Kilbride since last year but the cycle traffic lights remain covered up. The only other fully operational junctions like this are on the South City Way on Victoria Rd, Glasgow. Also, phase 2 has uni-directional cycle lanes, which are a rare sight outside cities. While all this should arguably be the default standard across the country, that’s seldom the case (see next item). So, ERC’s enlightened attitude deserves some praise. An official opening for the A77 project should follow shortly.
Featured: Digest 112, 1.7.
Website links: ERC tweet about A77.

2.2: New crossings in North Lanarkshire

Toucan crossing on A73 Carlisle Rd, Airdrie with NCN75 and 'Cyclists Dismount' signs on left — A two-stage toucan crossing now takes NCN75 across the A73 in Airdrie

Council: North Lanarkshire.
Subject: Following a recent TRO for a puffin crossing on the A73, your editor stumbled across a new toucan (cycle/pedestrian) crossing nearby. It and a second crossing seem to have slipped through the net last year (apologies). The new crossing is single stage between a new Lidl and a petrol station. Also, NLC have converted nearby pedestrian lights into a toucan crossing for NCN75. However, while the old crossing was single stage, the new one is two-stage with a ‘cattle pen’ island and ‘Cyclist Dismount’ signs! There are further signs at the end of Craigneuk Avenue and (widened) shared pavement on either side of Carlisle Rd to the lane that leads towards Hillfoot St.
Elsewhere, NLC are currently adding similar widened pavement and toucans on Alexander St and Netherton St, Wishaw. This will finally improve the route between the train station and University Hospital Wishaw. NHS Lanarkshire added an entrance to George V Park and an upgraded path in 2019.
Featured: Digest 139, 3.3.
Website links: NLC news article.

Section 3: Proposed Traffic Regulation Orders

3.1: East Ayrshire TROs

Subject: TROs for Disabled Persons parking places, road humps on Dean Road, Kilmarnock and proposed zebra crossing, Grougar Road, Crookedholm. Also, East Ayrshire Council made the order for ‘Various roads around Rugby Park, Kilmarnock’ on 04/08/2023.

3.2: East Dunbartonshire TROs

Subject: Off-street parking amendments – deadline: 25 September 2023.
Website links: East Dunbartonshire TROs.

3.3: Glasgow City TROs and Traffic Calming

Subject: As above, TROs for South Portland St and Queens Drive and Langside Road plus the traffic management order for Riverside and Merchant City. Also, several orders have been made for Cumbernauld Rd, Provanmill Rd, Royston Rd and Laggan Rd.
Website links: Glasgow City Proposed TROs and Glasgow City Proposed Traffic Calming Schemes.

3.4: North Lanarkshire TROs

Subject: Parking restrictions for an unnamed road off B8048 Kirkintilloch Road, Cumbernauld (next to a garage near Broadwood Stadium).
Website links: North Lanarkshire TRO (B8048).