Another big City Deal project in North Lanarkshire and last calls for consultations from Glasgow and South Lanarkshire.
Glasgow City
*ADDITION* Chinatown Masterplan
Potential plans for Glasgow Chinatown – the block between New City Rd, Garscube Rd and the M8. Development was to be linked to the Underline route, which has been delayed indefinitely by M8 viaduct works (and is missing from latest Avenues project map). Chinatown plans seem to include high rise towers, like the student flats at the other end of New City Rd just north of the M8.
Events:
Wed 10 December 2025, 3-7pm at Dundasvale Residents Hall, G4 0JS.
Mon 2 February 2026, 3-7pm at Garnethill Community Hall, 21 Rose Street, G3 6RE.
Links: Urban Realm article and Glasgow Times article (with event dates).
Improving Drumchapel Town Centre
Glasgow City Council say: “As part of the plans to improve Drumchapel town centre, we want your views on how best to change the roads layout of Kinfauns Drive from Hecla Ave down to Duntreath Ave, to make it easier to get around the area and make it more attractive.” The visuals show a revised raised platform on Kinfauns Dr with several sets of steps and a central ramp. Further south, the biggest change in the plans is removing the Drumchapel Roundabout. A (two-stage) crossing will be added on Duntreath Ave with an interesting junction at Aldi. There seems to be a wide verge on the western side of Duntreath Ave but sadly no segregated cycling route there or on Kinfauns Dr. There’s definitely cycling in the area as Drumchapel Cycle Hub are based just along from the junction on Drumry Road East.
Links: Drumchapel Town Centre survey.
Deadline: Monday 15 December 2025.
Thornwood Roundabout and NCN7 Project
A long overdue project for active travel improvements around Thornwood Roundabout and National Cycle Network Route 7 (NCN7). The roundabout plans are for new crossings and pavements/shared paths (widened onto verges). Crossings at north and east are 2-stage but close to ‘desire line’, with a few pinch points at corners. Crossings at west and south are set much further back (on existing paths). Sawmill St has a shared path south to crossings to a bi-directional cycletrack on South St/Castlebank St. That protected route runs most of the way to Pointhouse Place where there’s a shared path from the corner at the Riverside Museum. There’s a useful fly-through video of the route on the council webpage (and many visuals, which show cyclists riding on the right!). The cycletrack continues west along South St to the crossing at the end of the old railway path on the north side (near Dilwara Ave). While Thornwood roundabout is still car-dominated the plans are an upgrade for active travel. The cycletrack would be a very welcome improvement compared to NCN7’s current shared pavement.
Links: Thornwood-NCN7 consultation, Thornwood-NCN7 survey, Thornwood roundabout plans (PDF) and NCN7 plans (PDF).
Deadline: Wednesday 17 December 2025.
North Lanarkshire
Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure South
Another month, another City Deal-funded consultation in North Lanarkshire. This time it’s Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure South (RAIS), which includes the underbridge at the West Coast Mainline. It’s part of a wider Pan Lanarkshire dual carriageway between the M74 and M80. Previous plans were for a huge 100m wide roundabout in the middle of Motherwell. NLC say: “The overall footprint of the roundabout has been reduced significantly” – it’s now 80–90m wide. There are still up to five lanes on each arm. It’s also lost a direct crossing at the eastern end of Airbles Rd (now split into three stages at Manse Rd). There are some widened pavements but the route into Ravenscraig is broken up by slip roads (and the dual carriageway severs Orbiston St). Phase 2 is at the western end of Airbles Rd, adding an extra lane heading towards the junction at Strathclyde Park. Again, there are wider pavements. However, the distance between each phase is around 1.25km so there’s no continuous route. The consultation also covers suggested artwork based on the iconic cooling towers of the former Ravenscraig steelworks. A rusty version on a roundabout will not have the same impact but is at least a nod to history.
Links: Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure South webpage, RAIS Storymap and RAIS feedback survey (saying ‘Yes’ to changes gives you a text box with 1,000 character limit).
Deadline: Sunday 14 December 2025.
South Lanarkshire
Draft Transport Strategy Consultation 2025 – 2035
South Lanarkshire Council say: “This survey follows on from the first round of engagement undertaken in 2023 and subsequent work to develop South Lanarkshire’s next Local Transport Strategy (LTS), which will cover the period 2025 to 2035. This consultation will inform the finalisation of the Local Transport Strategy for adoption at the end of this year.”
SLC Local Transport Strategy on cycling: “…it is recognised that further investment is crucial to achieve the level of change required to meet climate targets, tackle poor health and address social exclusion. South Lanarkshire Council will further extend the active travel network during the lifetime of this LTS, including the provision of supporting infrastructure.” There’s very little further detail (and the LTS wasn’t mentioned at the last South Lanarkshire Cycling Partnership meeting).
Links: Draft Local Transport Strategy document, LTS consultation page and LTS survey.
Deadline: Tuesday 9 December 2025.
Merry Christmas and a Guid Hogmanay – see you in the New Year.
