Town centres dominate this issue – one in South Lanarkshire (visualisation in featured image, above) and no less than eight in East Renfrewshire! Elsewhere, North Lanarkshire’s consultations continue and South Ayrshire looks at car parking. Glasgow has a few projects in both the West End and in the north of the city – one of the latter links with East Dunbartonshire.

On 26 March a vigil was held for Una Brandreth, who was killed while cycling in Bearsden a week before. The petition to improve road safety in the area now has over 2,000 signatures.

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

1.1: North Woodside Road (Outdoor Public Space)

Council: Glasgow City.
Subject: This started as an idea from Websters Theatre for a temporary public events space in the cul-de-sac outside their building. It was put forward for a council programme called Animating Spaces but has since become part of the wider Connecting Woodside project. The latest plans feature a path, dropped kerb, cycle hire station and rain garden. The street is a useful link between the Kelvin Way and Great Western Road (and doesn’t currently have a drop kerb). While the plan might seem modest, removing two car parking spaces to fit it in might still get a negative reaction from some in the West End.
Featured: Digest 75, 1.1 (originally as “Websters Theatre – A New Public Space at Kelvinbridge”).
Website links: N Woodside Rd storymap and N Woodside Rd survey
Deadline: 12 April 2024.

1.2: Conservation Area Consultations (Coatbridge/Cumbernauld)

Council: North Lanarkshire.
Subject: Two consultations about lesser known Conservation Areas. The Coatbridge one is either side of Blairhill train station and the other is in Cumbernauld Village (the original settlement north of the town centre). While not directly related to cycling, the last few survey questions mention traffic and development.
Website links: Coatbridge: Blairhill and Dunbeth Conservation Area Consultation and Cumbernauld Village Conservation Area Consultation.
Deadline: 12 April 2024.

1.3: A803 Stage 2

Council: East Dunbartonshire (and Glasgow CC/City Deal).
Subject: The A803 includes Springburn Rd and Kirkintilloch Rd between North Glasgow and Bishopbriggs. Consultation in 2022 (with Atkins) led to three route options (by Arcadia).
Option 1 – bus lanes (mostly southbound) with nothing for cycling.
Option 2 – some southbound bus lanes and a shared path for walking/cycling. Except near Bishopbriggs town centre it zigzags off into a ‘quietway’ cycle route. Then back to a shared path before it gives up at Hawthorn St.
Option 3 – some sections of 2-way cycleway in north Bishopbriggs then shared path/quietway again until Hawthorn St (where it “will tie into a proposed cycle route that Glasgow City Council is developing”). However, what would happen in the meantime? Alternatives would include using grass verges/upgrading existing paths or actually taking road space from the A803 dual carriageway. However, EDC doesn’t offer those options.
A drop-in event has already taken place.
Website links: A803 Stage 2 storymap and A803 public consultation page (with downloads of plans for Option 1, Option 2 and Option 3).
Deadline: 21 April 2024.

1.4: Hamilton Town Centre Masterplan

Council: South Lanarkshire.
Subject: One of Scotland’s biggest towns gets a radical rethink to reduce retail and reintroduce residences. The same team who did East Kilbride’s plans are looking at potential demolition of both the New Cross and Regent shopping centres (and maybe the former Baird’s and M&S buildings). However, initial plans keep the 4/5-lane A723 around the south-eastern edge of the town centre, which severs it from neighbouring areas (Barncluith and Silvertonhill). The Masterplan material mentions active travel but very few images have cycle lanes. There are some inventive ideas but many cluttered shared spaces, which could do with some kind of segregation (like rows of trees, to take inspiration from the historic ‘Great Avenue’). The only current cycle route in the town centre (between Hamilton Central station and Strathclyde Park) is mostly paint, except a short stretch of shared path on Leechlee Rd protected by a hedge. The masterplan process is a golden opportunity to push for cycleways like recent ones in Glasgow or East Kilbride town centre.
Drop-in events (remaining):
4 April, 10am–4pm – Former Quiz shop unit, Regent Shopping Centre (Regent Way).
5 April, 10am–4pm – Asda, Palace Grounds.
Website links: South Lanarkshire View article, Hamilton Masterplan website and Hamilton Masterplan survey.
Deadline: 28 Apr 2024.

1.5: Connecting Yorkhill and Kelvingrove

Council: Glasgow City.
Subject: Former ‘Cycling Village’ bid by YoKeCoCo (big Sustrans funding winner back in 2019). Since the pandemic it’s been rebranded as a GCC ‘Connecting…’ project.
Phase 1 – Yorkhill North includes previous plans for Radnor St, Haugh Rd, Gilbert St and Sandyford St (between Kelvin Way and SWG3). Another 2-way cycleway up Yorkhill St would link to infrastructure on Old Dumbarton Rd (behind the Kelvin Hall).
Phase 2 – widen footways along Kelvinhaugh St and add 1-way cycleways at the wide Argyle St junction.
Phase 3 – add bidirectional cycleways on Derby St to link from Kelvinhaugh St, across Argyle St and Sauchiehall St, to Kelvingrove Park.
Phase 4 – look at Corunna Street and Minerva Street (near Exhibition Centre train station). Also, there will be changes to car parking provision to better match the number of spaces and permit holders (currently two of the latter on Kelvinhaugh St for 203 spaces!).
Drop-in event: Thursday 18 April 2024 at 3.30–7pm in The Pyramid at Anderston, 759 Argyle Street, Glasgow G3 8DS.
See below for related Liveable Neighbourhoods projects and Traffic Regulation Order.
Website links: Connecting Y&K storymap and Connecting Y&K survey.
Deadline: 28 Apr 2024.

1.6: Yorkhill to Anderston: Liveable Neighbourhoods

Council: Glasgow City.
Subject: The above Connecting Yorkhill and Kelvingrove work means the Liveable Neighbourhoods projects focus on Anderston (and part of Sandyford). These include adding some cycleways to the West City Way and tweaks to other sections. So, there’s a new cycleway for the quieter bit of Argyle St between the Buttery and Pyramid, near St Patrick’s Primary School. Some raised tables removed and the Elderslie St/Argyle St corner is remodelled. New 1-way cycleways go north of St Vincent St with a revised crossing on Elderslie St. Also, Kent Rd would get a 1-way section and some greenery. However, there are no upgrades for Berkeley St – the bus boarder and junctions at Elderslie St and Claremont St (near the Gaelic School) are untouched. North Claremont St is still disrupted by building work but it’s hard to follow the logic of the rest. Hopefully, the joint consultation event will provide some answers (18 April, as above). Also, these works raise questions about the level of provision in other LN areas.
Website links: Yorkhill–Anderston LN storymap, Anderston LN survey and Yorkhill to Anderston consultation (on GCC’s LN webpage).
Deadline: 28 Apr 2024.

1.7: Prestwick parking consultation 2024

Organisation: Ayrshire Roads Alliance (on behalf of South Ayrshire Council).
Subject: Proposals to add further streets to an existing residents car parking permit scheme around Main Street, Prestwick. The new town centre streets added at the northern end of the area include Berelands Road, Mieklewood Avenue and Links Road. The latter is part of NCN7, along with Station Rd and Kirk St.
Website links: Prestwick parking consultation webpage.
Deadline: 03 May 2024.

1.8: East Renfrewshire Town Centres

Council: East Renfrewshire.
Subject: Further consultation about eight East Ren town centres: Clarkston, Eaglesham, Giffnock, Barrhead, Busby, Neilston, Newton Mearns and Thornliebank. The last phase collected suggestions about changes to each place. Some of the most popular options are now available to choose in ‘Final verification surveys’. Questions are grouped under headings: ‘Roads, transportation and active travel’, ‘Buildings, retail and meeting spaces’ and ‘Green space and path networks’.
Featured: Digest 121, 1.14 (and 112).
Website links: East Renfrewshire Town Centres Commonplace site.
Deadline: 05 May 2024.

1.9: Flourishing Molendinar

Council: Glasgow City.
Subject: A project started by St Paul’s Youth Forum and their On Bikes team. Their original base is on Langdale St, Blackhill which had one of the first Spaces for People streets created during lockdown. More SfP streets followed on Royston Rd, Provanmill Rd and Cumbernauld Rd before the wider project was taken over by Glasgow City Council. These (very) detailed draft plans would make those protected lanes permanent and add a new public space in the middle of Langdale St (on a block with no houses facing onto it). Also, they’d add crucial connections to places like Smithycroft High School, taming junction 12 of the M8 motorway in the process.
Public Drop in Events: Wednesday 24 / Thursday 25 April 2024, 3pm – 7pm.
Molendinar Community Centre, 1210 Royston Road, Glasgow G33 1HE
Website links: FloMo poster, FloMo plans sheet 1, FloMo plans sheet 2 and FloMo plans sheet 3.
Deadline: 13 May 2024.

Section 2: Consultation Feedback

2.1: South Lanarkshire Cycling Partnership meeting – 25 March 2024

Subject: SLCP members include councillors, officers and external groups like Sustrans, Camglen Bike Town and GoBike. The main presentation was about the finished active travel studies for Clydesdale (split into three areas). The council now has active travel studies covering the whole of South Lanarkshire.
The other main presentation was about funding changes – Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) has had its capital budget cut to zero. Also, funding that used to come via Sustrans is changing to direct funding from Transport Scotland. This has affected some ongoing projects but it looks like TS funding may go towards work around the new Hairmyres station (which goes to planning soon).
Updates included Bike Town planning expansion into East Kilbride, following their work there on bikes for refugees (with EK Integration Network) and tours of the new cycling infrastructure.
Also, some success for GoBike – following consultation, SLC are looking at an alternative route up from the Raith Interchange on Laighlands Rd/Bothwellpark Rd (instead of the steeper Langside Rd).

Section 3: Proposed Traffic Regulation Orders

3.1: East Dunbartonshire TROs

Subject: Order about disabled car parking spaces.
Website links: East Dunbartonshire TROs.

3.2: Glasgow City TROs and Traffic Calming

Subject: Traffic order for North Hanover St and Kyle St – in advance of works for the Avenues project. TRO plans show 2-way lanes are due to go on the eastern side of N Hanover St then a diagonal crossing will take them to the northern side of Kyle St (to connect with the new Sighthill bridge). A GoBike response raised several issues, especially about junctions/future connections including George Sq, Cathedral St, Cowcaddens Rd and Dobbies Loan. The GCC response answered some of our points but seemed to misinterpret others. Unfortunately, as GoBike are still quite stretched, we didn’t manage to get back to them before the public TRO went out. Deadline: 19 April 2024.
Other ongoing TRO consultations include Yorkhill Area/Radnor St and Duke St/John Knox St. The page also lists recent ‘made’ orders for St George’s St/Clarendon Place and the North East Active Travel Routes (NEATR).
Website links: GCC Proposed Traffic Regulation Orders and GCC Proposed Traffic Calming Schemes.

3.3: North Lanarkshire TROs

Subject: Changes to restrictions in Airdrie at the pedestrianised part of Graham St and on Wellwynd (next to New Wellwynd Parish Church). Deadline: 19 April 2024.
Website links: Graham Street and Wellwynd, Airdrie – Traffic Regulation (Consolidation) Variation Order.

This Digest comes after Great Britain & Northern Ireland won a handful of cycling medals at Toyko 2020. One was for mountain biking while the rest were in BMX (where Sir Chris Hoy started). Both are covered by the Velo Park proposal from North Lanarkshire Council (but NLC have dropped the cycleway to Motherwell train station). There are also several consultations for East Dunbartonshire and Glasgow plus one for East Renfrewshire.

The ban on pavement parking was made law in the Scottish Parliament in 2019. Last year, GoBike wondered when it would come into force (Digest 65, Item 3.4) – it seems it’s due to be 2023. Living Streets want you to write to your MSPs about bringing it forward.

People of all abilities can cycle at facilities run by Freewheel North – who are trying to fundraise just now, in case you want to contribute.

Infrastructure Update

• Sighthill’s new pedestrian/cycle bridge has been installed over the M8 (but won’t be open for a while yet). GoBike convenor, Thomas, spoke about it on STV!
• At the canal, the Claypits nature reserve officially opened at the weekend, including the zigzag ramp from Garscube Rd.
• The Stockingfield Bridge at the canal is being assembled but won’t be up and running until next year.
• North Canal Bank St – work is getting there but it missed its July re-opening date.
• At Kelvin Hall, Argyle St/Bunhouse Rd has bike lights installed, but not yet operational.
• Thomas visited Corkerhill Rd’s soft segregated lanes.
• He also let us know South City Way’s new cycle counters are up-and-running.
• Outdoor seating in the sun was popular along Sauchiehall St’s permanent lanes and the pop-ups at Candleriggs/George Square and Cambridge St.
• In East Kilbride, University Hospital Hairmyres has a new path into south of site (from Strathtay Ave).

Contents
(new consultations in bold – link jumps to article)

Section 1: Current Consultations

1. Glasgow City Council – City Centre Traffic Management Order 2010: Variation No.29, GHA Parking Areas (ends 3 Aug – today!)
2. St. Paul’s Youth Forum – Flourishing Molendinar second consultation (ends 6 Aug)
3. Glasgow City Council – Garnethill Traffic Management and Parking Controls Order (ends 13 Aug)
4. East Dunbartonshire Council – Bishopbriggs Town Centre Regeneration (ends 15 Aug)
5. East Dunbartonshire Council – Schools waiting and loading orders (ends 16 Aug)
6. East Dunbartonshire Council – Lenzie Rd, Kirkintilloch waiting and loading order (ends 16 Aug)
7. East Dunbartonshire Council – Civic Way/Lenzie Rd, traffic management (ends 16 Aug)
8. Glasgow City Council – Auldhouse Area Traffic Management Order (ends 20 Aug)
9. North Lanarkshire Council – Bellshill Entrance/Velo Park Project (until end of Aug)
10. East Renfrewshire Council – Ayr Road (A77): Spaces for People, Phase 2
11. Glasgow City Council – Low Emission Zone consultation (ends 2 Sep)
12. Glasgow City Council – Inner East Strategic Development Framework (ends 3 Sep)
13. East Dunbartonshire Council – Active Travel Discussion (ends 28 Sep)
14. Glasgow Urban Sports – GUSM74 Urban Sports Sculpture Park

Section 2: Forthcoming Consultations

None this time.

Section 3: Consultation Feedback

1. North Lanarkshire Council – Planning Application (20/00345/FUL) Access to Motherwell train station

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

1.1: Glasgow City Council – City Centre Traffic Management Order 2010: Variation No.29, GHA Parking Areas

Glasgow Housing Association’s parking areas are in Townhead, east of Buchanan Bus Station, behind the high flats. Resident’s parking spaces around Kennedy St and St Mungo Avenue have been used as free parking by shoppers/commuters. This order introduces parking restrictions (as covered in Digest 91, Item 1.1).

GoBike agreed with these measures in our Stage 1 GHA response and latest GHA response.

There are the usual documents for a TRO: plan of GHA parking areas, GHA areas draft report, GHA areas press notice and the usual statement of reasons. Respond by e-mail to lestraffic@glasgow.gov.uk  by 3 August 2021.

1.2: St. Paul’s Youth Forum – Flourishing Molendinar second consultation

The Flourishing Molendinar project covers an area around Blackhill in the north east of Glasgow. As seen in Digest 91, Item 1.2, the next stage of the Flourishing Molendinar project has produced new plans for consultation. Proposals include a pedestrianised section on Langdale St, segregated cycleways on Cumbernauld Rd and Royston Rd.

Permanent segregated lanes on Royston Rd would continue east of Provanmill Rd, where the current pop-up lanes peter out, past the Langdale St/Robroyston Rd junction. This wouldn’t just connect Blackhill towards the city centre, it’s also just across the M80 footbridge from Barmulloch. The junction is also a route to a school, St Philomena’s RC Primary School, where pupils have been doing their own plans in Minecraft software.

For more on the above, see the FloMo survey (ends 6 August).

1.3: Glasgow City Council – Garnethill Traffic Management and Parking Controls Order

Garnethill is perched above Sauchiehall St and Cambridge St, up some of the steepest streets in the city centre. As we said in Digest 91, Item 1.3, it’s due to get parking controls, which stem from a consultation event in 2018.

Garnethill also has a lot of existing one way streets, which don’t allow for contraflow cycling. In our Garnethill Stage 1 response, GoBike objected to this and other measures. Very little had changed since, apart from a few parking spaces, so we re-iterated our objections in our response to the published Garnethill order.

See the restrictions in the TRO documents: Garnethill plan, Garnethill draft report, Garnethill press notice and the standard Statement of Reasons. Email: garnethillparking@glasgow.gov.uk by 13 August.

1.4: East Dunbartonshire Council – Bishopbriggs Town Centre Regeneration

This consultation is about not just Bishopbriggs town centre, but also phase 5 of Bishopbriggs Relief Road (BRR5) and the A803 corridor. Cycling doesn’t get much of a mention, as we said in Digest 91, Item 1.4. That’s despite Bishopbriggs being so close to the Forth & Clyde canal and to Glasgow (where the A803 changes from Kirkintilloch Rd to Springburn Rd). If you want to put a word in for cycling, see the Bishopbriggs consultation webpage and Bishopbriggs Public Realm Plan survey by 15 August.

1.5: East Dunbartonshire Council – Schools waiting and loading orders

A series of orders from East Dunbartonshire bring in parking restrictions around the following nine primary schools:

• Clober Primary School, Milngavie
• Westerton Primary School, Bearsden
• Meadowburn Primary School, Bishopbriggs
• St Matthew’s Primary School, Bishopbriggs
• Wester Cleddens Primary School, Bishopbriggs
• Gartconner Primary School, Kirkintilloch
• Holy Family Primary School, Kirkintilloch
• Craighead Primary School, Milton of Campsie
• Torrance Primary School, Torrance

All include ‘no waiting’ restrictions between 8.30 – 9.30am and 2.30 – 4.30pm. The Clober, Westerton, Craighead and Torrance school plans have sections with no waiting at any time (mostly on corners/school entry roads).

See the plans and other PDF documents for details: Bearsden/Milngavie schools plans, Bearsden/Milngavie schools order, ‘west’ schools Schedules & Statement of reasons, Bearsden/Milngavie schools notice, Bishopbriggs/Kirkintilloch/Milton of Campsie/Torrance schools plans, ‘east’ schools order, ‘east’ schools Schedules & Statement of reasons, ‘east’ schools notice, Bishopbriggs consolidated order and Milton of Campsie consolidated order.

Send any comments to the Chief Solicitor & Monitoring Officer by post or email by 16 August.

1.6: East Dunbartonshire Council – Linnhe Ave/Thums Ave/Ochil Rd waiting and loading order

Immediately east of the above map are Linnhe Ave, Thums Ave and the Ochil Rd cul-de-sac (near Wester Cleddens Rd). Linnhe Ave is due to have no waiting or loading at any time, across from the shops on Woodhill Rd. Thums Ave and Ochil Rd are due to have restrictions only between 8.30 – 9.30am and 2.30 – 4.30pm. Presumably, the times relate to the nearby Thomas Muir Primary School and Bishopbriggs Academy, which have a gate on Ochil Rd.

See the PDF documents: Linnhe Ave/Thums Ave/Ochil Rd plan, Linnhe Ave/Thums Ave/Ochil Rd order and Linnhe Ave/Thums Ave/Ochil Rd notice. Send any comments to the Chief Solicitor & Monitoring Officer by post or email by 16 August.

1.7: East Dunbartonshire Council – Civic Way/Lenzie Rd, traffic management

Civic Way, Kirkintinlloch was the site of the former East Dunbartonshire Council headquarters (the building was demolished in 2015). New, affordable housing is being built on the site, south of Civic Way. On the road itself, EDC plan to add a speed bump with parking restrictions round the corner on Lenzie Rd.

See the PDF documents: Lenzie Rd plan, Lenzie Rd order, Lenzie Rd notice, Civic Way notice, Kirkintilloch consolidated order. Send any comments to the Chief Solicitor & Monitoring Officer by post or email by 16 August.

1.8: Glasgow City Council – Auldhouse Area Traffic Management Order

The Auldhouse area in this order is just south of Pollokshaws East train station and the White Cart Water. It’s a triangle bounded by Kilmarnock Rd, Auldhouse Rd and Nether Auldhouse Rd.

It’s mostly along similar lines to other parking controls elsewhere. However, there are a few back lanes between Riverford Rd and Ellisland Rd which will be signed as ‘access only’ for motor vehicles. If those are followed, they should allow bikes to have a slightly quieter north-south route. However, the road surfaces are either rough tarmac or cobbles so they might not be that quiet!

See the PDF documents: Auldhouse plan, Auldhouse report, Auldhouse notice and the catch-all Statement of Reasons.

1.9: North Lanarkshire Council – Bellshill Entrance/Velo Park Project

The ‘entrance’ is a bit confusing as most people don’t realise Strathclyde Country Park goes past Bothwellhaugh Rd and the railway, up to Bellshill Rd (A721). The area north of the loch includes the South Calder Water, Bothwellhaugh Cemetery, Bellshill Golf Club and the South Calder Walkway off-road path network. NLC propose to thread mountain bike trails around these, as shown in image, below.

NLC have a patchy record with similar projects like mountain bike trails in Forgewood and skate ramps in Motherwell and Wishaw. However, there is a successful skatepark in Airdrie and a BMX race track in Cumbernauld. The council have taken some input from Socialtrack, who created and run the excellent Wishawhill Wood pump track in Craigneuk. These plans include a pump track but it’s not designed yet (there’s just an example track photo).

The ‘Hub/Skills area’ of the new velo park would be at the edge of Bellshill (next to the roundabout on Motherwell Rd/A721). It could be a great facility for young people around the Bellshill area. The existing Greenlink path makes it more accessible from North Motherwell too (but it doesn’t link to Ravenscraig, as claimed).

The new route into Strathclyde Country Park should broaden active travel access from Bellshill and Motherwell. This project doesn’t include any paths near the Raith Interchange bridges (as suggested on Facebook). The new routes are indirect and sloping, so are less likely to help cycle commuters around Bellshill.

If you cycle in the area, see the Bellshill Entrance & Velo Park info page. You can email comments to GreenspaceProjects@northlan.gov.uk. The page says the process should lead to a Sport Scotland application this month so email before the end of August.

1.10: East Renfrewshire Council – Ayr Road (A77): Spaces for People, Phase 2

As covered in Digest 91, Item 1.5, Ayr Rd through Newton Mearns is a main active travel route into Glasgow. This phase 2 consultation is about replacing the phase 1 cones with light segregation, removing some segregation and adding parking bays (one with the bike lane outside it and trialing a parking-protected bike lane for the other).

Light segregation options include ‘flexible delineator posts’ or ‘wand orca’ units. For examples, maps and more details, see the Ayr Road Phase 2 Commonplace page. No obvious deadline on this one.

1.11: Glasgow City Council – Low Emission Zone consultation

As in Digest 90, Item 1.3 this consultation is about phase 2 of the Low Emission Zone in Glasgow city centre (between the M8, river and High St). Phase 1 only applied to local buses. Phase 2 will include all vehicles entering the zone area (unless exempt) but enforcement is only due to start in June 2023.

The short survey asks you about issues like the size of the LEZ area and the grace periods. See the Glasgow LEZ consultation page and LEZ online survey. Closes on 2 September 2021.

1.12: Glasgow City Council – Inner East Strategic Development Framework

The other side of High St out to Carntyne and Tollcross is the ‘Inner East’ area, covered in the latest SDF (as in Digest 90, Item 1.4). The ‘Connected’ section mentions quite a few cycling infrastructure projects but the focus is still on public transport and roads, including the so-called East End Regeneration Route (EERR) dual carriageway.

See the Inner East consultation page for link to the SDF survey – ends 3 September 2021.

1.13: East Dunbartonshire Council – Active Travel Discussion

This has been featured since Digest 86, Item 1.2, including its ‘Ideas Map‘ for the area. It’s an opportunity to focus on active travel (walking, cycling and wheeling). EDC were pioneers when they built phase 1 of the Bearsway cycletrack in Milngavie. However, since phase 2 was scrapped, they’ve fallen behind other local authorities; not even bidding for Spaces for People funding.

Further online discussion events are due later in August. See a full list of events and background info on the Active Travel Discussion webpage. Closing date – 28 Sep 2021.

1.14: Glasgow Urban Sports – GUSM74 Urban Sports Sculpture Park

Charlotte Worthington’s gold medal at Tokyo 2020 in the BMX Freestyle Park event seems like a good reminder about Glasgow Urban Sports‘ skate park project. GUS want to bring land under the M74 extension into productive use as a park for ‘urban sports’ – BMX, skateboarding, inline skating, parkour, etc. Their site is between the back of West St Subway station and Eglinton St. The sculptures would enhance the area even when they didn’t have skaters jumping off them!

See GUS’s survey to try and find out what skaters, or their families, want from the park. Or see the GUS Facebook or GUS Twitter accounts.

Section 2: Forthcoming Consultations

None this time.

Section 3: Consultation Feedback

3.1: North Lanarkshire Council – Planning Application (20/00345/FUL) Access to Motherwell train station

The planning application for this City Deal project first came up back in Digest 61, Item 1.1. It was to create a new access to the station from the roundabout at the junction of Hamilton Rd (A723), West Hamilton Rd (A721) and Merry St. Running along derelict land behind the row of shops on Muir St, it would join the current road at the station. It would include a bus lane, taxi rank, disabled parking and short cycleway.

However, the cycleway seems to have been dropped from the latest drawings (29 Jun 2021) –see planning application 20/00345/FUL. It would’ve been pretty short and isolated but would at least have helped cycle to the station from the south. Another example of NLC’s inconsistent approach – a few steps forward (like the RATL path) then a few steps back (like the RAI dual carriageway).

North Lanarkshire Council have now granted planning permission for this access road to go ahead. Redevelopment has already taken place at nearby Park & Ride car parks. Work is now underway on the station building (using the service road to get passengers down to the middle platforms while stairs are replaced). The Muir St works are expected to start late 2021 and finish summer 2022.

There’s plenty in this Digest despite it being holiday time, with weather to match for a change (in Glasgow Fair!).

This issue is mostly about the fringes – both inside and outside the city boundary; in more and less deprived areas. It’s also about city centre parking and emissions, which is often linked to people driving in from areas around the edge of Glasgow.

The Infrastructure Update has a bit more from north and east but also a project from the West End, just in case anyone’s getting withdrawal symptoms…

Infrastructure Update

• A thread about recent route developments in Glasgow, looking great in sunshine.
• Beith St has new access and drop kerbs added.
• London Rd has had soft segregation removed at Celtic Park (but chalk added).
• At the other end of London Rd, photos of Mount Vernon junction. It’s good this phase of the East City Way is complete but there are issues going eastbound, as GoBike warned previously.
• A bird’s eye view of the new Sighthill and a few close-ups of its new, but rusty, pedestrian/cycle bridge before it’s installed.

Contents
(new consultations in bold – link jumps to article)

Section 1: Current Consultations

1. Glasgow City Council – City Centre Traffic Management Order 2010: Variation No.29, GHA Parking Areas (ends 3 Aug)
2. St. Paul’s Youth Forum – Flourishing Molendinar second consultation (ends 6 Aug)
3. Glasgow City Council – Garnethill Traffic Management and Parking Controls Order (ends 13 Aug)
4. East Dunbartonshire Council – Bishopbriggs Town Centre Regeneration (ends 15 Aug)
5. East Renfrewshire Council – Ayr Road (A77): Spaces for People, Phase 2
6. Glasgow City Council – Low Emission Zone consultation (ends 2 Sep)
7. Glasgow City Council – Inner East Strategic Development Framework (ends 3 Sep)
8. East Dunbartonshire Council – Active Travel Discussion (ends 28 Sep)

Section 2: Forthcoming Consultations

None this time.

Section 3: Consultation Feedback

1. Mount Florida Community Council – Letherby Triangle planning decision
2. St. Paul’s Youth Forum – Flourishing Molendinar first consultation feedback

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

1.1: Glasgow City Council – City Centre Traffic Management Order 2010: Variation No.29, GHA Parking Areas

‘GHA Parking Areas’ refers to land in Townhead owned by Glasgow Housing Association. The area is east of Buchanan Bus Station and Glasgow Caledonian University, behind the high flats. Resident’s parking spaces around Kennedy St and St Mungo Avenue have been used as free parking by shoppers/commuters. This order introduces parking restrictions which can be enforced.

There are the usual documents for a TRO: plan of GHA parking areas, GHA areas draft report, GHA areas press notice and the usual statement of reasons. Respond by e-mail to lestraffic@glasgow.gov.uk  by 3 August 2021.

1.2: St. Paul’s Youth Forum – Flourishing Molendinar second consultation

The last mention of the Flourishing Molendinar project was in Digest 82, Item 1.8 (when it changed to its current name). The main image on this Digest shows the area covered by the project in the north east of Glasgow.

The next stage of the Flourishing Molendinar project has produced some eye-catching plans. In particular, the pedestrianised area proposed for Langdale St, which could be an example for other so-called ‘liveable’ neighbourhoods.

However, there was also big news for anyone who cycles on Cumbernauld Rd (A80) across the M8 motorway. The bridge is a four/five lane dual carriageway, which many pupils have to cross to get to Smithycroft Secondary School. FloMo’s plan would reduce the (wide) lanes and add segregated cycleways. If it goes ahead, this would transform that stretch of road into a far more people-friendly place.

For more on the above (and Royston Rd) go to the FloMo survey (ends 6 August). We look forward to seeing what comes out of it.

For more about the phase 1 consultation, see Item 3.2.

1.3: Glasgow City Council – Garnethill Traffic Management and Parking Controls Order

Garnethill, north of Sauchiehall St, is known for (what’s left of) Glasgow School of Art. It’s also home to a few schools, places of worship, hotels and several thousand residents. The area has steep, tight streets and existing one-ways, as well as the usual parking issues.

GoBike posted about the consultation events for Garnethill back in March 2018. The plans involve a lot of yellow lines, parking restrictions on back lanes and the creation of car parking bays. One thing that isn’t included in the plan is the two-way section of Hill St, at St Aloysius College, created by TTRO in April (Digest 85, 3.1). However, the parking bays are still included, which reduce the road to one car width.

Any neighbourhood plan is of most interest to people who live in the area. However, issues in Garnethill could have a knock-on effect on Sauchiehall St and Cambridge St so it’s in our wider interest that it works.

Again, there are the usual TRO documents: Garnethill plan, Garnethill draft report, Garnethill press notice and the standard Statement of Reasons. Respond by email: garnethillparking@glasgow.gov.uk by 13 August 2021.

1.4: East Dunbartonshire Council – Bishopbriggs Town Centre Regeneration

This consultation covers Bishopbriggs town centre and two City Deal projects – phase 5 of Bishopbriggs Relief Road (BRR5) and the A803 corridor (Springburn Rd/Kirkintilloch Rd).

Bishopbriggs town centre is marooned between NCN754 (Forth & Clyde canal) and the ‘Wester Way’ shared path, without good active travel links to either. The Wester Way was built alongside the BRR on Westerhill Rd, where BRR phase 4 caused years of disruption. Both road and path peter out opposite the Aviva offices, north of the rail line to Lenzie. BRR5 doesn’t have a route decided yet but could affect some paths in the area.

The striking thing about the town centre ‘Future’ images is how little the infrastructure changes apart from slightly wider footways and planting more trees. There are a few cyclists in the images but no segregated cycle lanes. The town centre work is part of a City Deal project worth nearly £35m, so they’re not skint.

If you’ve ridden any routes in the area, it’s worth putting a word in for cycling. See the Bishopbriggs consultation webpage and Bishopbriggs Public Realm Plan survey. Consultation closes 15 August.

1.5: East Renfrewshire Council – Ayr Road (A77): Spaces for People, Phase 2

The Ayr Rd section of the A77 route at Newton Mearns is south of the Fenwick Rd Spaces for People lanes, which we covered back in January 2021 (Digest 78, 1.4). GoBike staged a local Pedal on Parliament event about parking on Ayr Rd’s bike lanes back in 2019.

The phase 2 consultation is partly about replacing the phase 1 cones with light segregation. However, it also removes the segregation in some sections (like at Mearns Cross). It includes adding parking bays with the bike lane outside it in one location but trialing a parking-protected bike lane at Ashtree Grove (as in image, below).

The mixed approach probably reflects that on-road, segregated cycleways are still very new in East Renfrewshire (or anywhere outside a city). Issues in other towns, like the Bearsway extension being scrapped and the removal of lanes on Holmston Rd, cast a long shadow. Newton Mearns is just as affluent and around 90% of people in East Ren have access to a car. However, it has younger demographics than either Milngavie or Ayr.

East Ren differ from Glasgow by only asking how to improve the scheme, not whether people want rid of it. If ERC wait to get feedback before making changes then that would be an improvement on London Rd too. A few comments in the Commonplace survey allude to Glasgow ripping out segregation so that seems to have had an effect beyond the city boundary.

Light segregation options include ‘flexible delineator posts’ or ‘wand orca’ units. For examples, maps and more details, see the Ayr Road Phase 2 consultation page. No obvious deadline on this one.

1.6: Glasgow City Council – Low Emission Zone consultation

Glasgow’s city centre Low Emission Zone (LEZ) has only applied to some buses so far. GCC are consulting before it changes to include cars and other motor vehicles. It covers most of the city centre – north of the river, conveniently inside the M8 and eastwards to High St/Saltmarket.

However, the LEZ won’t include cars any time soon as there are some ‘grace periods’ built into the plan at the moment. One year until it comes in, so summer 2022. Then another year until it becomes enforceable – 1 June 2023. There will be a further year’s grace for folk who live in the city centre (until 1 June 2024). Some exemptions apply to people with disabilities, emergency vehicles, etc.

One good thing about the short survey is it does ask you about the above. So, if you think the LEZ area is too small or the grace periods are too long, you can tick those boxes and add a comment too.

See the Glasgow LEZ consultation page and LEZ online survey. Closes on 2 September 2021.

1.7: Glasgow City Council – Inner East Strategic Development Framework

The ‘Inner East’ goes from High St out to Carntyne and Tollcross, between the River Clyde and the M8 (just short of FloMo’s patch). Like previous SDFs for other areas, it has themes about connections and sustainability but is mostly about identifying development opportunities. Some planned cycle routes and the Avenues Plus active travel scheme are included on a map with ‘missing links’. There are some issues with the map, like the red line between Barrowfield and Parkhead, counting the bus lane on one side as “off road/segregated”. Although it’s patchy, it puts more focus on active travel than previous strategies about the East End.

A few of the rail improvements in the document have been talked about for over ten years, such as the Parkhead rail halt. However, it’s the East End Regeneration Route (EERR phase 3) that seems to be back on the agenda due to new funding. It’s a dual carriageway that would run through Hogarth Park and under Edinburgh Rd and Cumbernauld Rd to the M8.

See the Inner East consultation page for link to the PDF document and SDF survey. Ends 3 September 2021.

1.8: East Dunbartonshire Council – Active Travel Discussion

This was first in Digest 86, Item 1.2, with its ‘Ideas Map‘ for the area. Recently, East Dunbartonshire Council has brought in new parking restrictions on Milngavie Rd, opposite the remodeled junction to Allanton Sports Centre. It’s small but possibly the first parking restriction since the Bearsway was built?

The Bearsway was due to extend to Kessington on the way to Glasgow. While researching this Digest, it emerged it has one of the oldest populations in Scotland. 52% of people of Kessington West are over 65 years old (page 19). Will the Bearsway ever get there?

There are no more consultation events until August/September. See a full list of events and background info on the Active Travel Discussion webpage. Closing date – 28 September 2021.

Section 2: Forthcoming Consultations

None this time.

Section 3: Consultation Feedback

3.1: Mount Florida Community Council – Letherby Triangle planning decision

This project was first in Digest 66, 1.3 when Mount Florida Community Council (MoFloCoCo) were consulting about it. It’s good to see it progressing towards being built.

The plan is to close the end of Carmunnock Road at Cathcart Rd to link a triangular traffic island to nearby shops. It will have a viewing platform added and be used for leisure and cultural events. There’s a handy overview of the proposal on the ReGlasgow website.

It’s planning application 20/03067/FUL if you want to look at it on GCC’s planning portal. Good luck to MoFloCoCo and their partners for the next stage.

3.2: St. Paul’s Youth Forum – Flourishing Molendinar first consultation feedback

In addition to the new plans in Item 1.2, above, Flourishing Molendinar published data from their earlier consultation (Jan–May 2021). There are plenty of interesting results on the website homepage and in their Summary Report (PDF).

In particular, the data shows strong support for keeping Spaces for People measures, as long as they can be adjusted/improved. Overall, 89% wanted to keep the SfP measures in some form while only 11% wanted them removed (out of 152 responses). While FloMo is focussed on one local area, it’s hopefully a good sign for the results of Glasgow City Council’s wider SfP consultation (whenever those are published).

In this Digest there’s a mix of consultations from Glasgow and from all directions outside the city. Most are over before late March, which will mark six weeks until the Scottish Parliament election. This is the Public Sector’s ‘purdah’ pre-election period when projects tend to avoid new announcements (which could get caught up in electioneering).

That may be why there’s been a flurry of news about the next lot of Glasgow’s Spaces for People projects – including Howard St, Cambridge St and Royston Rd. GoBike first heard about these at the revived Glasgow Active Travel Forum, which met for the first time online earlier this month (previous meeting was Sept 2019!).

Ahead of the election in May, see the Cycling for everyone election petition by Cycling UK in Scotland (closes 26 March) and Pedal on Parliament’s ‘Light the Way’ campaign on 24 April.

If you’re in the city, see Andy’s three infrastructure routes around Glasgow to take in Spaces for People infrastructure. Andy has also started to inform GoBike about closures and diversions; if you hear of any please do let us know.

This Digest includes links in the Contents page so you can jump straight to a topic if you want to.

Contents
(new consultations in bold)

Section 1: Current Consultations

1. Renfrewshire Council – Inchinnan cycling and walking route – closes 17 March
2. North Lanarkshire Council – Town hub community engagement events – events 16–18 March
3. Scottish Canals – Stockingfield Junction art survey & public meeting – 18 March
4. Glasgow City Council – (Y)our Townhead Proposals Workshops – 18 March
5. Glasgow Harbour Ltd – Yorkhill Quay Phase 2 – closes Friday 19 March
6. North Lanarkshire Council – Consultations on traffic issues in Calderbank and Chapelhall – closes Sunday 21 March
7. East Dunbartonshire Council – Climate Conversation – online events 22 & 30 March/22 April
8. Flourishing Molendinar (North East Glasgow) – Public workshops 23–25 March
9. Glasgow Urban Sports – GUSM74 Urban Sports Sculpture Park survey

Section 2: Forthcoming Consultations

1. Glasgow City Council – (Y)our Cowcaddens, ‘Learning Quarter’ and Merchant City Proposals Workshops

Section 3: Consultation Feedback

1. Glasgow City Council – East City Way Phase 1 (London Drive to Daldowie Road) Order
2. Glasgow City Council – London Road/Hamilton Road (30mph Speed Limit) Order
3. Multiplex – Glasgow University Newsletter March 2021

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

1.1: Renfrewshire Council – Inchinnan cycling and walking route

Greenock Rd (A8) runs between Inchinnan Business Park and Renfrew. This proposed route will be on the north side of the road, apparently starting as a shared path before becoming a segregated cycleway. It will pass McGills bus depot and a few scraps of current infrastructure before going south to Glasgow Airport. It will lead to the new pedestrian/cycle bridge over the Black Cart Water, one of the projects in Glasgow Airport Investment Area (GAIA), as mentioned in Digest 39, Item 3.3.

The new bridge sits on the southern side of the road (after enhancing its active travel credentials when it fell off a loader and crushed a white van!). Renfrewshire Council’s Inchinnan webpage says a toucan crossing will be installed near the bridge. However, it doesn’t say why the route has now switched to the northern side, especially as the Business Park is also south of the road. Perhaps to avoid the airport’s approach lights (or someone else’s land)? Or for future connections into Inchinnan itself? If you want to comment you’ll need to be quick – the Greenock Rd survey closes on Wednesday 17 March.

1.2: North Lanarkshire Council – Town hub community engagement events

These events first featured in Digest 81, 1.2. North Lanarkshire Council have “ambition to replace every school not replaced or remodelled since 1996, our vision is to make these places for the whole community rather than only the school community.“ So, that should include active travel.

Most of the events have already passed but it you get your skates on you can catch the last two for Wishaw and Shotts. The link for each town goes to an Eventbrite sign-up page to register for the event:

• Wishaw – Wednesday 17th March – 6:30pm
• Shotts – Thursday 18th March – 6:30pm

1.3: Scottish Canals – Stockingfield Junction art survey & public meeting

Details about the Stockingfield Junction public meeting on 18 March were in Digest 81, Item 1.5. Since then a survey about Stockingfield has opened asking what kind of artwork people want around the new bridge. There are different views about what form the bridge should have taken so there are sure to be plenty about what (if any) artworks should surround it. Many of us will probably pass through the area once it’s finished so we might as well chip in our 2p’s worth.

Scottish Canals want to hear what represents the local communities of Gilshochill, Maryhill and Ruchill (be kind!). Just don’t say The Big Man!

1.4: Glasgow City Council – (Y)our Townhead Proposals Workshops

Also on Thursday is the next lot of meetings about the District regeneration projects. GoBike received an email about Townhead:

“An Action Plan and Framework for the regeneration of Townhead is currently being prepared by a consultant team appointed by Glasgow City Council. We want your input to help shape and influence the priority projects to improve Townhead.”

There is a series of workshops throughout a ‘Co-Design Day’ on Thursday 18 March:

• Co-Design Day Launch (1000 – 1030)
• Getting Around – Workshops (1030 – 1230)
• City Centre Communities – Workshops (1300 – 1500)
• Reimagining (Y)our Townhead (1530 – 1730)

These suggest a much more collaborative approach than many of these events. Obviously, the most interesting one for us is the morning ‘Getting Around’ workshop:

“A participatory workshop considering how to make Townhead more accessible and better connected. Potential projects include:

• Connecting to ‘Townhead Island’
• Active Travel : walking, wheeling, cycling
• Junction 15 on M8
• Cathedral Street
• Stirling Road Triangle
• Canal to Cathedral : Dobbies Loan to St James Road
• …?”

Plenty to get our teeth into there. Alternatively, the Districts Commonplace map is still available if you want to see what suggestions have been made so far or add your own.

1.5: Glasgow Harbour Ltd – Yorkhill Quay Phase 2

This development first sprung up in Digest 73, Item 1.1. It’s now nearing the end of a pre-application period before actual plans are submitted to the council.

The Next Steps and Feedback page has a webform you can use to send comments. Or you can email: yorkhillquay@iceniprojects.com by Friday 19 March.

1.6: North Lanarkshire Council – Consultations on traffic issues in Calderbank and Chapelhall

North Lanarkshire Council is consulting about traffic in the villages of Calderbank and Chapelhall, between Airdrie and the M8 (as covered in Digest 81, Item 1.7). See the Chapelhall Traffic Study and Calderbank Traffic Study for a survey link at the end of each. If you know the areas you have until Sunday 21 March to respond.

1.7: East Dunbartonshire Council – Climate Conversation

As many of us know, East Dunbartonshire Council was the only mainland Scottish council not to bid for Spaces for People funding. However, they do seem to be trying to engage their residents about climate change. It almost seems timed as a response to a nearby city having some sort of globally important climate event (which isn’t mentioned).

Their Climate Conversation webpage says: “The Climate Conversation is the first stage in preparing an area-wide Climate Action Plan (CAP) for East Dunbartonshire… We are also commencing work during 2021 on new strategies that will support the objectives of the CAP: the Open Space Strategy; Circular Economy Strategy; and Active Travel Strategy.” The last one will obviously be of most interest to GoBike (but the other two are also welcome).

EDC have various surveys to fill in – one general, one for businesses and one for young people (all want an email address upfront). There are also Climate Conversation events, on 22 March, 30 March and 22 April. The events are all online (on MS Teams) so it’s likely to be more civil than previous public meetings where the police were called. Perhaps EDC will have their own version of Jackie Weaver to guide proceedings?

1.8: Flourishing Molendinar (formerly North East City Ways) – Public workshops

This initiative, started by On Bikes and St Paul’s Youth Forum, was first mentioned in a GoBike blog. Their original name, North East City Ways, may have been inspired by a certain city council. The new name, Flourishing Molendinar, comes from the stream that runs from Hogganfield Loch past Blackhill (mostly in a culvert) towards the city centre.

Along with the new name comes a change in focus from the wider area to Provanmill Rd and Langdale St. Both these streets had Spaces for People projects installed over the summer and showed potential for active travel routes. FloMo (it’s easier to spell!) are looking to build on that with public workshops on 22, 23 and 24 March. They still have their survey about getting around the North East of the city. Also, there’s the Streets for All Commonplace map (which On Bikes share with GoBike and Glasgow Eco Trust).

1.9: Glasgow Urban Sports – GUSM74 Urban Sports Sculpture Park survey

A different kind of active travel project but also driven by young (and not so young) people. First covered in Digest 81, Item 1.9, it’s for a skate park under the M74 extension near West St underground station. The GUSM74 survey is still open for skaters, or their families, to have their say about what they want to see in the park.

Section 2: Forthcoming Consultations

2.1: Glasgow City Council – (Y)our Cowcaddens, ‘Learning Quarter’ and Merchant City Proposals Workshops

The email for item 1.4 also said: “Townhead, alongside Cowcaddens, the Learning Quarter and the Merchant City, is the focus of the current phase of (Y)our City Centre District Regeneration Frameworks.” So, workshops for the other three will no doubt follow sometime soon.

Section 3: Consultation Feedback

3.1: Glasgow City Council – East City Way Phase 1 (London Drive to Daldowie Road) Order

Some swift feedback from the city council about Tricia’s points in the GoBike response to the ECW order. Let’s skip the ‘thank you’ and ‘COVID-19 happened’ bit and go to the following paragraph:

“The left turn from London Road to Hamilton Road has been banned for all traffic to allow the slip road to be closed and provide a large and safe pedestrian area for crossing. A segregate cycle route will be provided on the south side of London Road and Hamilton Road and will have signal controlled crossing facilities for pedestrians and cycles at Mount Vernon Junction which will link to all potential movements. This junction had no cycle or pedestrian facilities prior to these works. Cycle counts undertaken July 2017 recorded that 4 cycles per day made the left turn from London Road to Hamilton Road which included cyclists on the footway. A classified traffic count, counting all traffic categories, undertaken in October 2017 supported this.”

It’s not clear if the first part really is talking about the turn from London Rd eastbound to Hamilton Rd westbound, as Tricia asked. However, the count gives us an idea of how many people it might have affected in 2017. Will last summer’s surge in cycling numbers make a difference to that? And will the new junction attract all eastbound cyclists across the road to the 2-way lane? I guess we’ll find out in the near future.

3.2: Glasgow City Council – London Road/Hamilton Road (30mph Speed Limit) Order

GoBike also received a shorter response from GCC about Tricia’s GoBike response to the 30mph order. Not a lot of detail in this one – it thanks us for our support then basically says East City Way will be done in stages and the police enforce speed limits. It’s just as well we’ve got GCC officers to keep us right on these things.

3.3: Multiplex – Glasgow University campus newsletter

Having just missed our publication time for the last Digest I’m sure everyone will be delighted to see the latest Glasgow Uni campus newsletter this time. There are some nice pictures of large steel frames. However, it doesn’t include that University Place has closed to pedestrians and cycling for three months. Nor does it mention a change to the road layout on University Ave: