For those who read about the idea of a walking and cycling path behind the Crossmyloof Resource Centre, to provide a direct route from Moray Place to Crossmyloof Station, here is the response from the relevant Council department.
The original proposal and comments from the community are in the earlier post, Active Travel in Strathbungo – The Crossmyloof Resource Centre path
OFFICIAL
MESSAGE SENT ON BEHALF OF
PROPERTY & LAND SERVICESDear Councillor
I refer to the enquiry received regarding the creation of an active travel path along the route of the rail line at Crossmyloof and traversing across the north of the site of the former care home (please refer to the attached plans).
On the face of it, the proposal would appear to have some merit. While there is existing access for pedestrian and cycles from Moray Place to the intersection of Titwood Road and Minard Road by means of turning left into Carswell Gardens and then turning right into Titwood Road, a path across the back of the care home site would be more direct and would shorten the journey. It would also be in line with Council policy on promoting Active Travel. However it would also inevitably mean a reduction in the likely capital receipt for the sale of the former care home and the investigation into the planning and viability of the path would also likely cause delay in securing a sale. While it is not possible to quantify how much the reduction might be, or what delay may occur, I think it fair to say that there would undoubtedly be some reduction in the capital receipt.
In addition, the proposed route of the path uses the lane to the north of 45 Carswell Gardens. This lane is in private ownership and is not adopted. Therefore in order to use the section of lane to the north of 45 Carswell Gardens for the Active Travel Route we would need to obtain permission of the owner of the land including permission to remove the section of wall. It is also very likely that the owners of the houses on the western side of Carswell Gardens that back on to the lane will have vehicular access rights to use the lane including the section to the north of 45 Carswell Gardens. If we were looking to restrict cars from using that section of the lane then agreement would need to be reached with each of the individual house owners on that point. Such a restriction would make it awkward for vehicles to get in and out and would likely lead to cars reversing onto Titwood Road. If a restriction on cars wasn’t required we would need to consider a path design that would accommodate both pedestrian and car users.
Clearly there are a number of issues that would need to be addressed in order to make the proposed Active Travel Route a reality. In addressing those issues there are no guarantees that agreement could be reached with either the landowner of the lane or the individual house owners, or that the terms, if offered, by the different parties would be acceptable to the Council. I would also add that the Council is committed to the development of a city-wide Active Travel Strategy which will deliver a strategic plan for Glasgow. A recruitment process is currently underway to undertake the development of this plan over the next 12 months. In advance of this, it may be premature to deliver stand-alone projects which may not necessarily fit with this city-wide strategy.
In conclusion, while recognising that the proposal has some merit, on balance we do not feel that this option should be pursued given the reduced capital receipt for the sale of the former care home; the cost of reaching agreement with the lane owner and possibly the housed holders; the amount of officers time required to negotiate and reach agreement with the various parties; the possibility that such work would be abortive should no agreement be reached; and also the development of the city-wide Active Travel Strategy may identify an alternative or more strategic active travel proposal for this locality which could negate the need for this proposed intervention.
Yours sincerely
Council map of Crossmyloof Resource Centre Site with path overlaid in blue
The response included these maps. The blue line is an exact reproduction from my sketch, and was apparently initially taken literally by the officers, who objected to it bisecting the site.
Cllr Jon Molyneux plans to go back to the council officer for clarification of some of the points raised. He, like I, feels this reads like a contrived excuse to do nothing.
What do you think? Feel free to add your comments on the council response, and in favour or against the idea of a path.
Hi, the Community Council also submitted an enquiry about a Community Asset Transfer with a view to safeguarding a narrow stretch of land along the edge of the site to allow for further exploration of the idea of an active travel route. Unfortunately the Council replied saying that they don’t own the land adjoining the railway line. A clarification has been submitted explaining that our request related to the land at the edge of the Crossmyloof Resource Centre not the railway line.
They do seem to be being deliberately pedantic and obtuse in their responses…
Bit of a sideways comment (I don’t live in Strathbungo but do pass through pretty frequently). With not much else to do over the past 12 months I’ve pounded and cycled streets in various parts of Glasgow that are obscure to all but their residents for mostly good reasons. It’s been eye-opening how what were obviously land-holding boundaries from Victorian (at least) times have persisted and been allowed to determine the boundaries and links (or lack of) between housing developments of different dates.
The council never does anything unless it says somewhere that that thing is policy (sometimes not even then). There are plenty of fine words about enabling active travel, but the decision making doesn’t seem to grasp that that isn’t just about grudgingly allocating some road space to cycling. Being able to use the shortest possible route is key. Active travel policy needs to get into planning policy, to include doing everything possible to ensure new residential developments are permeable in all directions, and grasping opportunities (like this one) to make existing areas more permeable for active travel.
If such a policy were in place already the officers involved would have to be looking for the best way to make it happen.
The comments by the Council is making wrong assumptions in respect of problems due to the lane which a new cycle/footpath would exit from Moray Place at 45 Carswell Gardens. Currently the official definition of this lane is that it is a public road. (Under the Roads Scotland Act, any way where the public has write of access [with the exception of a waterway] is a road). As it is, currently it is the owner’s responsibility. However, if this small length of lane was surfaced for a cycleway, the owner would be absolved of any future maintenance problems etc. as the short lane could then be adopted as a publicly maintained road. This would then not affect any other owners of the long section of lane up to Titwood Road.
Like all the other privately maintained lanes in Strathbungo, the owners would be delighted to have the lanes adopted as publicly maintained lanes.
The width of the short lane is over 6.2 metres to the railway boundary, the width of Moray Place carriageway is 5m with cars parked on one side.