Consultation Digest Issue 63, 23 June 2020: Have you put your comments on Commonplace yet?

There has been much publicity about the measures that are required or being considered to cope with the current COVID-19 pandemic and we, the public, have been asked for our views. The format for our views is the Commonplace Map and we feature 2 in this Digest, the one for Glasgow and the one for East Renfrewshire. We must ALL contribute to these maps; we ALL know where changes, big or small, will make cycling better for us all.

Contents:

Section 1: Current Consultations

1. Scottish Government  - Just Transition Commission, closes 30 June
2. Glasgow, Pollok Country Park - Planning Application, closes 06 July
3. Glasgow City Council, Spaces for People Commonplace Map, YOUR views are required.
4. East Renfrewshire Council, Spaces for People Commonplace Map, looking for YOUR views
5. **NEW** Glasgow City Council, South Central Glasgow Local Development Framework – Key Issues Survey, closes 06 July
6. Scottish Parliament EHRi Committee, Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Equalities and Human Rights
7. Scottish Parliament, EEFW Committee, COVID-19 - Impact on Scotland's businesses, workers and economy
8. Glasgow, Woodside, Urban Realm seeks views on Public Realm Improvements
9. Glasgow, help shape the future of (Y)our City Centre Districts

Section 2: Forthcoming Consultations

There is ongoing consultation via the Commonplace maps! Please contribute and, hopefully, some of the comments will be developed into full-blown schemes for future consultation.

Section 3: Consultation Feedback

1. North Lanarkshire Council, City Deal, Motherwell Town Centre Transport Interchange Planning Application, response to GoBike submission
2. Glasgow, Multiplex University of Glasgow Campus Development - June 2020 Newsletter

Section 1: Current Consultations, in date order (more or less) for responses

1.1 Scottish Government - Just Transition Commission, closes 30 June

We have featured this consultation a few times now, most recently in Digest 62, Item 1.1 and it's important that YOU follow the link and put your views in within the week, ie by 30 June, next Tuesday. We have a climate emergency and we need to move to a green economy. Please do this; it's an easy set of questions and it's important that we all get our views in.

1.2 Glasgow, Pollok Country Park - Planning Application, closes 06 July

Information on this Planning Application arrived just in time to get a mention in Digest 62, Item 1.2 and:

"The application is now available to view here (Reference Number 20/01352/FUL): https://publicaccess.glasgow.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=QAZZ49EXIKO00&activeTab=summary"

The main document outlining the proposals is the Design and Access Statement.

The purpose of the proposed changes are to improve active travel and public transport access to the park and modifying access by private cars. If you visit the park do please have a look and see if the proposals meet your aspirations, or not - but do let the City Council know either way.

The main points to note and comment on, from GoBike's perspective, are:

• Through motor traffic will be stopped.
• There is to be a new general car park and it is important that the existing car park closer to the Burrell is retained ONLY for accessible parking, bus and coach drop offs and deliveries.
• Parking should be charged in line with other visitor attractions in the city.
• There is currently visitor parking on Haggs Road and other local roads because the existing car park, and the whole park, is closed. The lane currently being used for parking in Haggs Road should be redesigned for cycle use. Residential roads currently being used for Pollok Park parking should be provided with double yellow lines.
• Changes are required in the traffic lights around the park to facilitate movement for people walking or on cycles.

The GoBike response is currently being prepared.

1.3 Glasgow City Council, Spaces for People Commonplace Map, YOUR views are required.

If you cycle in Glasgow, and we know that most of you do, then you will have views as to where dropped kerbs are needed, where cycle priority is required at traffic lights, where contraflow cycling is needed to prevent large detours, where cycle lanes are required, etc, etc, etc, so please get them onto this map provided by Glasgow City Council in conjunction with Transport Scotland and Sustrans Scotland.

If you don't get your views in then you can't complain at the state of things. We mentioned this first in Digest 62, Item 1.9 and here’s a link to the Spaces for People – Glasgow Commonplace map for you to follow.

1.4 East Renfrewshire Council, Spaces for People Commonplace Map, looking for YOUR views

Feeling safe as your circumnavigate this roundabout on your bike? Here's the link to the East Renfrewshire Council's page outlining the approach to COVID-19 measures and the  Commonplace map is here, for your views and comments. We featured this first in Digest 62, Item 1.6 and we do hope that you will show East Renfrewshire Council where changes are needed to improve your journeys.

1.5 **NEW** Glasgow City Council, South Central Glasgow Local Development Framework – Key Issues Survey, closes 06 July

Proposals for the development of the city continue to be drawn up and here's the latest email that arrived on 15 June:

"Dear All

As part of the implementation of the Glasgow City Development Plan, we are preparing Local Development Frameworks (LDFs) for three key areas of spatial change across the City.

One of these areas is South Central Glasgow where we are working with Architecture and Design Scotland as part of their Place Planning for Decarbonisation initiative to ensure our plans are more climate and carbon considerate and in line with Glasgow City’s commitment to tackle climate change and achieve a target of net-zero carbon by 2030.

We had intended to host a number of collaborative workshops to seek your input in identifying the key issues / key areas for improvement for the area and to help us to shape the emerging plan for the area. Due to the current COVID situation, we are limited to carrying out this engagement through an online survey developed in line with the Place Standard Tool. A more formal consultation process will also be held later in the process of developing the LDF.

The survey is available here - https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/SouthCentralLDFSurvey/. The attached document provides a brief overview.

Your input is key to this work and I would be grateful if you could highlight this engagement to your colleagues / other members as well and invite them to complete the survey. The deadline for the same is 6th July 2020.

For any queries regarding the survey or the South Central LDF, please contact (name and email address of the Planning Officer removed by GoBike).

Thank you for your time and input.
Regards

Michael
Michael Ward
Principal Planner, Sustainable Strategy (Neighbourhoods)
Planning & Building Standards, Development & Regeneration Services, Glasgow City Council"

GoBike committee member, Brenda, has looked at the survey for her area and reports that it is essential that you look at the document attached to the email:

South Central LDF - An Overview

This is a survey, and like most of these on-line surveys, it is best done individually. GoBike will be doing a full response when the formal consultation comes out later in the year, but at this time, If you live, work or cycle in any of the areas covered do please do try to get through the rather clunky survey for the area(s) most of concern to you.

Do note though that the pdf says it's expected to take about 30 mins to complete.  It's worth doing by anyone who cares about any of the areas as a place, but perhaps a bit of an ask if you just want to be able to cycle through safely..

1.6 Scottish Parliament EHRi Committee, Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Equalities and Human Rights, closes 01 January 2021

This government consultation featured as Item 1.3 in Digest 62 and there is no doubt that there are inequalities in travel, among other things. Here's the link to start the short survey; do please complete it, particularly if you have views for the longer term eradication of inequalities.

1.7  Scottish Parliament, EEFW Committee, COVID-19 - Impact on Scotland's businesses, workers and economy

This survey was in Digest 62 as Item 1.4 and it applies to all of us:

“The Scottish Parliament’s Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee is here and ready to listen to your views at this challenging time. We are keen to hear from you on the impact of COVID-19 on businesses, workers and the economy in Scotland.“

Views are invited by email, so it’s an open page for you to give your views. If you are involved in active travel, it’s particularly important to give your views – we are at the bottom of the pile just now, so any progress must be up! Here's the link you need. Please get typing.

1.8 Glasgow, Woodside, Urban Realm seeks views on Public Realm Improvements

This first appeared in Digest 62, Item 1.5 and here are a couple of quotes from the Urban Realm newsletter:

"Queens Cross Housing Association has opened a consultative website relaying its plans for a series of environmental improvements to the Woodside area of Glasgow to stimulate discussion around the future public realm."

“Feedback on these approaches is being sought remotely with interested parties invited to share their thoughts directly. All input received will help inform a planning application which is expected to be formally submitted in August, with phase one construction following by spring 2021.“

Note that the designs are actually on the Queen’s Cross HA website. There is a link from the Urban Realm newsletter, but it is not obvious. It is the link in the fourth paragraph, copied above, which says ‘share their thoughts‘. This takes you to the QXHA Woodside Making Places site. You then have to click on ‘The Design’ (top right) and this takes you to the detailed designs for each micro-community. You click on the relevant photographs. If you live in Woodside or your travels take you there, please do comment as to how the area may be improved.

GoBike members, Alasdair and Brenda have toured the area and Brenda has penned this letter of response for GoBike, which was submitted on 22 June.

1.9 Glasgow, help shape the future of (Y)our City Centre Districts

Just in today from GoBike's co-convenor Thomas, from twitter:

The Leader of Glasgow City Council Susan Aitken is encouraging everyone with an interest in these areas to take part, "So, have your say and pop a pin on our map at http://yourcitycentre2020.commonplace.is"

Many, if not most of us, will live, shop, visit and or work in these areas so please do get your views in.

Section 2: Forthcoming Consultations

We hope that consultations will be getting back to "normal" late summer or autumn but please do take note of where changes are required and post them on Commonplace maps.

Section 3: Consultation Feedback

3.1 North Lanarkshire Council, City Deal, Motherwell Town Centre Transport Interchange Planning Application, response to GoBike submission

Changes are proposed for Motherwell Railway Station and in Digest 61, Item 1.1 we published this response to the Planning Application 20/00345/FUL

“GoBike, the Strathclyde Cycle Campaign, supports the use of the cycle as an everyday means of transport for people of all ages, and, to realise this aim, we need to see good quality dedicated cycle infrastructure, not simply painted lines on our roads, with adequate parking arrangements at destinations such as railway stations.
We are pleased to support this planning application because it is a step, albeit a very cautious one, in the right direction. We note that currently, or at the time of your public consultation 2 years ago, very few people were cycling to the station. We do not see very much in your proposals to entice more people to use their bikes; we are concerned that although you show a dedicated cycle path to the station on your layout plan, it is directly adjacent to the taxi rank. What is to prevent taxis, their drivers or passengers encroaching on the cycle lane?
During the current pandemic far more people are cycling in Motherwell as they are all around Scotland and, once train services are able to return to more people travelling, although initially allowing for social distancing, we hope that you will be able to encourage far more people to travel to the station by cycle, from all parts of Motherwell and its environs.”

On 09 June, just as Digest 62 was going to press, this reply arrived from North Lanarkshire Council:

"I’ve been forwarded on your recent comments on the above noted planning application in Motherwell town centre, by the Planning case officer.

I’m based in the Council’s Enterprise Projects Team and am the overall project lead for the Motherwell Town Centre Transport Interchange Project, of which these proposals at Muir Street form part.

We’re working in partnership with ScotRail, Transport Scotland and SPT on the wider project, which involves significant investment in Motherwell Rail Station. The proposed investment in Muir Street (through our Glasgow City Region City Deal programme) complements and supports the station proposals. In partnership with SPT, we’ve also invested in park and ride improvements, active travel infrastructure improvements within Strathclyde Country Park and associated signage in the last financial year.

The proposals at Muir Street therefore form part of wider picture which aims to improve public transport and active travel infrastructure, to encourage modal shift to more sustainable travel options by making these options more attractive and accessible.  It is hoped that further infrastructure improvements will follow in coming years, subject to funding.  

In response to specific points raised within your comments:

• Cycle parking arrangements at Motherwell Railway Station:  As part of the works being delivered at the station, a new cycle storage shelter (with capacity for c20-30 cycles) will be provided within the station forecourt. The station works are due to commence at the end of June this year, with completion by Autumn/Winter 2021;

• Extent of the proposals: as noted above, these proposals link to recently implemented works to improve active travel infrastructure within Strathclyde Country Park. The aim of these works was to create an improved off road shared pedestrian and cycle route through Strathclyde Country Park, linking to recent active travel infrastructure improvements at the M74 Raith Interchange, with onwards directional signage to and from Motherwell Rail Station via Ladywell Road and High Road;

• Location of the shared footpath/cyclepath next to the taxi rank: the path running alongside the new station access road and taxi road is a shared use footpath/cyclepath to cater for pedestrians and cyclists accessing the station and for access to the taxi rank. Due to the constrained nature of the site and the number of stakeholder requirements that need to be met, unfortunately we cannot accommodate a wider path in this area. It is intended to install cyclist dismount signage at either end of the taxi rank in recognition of the higher likelihood of conflict between pedestrians and cyclists within this area. The path will be delineated from the taxi rank with kerbing and a different surface finish, although the kerbs will be low in height to enable ease of access to and from taxis."

Tricia spoke to the writer of the email to express disappointment at the very limited changes and how a path originally described as a "cycle path" is actually intended to be a footpath where one may wheel a bike. The writer, who does cycle and has cycled more during lockdown and seen the challenges, explained the severe limitations on space at this city centre site. From the discussion we are hopeful that we will be able to be more involved in future North Lanarkshire consultations in the future.
If you live in North Lanarkshire do please contact your councillors to press for better cycle facilities.

3.2 Glasgow, Multiplex University of Glasgow Campus Development - June 2020 Newsletter

This newsletter arrived on 17 June and you may read the full contents here. Your chance to get up-to-date with changes at the University.

Please do look at the Commonplace Maps and insert your comments. Hope you enjoy your cycling in these long days of summer but do please take care now more cars are back on the roads.