Significant enhancements made to facilities for walking, wheeling, and cycling in Newton Mearns

Published: 1 March 2024

A fully segregated design was developed, and pedestrians and cyclists now have separate facilities on both sides of the road, minimising conflict with each other and with vehicles.

A public consultation exercise undertaken in 2020 revealed that many users felt the section between the Hunter Drive Roundabout and the M77/A726 interchange was sub-standard - people had to cross busy roads with little assistance, and the on-road cycle lanes were narrow and in poor condition.

Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Rights, Patrick Harvie MSP, joined representatives from the Council to see the results of the work carried out.

Lay-bys have been created for drivers travelling in either direction and a pair of bus stops are located close to the access to the new Maidenhill housing development.

The roundabout junction with Hunter Drive has been replaced with a signal-controlled crossroad which incorporates advance detection for cyclists.

A toucan crossing has been provided at the point where southbound cyclists and pedestrians need to join the shared-use facility built on the opposite side of Ayr Road in phase one.

The improvement works were split into two phases, with North Hillhead Road to the M77 overbridge completed in phase one in 2022.

All road and path surfaces in the project area have been resurfaced, bringing benefits to all users with reallocation of road space to help discourage speeding.

This phase connects several new residential developments, including Maidenhill, with Newton Mearns and further north to Giffnock and Glasgow.

Councillor Danny Devlin, Convener for Environment and Housing, said: 'This project is an important step forward for active travel in East Renfrewshire and marks the completion of an upgrade to a key section of an active travel route. The new infrastructure is of exemplary quality, with signal-controlled crossings and full separation between people walking, cycling, and driving, improving comfort and safety for everyone. This project will particularly benefit young people, and anyone who feels nervous about the idea of cycling on the road. The route sets the standard for what the Council would like to achieve along the entire length of Ayr Road. Work to design future phases all the way to Glasgow is now underway, which will also greatly improve local transport options within Newton Mearns, Giffnock and beyond.'

Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Rights, Patrick Harvie MSP said: 'I'm delighted to see the real difference our Active Travel Transformation Fund is making here in East Renfrewshire and for people across Scotland, supporting our ambition to make walking, wheeling and cycling the most popular choice for short, everyday journeys. By funding local authorities directly, we're enabling them to deliver infrastructure projects which have the most impact for their own areas at pace. This is a new delivery model, making it faster and more straightforward for councils to realise their ambitions for active travel. This government continues to invest record amounts in active travel for our health, wellbeing and climate. I hope to see many more projects like this delivered right across Scotland in the coming months and years - helping to make cycling safer, easier and more inclusive for everyone.'

Funding for phase two was one of the first in the country to be awarded funding through Transport Scotland's new Active Travel Transformation Fund. Grants were also provided via Transport Scotland's Cycling Walking Safer Routes fund and from Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT). The project was designed by consultancy firm Mott MacDonald and constructed by Newlay Civil Engineering Ltd.