Spaces for People Project Progresses at Dennistoun

Published: 18 February 2021

[Note: An updated article to show the progress made at Dennistoun was published in March 2021 and can be found here.]

Overview

At the end of last year, we set out details of plans to encourage connected walking, wheeling and cycling, whilst reducing or preventing access to 'through' motor traffic in the Dennistoun neighbourhood

We highlighted how creating people-friendly streets in this area through our Spaces for People programme, is expected to make for quieter and calmer streets where active travel is more appealing. By adjusting the road layout to discourage roads being used as 'rat-runs'; walking, wheeling and cycling is encouraged whilst access to 'through' motor traffic is reduced or prevented.

Changes to the road layout in Dennistoun started in December 2020, with work currently ongoing to complete carriageway lining and install the remaining planters and signage.

Meantime, we have adjusted the original plans after determining that temporary contra-flow cycle lanes are not practicable at this location given the carriageway width whilst also allowing for kerbside parking.  Taking out these lanes in the coming weeks will not affect the offer of quieter, calmer, permeable streets for cyclists; with other traffic management measures expected to reduce or prevent access to 'through' motor traffic within this neighbourhood. 

As part of the refreshed plans, there will also be some adjustments to signage, to better suit the road layout revisions.

Full details of the updated plans for quieter streets in Dennistoun can be found here with a revised map to be added to these pages as soon as possible.

The changes in Dennistoun are being implemented via our Spaces for People programme which is funded by the Scottish Government and administered by Sustrans Scotland. The programme is providing temporary walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure across the city to protect public health during COVID-19 by enabling safer physical distancing, particularly where there are space constraints or user safety concerns.

Spaces for People measures are being implemented so that everyone can walk, wheel and cycle around their local area safely whilst keeping to physical distancing requirements.

To manage how our roads are used, the council ordinarily use Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) - a lengthy process that requires public consultation. The Scottish Government has however identified COVID-19 as a danger to the public and as such is one of those circumstances where local authorities can use temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTROs) to introduce temporary measures.

TTROs require no prior consultation and are relatively flexible so there is the potential for the council to assess and put in place temporary measures relatively quickly and responsively.

Timescales:

Once complete, the infrastructure at Dennistoun will be in place for a minimum period of 10 weeks and reviewed in line with the Scottish Government's COVID-19 Framework for Decision Making 'Scotland's Route Map through and out of the crisis'.

You can find out more about our Spaces for People programme on our dedicated webpages or by watching our animation.