Active Travel in Strathbungo – The Crossmyloof Resource Centre path

Here’s a New Year thought.

The triangle of land behind Carswell Gardens used to be a Corporation depot & yard, but more recently was used for the Crossmyloof Resource Centre & old folks home. That has now closed, as it is considered surplus to requiremetns, and the Council is putting the site up for sale. It is likely to be bought by a developer for housing, which could in itself have significant impact on Strathbungo, although apparently care home operators may also be interested. We will have to watch this space.

Meanwhile however it also presents an unusual opportunity. The Council has the ability to reserve a strip of land alongside the railway fence extending directly from Moray Place to the end of Titwood Road, and so provide a traffic free path for walkers and those on bikes to get quickly and safely to Crossmyloof Station and Morrisons’ supermarket.

A quick calculation on Google maps suggests a journey from the top of Thorncliffe Gardens to the station would reduce from 600m to 400m by avoiding the detour to Titwood Road, as well as avoiding traffic, cars parked on pavements, etc.

Current route from Moray Place to the Station, 600m

A shorter route to the station, 400m

Once the land is sold this opportunity will never arise again, and if residents think this is a good idea, we would need to act quickly; we may already be too late. However with the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, taking place in Glasgow this November, the Council really should be looking at opportunities like this to encourage more active travel.

The notice of intended sale by City Properties is here.

And finally, credit to Nick Kempe, whose idea this was originally.

Survey

Thanks for all those who completed the brief survey. It was up for only 24 hours, but received a whopping 159 responses. It overwhelmed my free SurveyMonkey account, so if you are one of the 26 who replied between 10.30 last night and 10 this morning, I can’t access your responses; apologies. Nonetheless the results are clear and the comments informative. Here they are:

Having read the blog, do you support the idea of the new active travel path?

Do you live in Strathbungo?

And here are some of the comments from the survey, or from facebook (negatives in italics):

• Excellent idea
• I cycle regularly and this would provide a safe route
• Yer plans [expletive]
• Would make route to Shawlands school safer – less exposure to road based pollution and easier for kids to cycle safely.
• I think it’s a great idea – happy to do whatever necessary to support. I also think a community garden would be fantastic too.
• I often walk along the railway line in my (new) evening walks in 2020 and think it’s a shame you can’t go along this route.
• Absolutely. I’ve been advocating this for years. Will help those (especially children) cycling, scooting or walkng to Pollok Park.
• I often cycle along here on way to Glasgow city centre from high shawlands and this path would help me avoid roads
• It’s a great idea and we should be continuing to invest in active travel across the city so this is simple and I don’t imagine particularly expensive to resurface and add signage, etc.
• When we cycle with our children we already use the current path and then the back lane. It would be great to have it extended further.
• This would be a faster and safer route
• As a cyclist who lives at the bottom of Minard Road this path would be very useful.
• Councillor Anna Richardson has been looking at improving active travel routes in the city. Sustrans would also be interested in this. It would be a better route to the station for those at the north end of Strathbungo than walking or wheeling along the pavement or cycling along Darnley Street. Also would be an action to encourage people wishing to live by the principles of the 20 minute neighbourhood. People may be more likely to walk to Morrison’s rather than take their car.
• More opportunities for walking and cycling safely will be an asset to the area.
• Anything that makes life easier for walking people should be encouraged. There used to be a path here in the 1980s when I lived in Strathbungo – who owned the land then?
• I think it would make a really good pathway along moray place and away from busy road.
• Great idea.
• I live on Titwood Road and think this would be a very good idea if possible
• Used it walking her me from school in the 70’s but sure it got blocked when the old folks home was built.
• It’s a unique opportunity to help residents of the area. Potential developers have few options here to benefit the local community. This is an easy win for them and us.
• Makes sense to keep bikes off roads were possible especially if it shortens route too.
• This is a great idea and will reduce commuting time.
• This would be ruddy marvellous
• I live at the far end of Moray Place and this would definitely increase the likelihood of me cycling to morrisons
• My children and us walk from Crossmyloof (we live on other section of Titwood Road, past Morrisons) to Strathbungo regularly. We have friends who live there and can easily appreciate the benefit of this improved thoroughfare, for both walking and cycling. Squeezing more and more new flats into this boundary area of the Strathbungo conservation area is a very sad idea, one which I hope the council and planning department see sense to re-think for the benefit of current and future generations. Once this opportunity is missed, it is lost forever.
• Moray place is busier than ever. This will make the situation worse.
• The path would allow me to reduce the distance from my home to the supermarket. As I am disabled this path would make life easier.
• In normal times I walk to crossmyloof station most days. This would give me a new route with cleaner air. I would also use it for cycling with my children to Morrison’s.
• It will need to be well lit and with at least 1 CCTV camera for safety.
• Happy to help make the case for this.
• I live in the flats just behind Morrisons at Crossmyloof and think the path is a good idea. Anything that gives us an alternative and safe way of travelling, without cars.
• This would be an excellent place to provide a traffic-free safe route from Strathbungo to Crossmyloof (and the Morrisons there) for walkers and cyclists. The ground could easily be transformed into a path without having to put Traffic Regulation Orders in place and with little disruption to anyone or wildlife. It would be an ideal way of encouraging more active travel in this locale. Active is a key strategic goal for Glasgow City Council as it looks to become carbon-neutral and to show climate leadership in the year that COP26 comes to Glasgow.
• I think this is a good idea. Although I live in Shawlands I would be happy to support this.
• This will encourage walking and reduce traffic which is positive
• I frequently pass here and it would greatly improve conditions, esp for pedestrians like myself. Particularly with how much traffic that frequents the crossing by the train station, this would make the area much more valuable for multiple reasons.
• This route will become even more important, on grounds of safety, if (when) the existing Strathbungo bridge is removed to enable electrification of the railway line. Traffic calming or diversion measures also need to be considered for Moray Pl. as it has become a real rat run of late.
• This is exactly what local walkers need!
• O think its a great idea. Would love to see it opened up and would use it.
• yes always found this a bit strange that it’s a dead end. Hopefully they open it up
• Yes, great idea. Have been talking about this for years and thought this change could provide the opportunity. Thanks for highlighting the issue.
• Agree it’s a good idea. Would be ideal for kids walking that way to and from school. Not looking forward to future development of the site. I expect we’ll be overlooked by an ugly block of flats in the coming years
• This is an excellent idea. I live in shawlands but go this route a lot on way to work (when that’s a thing).
• Great idea. Not sure of the process to make this work, but I do use that lane as it is. Makes sense that it should go straight through to the Morrisions and on to Pollok Park
• It used to be a through-lane in the 1980s……perhaps someone could find out when & why it was blocked off
• Good idea!
• Hope it can happen
• It’s a good idea. Just a small correction to your post. The care home did meet the modern standards of having self contained rooms and individual facilities. There must have been another reason for selling it off. Any public space is better than even more private flats in my opinion
• Excellent idea !

So given the positive support, we will take this to our councillors. Thanks for your input.

Update

The council officers responded negatively as they want to maximise the sale price. See their response here. However Cllr Molyneux has asked that this be kept on the agenda and can be explored in the future, including at the planning stage.

Update Dec 2024

Westpoint Homes plan to develop the site, and are holding a pre-planning consultation exercise.