Consultation Digest Issue 12, the full version, 26 June 2018, Community Activity around Kelvinhall and proposed buildouts and speed cushions impeding

We now have the first traffic regulation order for the proposals put forward by Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Community Council. This is a very pro-active community council, working hard to improve the area and keep residents informed (see 1.6). This is also your last chance to comment on the notorious Byres Road proposals, so please read on.

The unplanned preview on Sunday of this Digest gave you a taste of what was to come, but review and completion have introduced changes from item 1.3 onwards, so there’s more for you to read – and take action on.

Contents:

Section 1: Current Consultations

1. Byres Road, Glasgow, closes tomorrow, 27 June
2. Greendyke Street, traffic calming, closes 29 June
3. Argyle Street Avenue, closes 13 July
4. Woodside Parking and cycle access, closes 13 July
5. Connecting Woodside, closes 17 July
6. Bunhouse Road and Benalder Street, new cycle lanes, closes 27 July

Section 2: Forthcoming Consultations

Empty section this time, but there will be more in the pipeline for Argyle Street, Woodside and around Yorkhill and Kelvingrove.

Section 3: Consultation Feedback

1. Collegelands Barras Meatmarket: the GoBike submission
2. Yoker to Knightswood Cycle Route: the GCC reply
3. Hyndland, Hughenden and Dowanhill parking: the GoBike submission

Current Consultations – in date order for responses

1.1 Byres Road, Glasgow, closes tomorrow, 27 June

Here’s the link for anyone who hasn’t yet responded to these appalling plans to change the look of Byres Road yet not improve the cycling environment: https://www.glasgowconsult.co.uk/KMS/dmart.aspx?strTab=PublicDMartCurrent&NoIP=1 We have more info here on our response.

1.2 Greendyke Street, Glasgow, traffic calming, closes this Friday, 29 June

All the details were in the last Digest (see: Digest 11 ) and our letter of objection is here: GoBike Greendyke Street Traffic Calming 210617.  We don’t consider that buildouts, which push bikes out into the centre of the road, and speed cushions are the way to provide a good cycling environment.

1.3 **NEW** Argyle Street Avenue, Glasgow, current on-line consultation closes 13 July

If you saw our recent Consultation Extra, you will be aware that there has been some on-street consultation recently for the outline proposals for the Argyle Street Avenue, from Anderston Cross right through to Trongate and Glasgow Cross. West of Glasgow Central Station, it is proposed that the current four traffic lanes are reduced to two, with a one-way cycle lane each side, and there is a similar arrangement proposed for Trongate. There will be little change under the Hielanman’s Umbrella, but there is the possibility of buses being introduced, travelling east only to the current “pedestrian” precinct (it’s a core path, so cycling is allowed). This has been advocated to reduce pollution from the braking and acceleration required to turn 4 corners, ie into Queen Street, into Ingram Street, into Glassford Street and finally back into Trongate, as well as by disability groups because of the current distance to bus stops and by some of the retailers.

There have been some rather scathing comments on-line about the introduction of vegetation; this is not simply to look nice but it serves a very useful purpose by providing drainage  Trees are proposed where there is room for roots, much smaller plants where Argyle Street is directly about the low-level train lines.

There’s a very simple on-line consultation survey on the City Council website:  https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=22919  Please do support this – stakeholder consultation is now starting, and at one event with at least two local Community Councils represented the whole ethos was about getting people walking, cycling or using public transport to get about the city, rather than the private car.

1.4 Glasgow Woodside Parking Controls, closes 13 July

We told you about these proposals last time (see: Digest 11 ) and we will be replying with approval. We know that many residents across the city are plagued by random, uncontrolled parking, and steps need to be taken to control it. Parked cars are taking up the space where our cycle lanes should be.

We are also pleased that cycling will be maintained on North Woodside Road, and we are looking forward to the proposals for Connecting Woodside (see 1.5).

1.5 **NEW** Connecting Woodside, Consultation Event today, on-line consultation closes 17 July

Our recent Consultation Extra gave details of the Consultation Event to be held today, at Woodside Library, St George’s Road, from 3:30 – 7pm. The current proposals are more extensive than those we saw last year and actually now include a connecting cycle route along St George’s Road from St George’s Cross to Sauchiehall Street. With this consultation we are delighted to see some joined-up thinking on linking up our routes.

The text of the e-mail we received from Glasgow City Council on 19 June reads:

“Good day

You may be aware of Glasgow City Council’s bid for funding to Transport Scotland’s Community Links Plus competition with the Woodside Mini Holland bid. http://www.sustrans.org.uk/scotland/communities/community-links-plus-design-competition. The competition was seeking exemplar projects that promote walking, cycling and public space.  

Glasgow City Council submitted the project bid last year and were up against 37 other national bids. Woodside Mini-Holland was announced as a winner in November 2017. The project is now known as ‘Connecting Woodside’.

To follow up consultation undertaken throughout the last year GCC and Sustrans will be holding a public walk-in engagement event with a supplementary online consultation to gather further comments on specific sections of the project.

The public engagement event will focus on specific sections of the project; mainly:

• Garscube Road
• North Woodside Road crossing at Maryhill Road

We are proposing a number of changes to improve the environment for cyclists, pedestrians, local residents and businesses. New designs could see the implementation of:

• New pedestrian crossings
• Segregated cycle lanes
• Reallocation of road space.
• Junction redesign at Garscube Road / Possil Rd Cross and Garscube Rd/Firhill
• Crossing reallocation and public space treatment on North Woodside Road at Maryhill Road

A public drop in session will be held on:

Tuesday 26th June

3:30pm-7pm

Woodside Library, St. George’s Road

G3 6JQ

Information and an online survey will be available from the 19^th June for a period of 4 weeks. The online consultation tool will be available at: www.glasgow.gov.uk/connectingwoodside. Please enter as many comments on the map as you would like e.g.  ‘I would like a crossing here as it is difficult to cross’.The website will remain open for comments, however the closing date for consultation responses will be the 17^th July.

Consultation materials for project can be found here: https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=42014&p=0 ”

1.6 **NEW** Bunhouse Road, segregated cycle lane, closes 27 July

This proposed Traffic Regulation order covers not just the replacement of the current shared footway cycle route outside Kelvinhall but introduces a new one on Benalder Street.

It has come about through the efforts, as we said in the introduction, of Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Community Council, to improve their area and let their residents walk, cycle, and enjoy their locality.

Here is the text of the e-mail that we received from Glasgow City Council on 15 June:

“MESSAGE SENT ON BEHALF OF ANDY WADDELL, HEAD OF INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES, LAND AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

The Glasgow City Council (Bunhouse Road) Order 201_

Further to my consultation of 11^th May 2018 and in accordance with statutory procedures, I now enclose a copy of proposed order and plan showing the extent of the order.

The proposals are as follows: 

1. Removal of metered parking on Bunhouse Road and extending ‘No waiting, no loading at any time’ restrictions on the West kerbline.
2. Relocation of disabled parking on Bunhouse Road from West to East kerbline.
3. Proposed segregated two-way cycleway on West footway of Bunhouse Road.
4. Proposed two-way cycleway along east kerbline of Benalder Street at carriageway level.

Any person wishing to object to the proposed Order should send details of the grounds for their objection either in writing to Land and Environmental Services, Glasgow City Council, 231 George Street, Glasgow G1 1RX by Friday 27^th July 2018 or by email to  liam.lochran@glasgow.gov.uk.  Objections should state the name and address of the objector, the matters to which they relate and the grounds on which the objection is made.”

The documents they provided are: NoticeOfProposals-BunhouseRoad-190x85mm-RTO  KATR_Report_June2018  5116-SK003 Bunhouse Road Proposed TRO Sheet 1 of 2  5116-SK004 Bunhouse Road Proposed TRO Sheet 2 of 2  Statement of Reasons

Before we reply, we have asked the following questions of the City Council:

1. Bunhouse Road: at the northern end, what are the crossing arrangements at Dumbarton Road?  It looks as if cycles will be separated from the current pedestrian and cycle crossing, with less potential for confusion but will the 2 crossings work in unison, will there be traffic lights etc?
2. Benalder Street: it looks from the drawing as if the 2-way route on Benalder Street will be segregated from the car lanes but this is not confirmed in the information provided.  Could you clarify please?
3. Ferry Road and Old Dumbarton Road: is this a new 2-way cycle route on the east/south side of these 2 streets and, if so, will this be the subject of a forthcoming TRO?

We will, hopefully, be able to publish the reply and our response to these proposals in the next Digest.

Section 2. Forthcoming Consultations

There are none at the moment that we are aware but we look forward to more detailed consultation on Connecting Woodside and the Argyle Street Avenue project.

Section 3: Consultation Feedback

3.1 Collegelands/Calton Barras Meatmarket redevelopment

This was covered in our last Digest (Digest 11) and we sent our response in on 15 June. We were disappointed that a cycle route was only added after a consultation event and would like to see Glasgow City Council being more active-travel-minded throughout. Here’s our letter: GoBike Calton Barras Meatmarket comment 150618

3.2 Yoker to Knightswood cycle way

In our last Digest (Digest 11) we copied the e-mail sent to Glasgow City Council expressing concern about cars parking over the “buffer zone” on part of this route leading to the new BMX track in Knightswood Park, and a very uneven and not very dropped kerb at one location. We have now had a response from Andrew Brown, head of the cycle team:

“MESSAGE SENT ON BEHALF OF ANDREW BROWN, GROUP MANAGER, PROJECTS – LAND AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

Dear Ms Fort.

Many thanks for your email with regards the cycle facilities within Knightswood.

As you note there is still a significant amount of works to be completed as part of this project. With regards to your concerns regarding the kerbs where the cycle lanes join the shared surface I will have an inspector view these to assess the installation. However I would note that these kerbs will not be installed flush to the carriageway but will have a 5-10mm upstand to prevent water ponding at the transition.

With regards to vehicles parking partly on the footway, I would note that this section of works is not complete and additional lining and signing is still to be installed. This will hopefully reduce the level of parking, however once the job is complete monitoring will take place to assess if any further action is required.

I trust this information is of assistance.”

3.3 Hyndland, Hughenden and Dowanhill East, Traffic Management and Parking Controls TRO

The details of this TRO were given in Digest 10 (Digest 10) and introduce parking controls in this residential area, which has been suffering from displaced parking from surrounding areas where parking controls were introduced some time ago. The TRO doesn’t do much for cycling but there is to be some contraflow cycling, allowing some permeability. Comments closed yesterday and here’s our response: GoBike Hyndland Hughenden & Dowanhill West comments 250618