THREE proposed active travel projects in Glasgow have been successful in the first phase of judging of Sustrans Scotland’s Community Links PLUS (CLPLUS) competition 2018.
Run by Sustrans and funded by the Scottish Government, the CLPLUS aims to deliver pioneering and game-changing projects which inspire public bodies in Scotland to design better places and spaces for people to live, walk and cycle in for everyday journeys.
The Glasgow City Council proposals are:
North City Way, which aims to deliver a mainly segregated walking and cycling route from Milton into Glasgow City Centre, via Ashfield, Cowlairs, Keppochhill and Sighthill. It will use a vehicle-free bridge over the M8 and a new bridge over the Glasgow to Edinburgh railway, creating a quiet and safe route to the City Centre for people on bikes and on foot from the north of the city and beyond.
Yorkhill Kelvingrove Cycling Village — Through partnership working with Glasgow City Council and Sustrans, the local community council have already overseen some enhancements to the area including improved roads, footways and signage, installation of cycle racks and on-street cycle pumps and new Nextbike stations.
Following this success, the Cycling Village project aims to improve the look and feel of the area, prioritising the needs of pedestrians and cyclists and creating an attractive ‘gateway’ to the SECC/Hydro.
Glasgow Avenues Plus — The City Deal funded Avenues’ project aims to introduce connected green routes across the city centre that will link key neighbourhoods, gateways and focus points, display a people-centred approach to street design, promote sustainable modes of transport and improve perceptions of the city.
Glasgow Avenues Plus will extend the benefits of the pilot Sauchiehall Street Avenue (under construction) and The Underline (a pedestrian and cycle route linking Great Western Road with the city centre, due for completion in 2021) into the communities on the north-western fringes of the city centre.
The proposed Glasgow Avenues Plus activity will further extend this connected network through and out into the wider city, provide short and long-term cycle storage at key transport nodes and develop community-based cycle initiatives across Glasgow providing the opportunity for all abilities all ages to participate.
The Glasgow projects are among 10 from across Scotland selected to go through to the second phase of the competition. Each receive a grant of £50,000 to further develop their proposals.
The next stage will include extensive engagement with local communities and stakeholders and developing designs which could be taken to construction. Out of the 10 finalists, a number of projects will be selected to be taken to construction after 2020. Each project is expected to begin further development of the proposals within the next month with the judging stage of the competition set to take place in April 2019.
Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said: “The Community Links Plus fund generates some of the most exciting ideas for introducing the infrastructure we need to encourage more people to leave their cars at home and make journeys by bike or on foot.
“It’s very encouraging to see we have eight different local authorities which have not only identified opportunities in their areas but have been shortlisted for this stage of the competition. We will look forward to finding out which ideas are taken through to construction.
“The Scottish Government doubled the active travel budget to £80 million to help create an active nation of people leading healthier and more active lifestyles.”
Sustrans Scotland Head of Infrastructure Matthew Macdonald said: “These 10 shortlisted projects are a bold step towards a healthier, more sustainable and vibrant Scotland which designs places around the needs of people over vehicular access.
“With the backing of Transport Scotland, Sustrans will now work in partnership with the eight shortlisted local authorities to help develop their pioneering visions into realistic proposals which have the support and input of their local communities.
“These exemplar projects demonstrate the wide -benefits that well designing safer, friendlier places bring, such as boosting footfall for local business, improving the health of local people and creating safer environments that are more pleasant to live in and move through.”
