Saracen Street Active Travel Project
Project Overview
Saracen Street
Glasgow City Council have developed proposals to be consulted on for segregated cycle lanes on Saracen Street and Balmore Road which will connect with the existing cycle lanes on Garscube Road. This route would form part of the Inner North City Network which is has been going through wider consultation and design.
There are two key route options Glasgow City Council is exploring to connect Saracen Street to the City Network and improve the wider walking environment as well as an additional idea about reducing traffic overall. Glasgow City Council would like feedback from people who live, work, and travel through the local area before going forward with additional design work.
This map shows the proposed core cycle route options and the areas affected by the proposed neighbourhood traffic reduction. The core cycle route options are on Balmore Road from the junction with Bilsland Drive through Saracen Street to Killearn Street before moving to a mixed traffic route following Killearn Street and Hamiltonhill Road across the canal to where Possil Road meets Garscube Road. The proposed neighbourhood traffic reduction includes the neighbourhoods to the west and east of Saracen Street.
The success of the City Network is reliant on input from local people to help the team understand key issues in each neighbourhood, with this local knowledge informing the developing designs. For this reason, we would kindly ask you to give us your views on the proposals.
Following the consultations, officers will review the data and comments, and then designs will be amended based on feedback from the consultation.
Consultation and Survey
This is a design consultation to gain feedback on proposals before they are taken any further.
The consultation will last for six weeks from 27 th January 2025 to 10 th March 2025.
The easest way to provide feedback to the proposals is through the following online survey.
Paper copies of the survey and a postbox will be available at Possilpark Library during the duration of the consultation.
A public drop in session is on 18 th February 2025 15:00-19:00 at Bardowie Street Hall, 206 Bardowie St, G22 5AB.
Data Collected so far
Below is an overview of some of the data collected so far.
Traffic counts were taken on major junctions on Saracen Street and Balmore Road to be able to understand potential impacts on wider traffic and bus journey times. Counts were also taken on key entrance/exit junctions to the neighbourhoods around Saracen Street, such as Killearn Street and Allander Street.
To summarise current use of Saracen Street, Currently about 250 people are cycling through Saracen Street each day; for comparison, there are about 4,500 pedestrians each day. If Saracen Street is better connected to existing cycling infrastructure on Garscube Road and the city centre, then more people will cycle through Saracen Street on everyday journeys. As an example, Victoria Road, with segregated cycle lanes, sees over 2,000 cycling journeys each day, even on some winter days – for full report click here . People cycling add to a local high street as they are likely to stop and use local shops – see full report here.
A parking survey will be undertaken in Spring 2025 to give independent information on parking and loading patterns on Saracen Street and surrounding Street. The parking survey will give information how long people park for and how many spaces are free at any particular time to help inform continuing design work.
A topographical survey was also carried out which gives precise information about the layout of the road, heights of surfaces, and location of service covers. This topographical survey was essential for creating feasible designs and understanding how space could be allocated on Saracen Street in the future.
Saracen Street Active Travel Route
The map above shows the proposed route for a segregated cycle lane on Balmore Road and Saracen Street connecting to a mixed traffic route on Killearn Street and Hamiltonhill Road. The route is designed to minimise cycling detour to connect with Garscube Road while providing direct access to the shops on Saracen Street.
Photo show an example of existing segregated cycle infrastructure on Garscube Road with parking and tenement buildings to the left and bi-directional cycleway to the right
A segregated cycle lane is where the is a physical kerb separation between those cycling and motor traffic, the example above shows the nearby segregated cycle lane on Garscube Road which the proposal for Saracen Street would connect to. A mixed traffic street is where motor traffic levels and speed have been reduced enough that kerb segregation is not necessary for a high quality attractive cycle route.
A number of changes to the street environment will be proposed in the designs:
- Segregated two-way cycle lane running on the west side of Balmore Road and Saracen Street between Hayston Street and Killearn Street.
- Modernised pedestrian facilities through footway accessibility upgrades and wider pedestrian crossings.
- Improved Signage along the cycle route at Killearn Street and Hamiltonhill Road to connect with Garscube Road via Applecross Street and the canal bridge.
- Signal junctions at Closeburn Street and Hawthorn Street to receive accessible features such as tactile paving, cones, and clearer crossing directions.
- Traffic signal upgrades to enhance movements of all modes.
- Areas where public realm could be improved as part of the project if funding available.
Annotated copies of the designs are shown below but the detailed PDF can be downloaded at the following link:
Alternative Cycle Street option
Due to the street layout there is an option to have the main cycle route use a mixed traffic style for a longer distance. This would have the route turn off Balmore Road on Sunnylaw Street and Carbeth Street to meet Killearn Street as highlighted in the map below.
Map showing alternative route following Sunnylaw Street and Carbeth Street
Such an extended mixed traffic route could require the additional traffic reduction measures described in the "Fiepath" section. There would also need to be adequate signage and road markings to help give new users certainty that they are following the correct route.
Proposal 2 still requires the changes to Balmore Road north of Sunnylaw Street where general traffic roadspace is re-allocated to a dedicated segregated cycle lane.
Firepaths
A Fire Path is a road feature which allows emergency services to pass but is designed to prevent private vehicles passing through. There are a number of these firepaths in Possilpark already but traffic volumes and patterns have changed since they were installed. Glasgow City Council proposes that the firepaths could be re-arranged as part of this project to prevent all through traffic on neighbourhood streets.
Photos show example of recently upgraded Firepath on Langside Road which uses foldable bollards instead of rough bumps to deter non-emergency vehicle use.
Th e Road Safety Pla n and Active Travel Strategy supports using filters and fire paths to re-route “rat-running” traffic from quiet neighbourhoods to main roads designed to accommodate such traffic volumes. Past experience suggests that traffic doesn’t always increase on nearby main roads, sometimes it even goes down as people change journey route or the type of journey they make.
Four new traffic filters are proposed for this project. Two west of Saracen Street and two to the east of Saracen Street. How these could work is shown in the images below.
The above images show the proposals for the firepath re-arrangement. Existing firepaths are in red and new proposed are in Green.
A bus gate is proposed for Wester Common Road near the junction with Ellesmere Street. This would enable the M3 bus route to be retained in the neighbourhood while cutting out through traffic. The second is a firepath on Ellesmere Street just west of the junction with Applecross Street.
It is proposed to re-instate the firepath on the junction of Bardowie Street and Ashfield Street, this was removed around 2010. Another firepath is proposed on the junction of Rednock Street and Stonyhurst Street, which is aimed to reduce crossing conflict between pedestrians and drivers around school drop off-pick up times.
Vehicle access is retained to all properties in Possilpark and Hamiltonhill. However, residents using motor vehicles may need to change the start of their journeys to access the main road network, as the image below highlights.
The above image shows how the firepath changes might affect two example journeys. Journey 1 is someone driving starting near the junction between Stonyhurst Street and Hamiltonhill Road and going west along Panmure Street. In this example, rather than drive via Wester Common Road they would need to drive via Sunnylaw Street. In journey 2 someone starts driving near the junctions between Bardowie Street and Denmark Street and drives to Sighthill. With the proposed new firepaths, this journey would need to go via Saracen Street and Keppochhill Road.
Changing driving journeys at the neighbourhood level in this manner keeps through traffic on the main roads which can best accommodate such traffic levels. Such traffic management has been shown to improve road safety for all users .
Many neighbourhoods in Glasgow already have such a layout. For example, the neighbourhood around Baird Street south east of St George’s Road and Woodlands south of Great Western Road. Most modern housing estates are built with a cul-de-sac street layout which creates similar conditions to these firepath proposals.
Lowering Traffic on Saracen Street
The 1960s Glasgow Motorway Plan proposed removing almost all traffic from Saracen Street by building the Maryhill Motorway, the North Link Motorway, and the Springburn Expressway. The two motorways were not built and the original vision for the Springburn Expressway. Additionally, industrial estates in Glasgow underwent a significant shift from rail based to road based logistics. As a result, Saracen Street hosts very large traffic numbers which were never envisioned for such a high street at the heart of a neighbourhood.
Map from A Highway Plan for Glasgow (1965) showing relative traffic volumes expected on different roads if the plan was adopted in its entirety. Saracen Street is not highlighted on as it was predicted not to be a major arterial road in the plan
There are approximately 16,000 motor vehicles using the high street section of Saracen Street daily, with a large number of those heavy goods vehicles. It could be possible to significantly reduce the amount of traffic on Saracen Street. A positive outcome would be the reduction of noise and air pollution. Potentially, the improved atmosphere would increase footfall and encourage residents to use the nearby open spaces more frequently.
Traffic reduction could be achieved by a number of methods but would need to be part of a wider traffic circulation plan across the North of Glasgow. These plans would typically need a two year period of analysis and consultation in order to understand what measures could be introduced to reduce traffic on Saracen Street. Potential surrounding impacts would also be analysed as well as identification of any required road network upgrades. National infrastructure funding would be required for such a comprehensive study.
Next Steps
Once the consultation period is over, all responses and feedback will be collated into a public report presented to councillors.
The designs will be changed based on the responses and feedback. The changes will be presented on the Saracen Street Storymap and may go out for another round of public consultation.
Regular project updates will be presented on the Saracen Street Storymap which can be accessesed in future through:
wwww.glasgow.gov.uk/saracenstreet
Once the designs are finalised a legal process called a Traffic Regulation Order will be required. This is a statutory process giving people the opportunity to formally object to changes proposed to the street.
Funding will need to be secured from the Active Travel Infrastructure Fund or
Who is involved?
Glasgow City Council is a local authority established under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. Glasgow City Council will work in partnership and be funded by Sustrans to deliver the detail design and project construction.
This project was funded through Sustrans’ Places for Everyone programme, an active travel infrastructure scheme backed by Transport Scotland.
The national transport agency for Scotland, delivering the Scottish Government's vision for transport.
Frequently asked questions?
What consultation has previously taken place for this project?
This project emerges from Glasgow wide work which which started with a Public Conversation on Glasgow's Transport Future which was held for 6 weeks in autumn 2020. This work informed the development of the Glasgow Transport Strategy (GTS), which sets a clear direction for transport policies, projects and investment up to 2030.
While the GTS is the overarching transport strategy for the City, it is supported by a suite of transport-related strategies and plans. Among them, Glasgow’s Active Travel Strategy (ATS) was adopted in February 2022. This followed eight weeks of public consultation in autumn 2021, during which the concept of a City Network of protected cycleways, improved footways and associated enhancements was presented. Discussions with key stakeholders and local communities helped to create the prioritisation principles and inform the design approach, that were then set out in the Interim Delivery Plan for the City Network .
To ensure individual projects would connect to a wider whole network then plans for the Inner North City Network were developed with engagement with internal GCC teams, Elected Members, Community Councils and key stakeholders groups in the Spring of 2024. Through a series of by-invitation workshops, drop-ins, and an online presence, valuable feedback has helped inform the design development.
The designs of the Inner North network were then now being taken to public consultation for six weeks from September 9th. The consultant team is currently finalising the proposals based on the feedback received.
Meanwhile, it was recognised that as a key high street and local centre then Saracen Street required focussed design work. Glasgow City Council engineers brought together past consultation information in the area including from Liveable Neighbourhoods and the North Glasgow Strategic Development Framework to produce the options presented in this consultation for discussion.
Why is the City Network being delivered in my area first? How did you decide which areas to prioritise?
The Final Delivery Plan for the City Network sets out the phasing of key sections of the network, allowing GCC officers to prioritise design and delivery across the city over a 10 year period. As the overarching network document for the GCC delivery teams, it will also be used to direct funding applications. In order to evaluate and prioritise development of the City Network, GCC set out key priority principles. These principles have been used as a first stage assessment tool to ensure routes are evaluated using an evidenced based approach wherever possible. The criteria are:
- Socially Just: ensure low-income areas of Glasgow are part of the growing network.
- Network in Place: build on existing and Spaces for People routes to quickly deliver localised network which can be expanded upon.
- Modal Shift: enable more people to choose active travel for everyday journeys.
- Access: ensure routes provide access to destinations such as schools and medical centres.
- Liveable Neighbourhoods: City Network Projects outlined and co-created as part of the Liveable Neighbourhoods process
There was also recognition of a qualitative consideration to the phasing development, where an array of workshops were organised with Glasgow City Council (GCC) officers and departments for discussions surrounding a variety of factors. The criteria included:
- Deliverability: Constraints on the efficiency of delivering routes, whilst considering space or site issues
- Granted Funding: Identifying additional benefits from working in tandem with other GCC projects that align with the City Network
- Dependencies: Existing projects or proposed routes that are coherent with other infrastructure developments, with decisions on priority to be first delivered.
- Safeguarding: Specific routes or areas where vulnerability may be higher, for future developments
The combination of these assessments delivered the scoring for the priority matrix, where the score was then used as the first stage of considering phasing of the City Network.
Is this part of the Liveable Neighbourhoods programme?
The Active Travel Strategy and the City Network are working closely alongside the Liveable Neighbourhoods (LN) programme; this programme will cover all areas of Glasgow through six tranches of work. The LN webpage contains full details of the LN programme, including the LN areas and their consultations. The following align with the City Network Inner North and South:
Will I have further opportunities to respond to the proposals?
Yes, once the feedback has been collated from this consultation a Consultation Report will be prepared and will be published on the Council’s website and the project website. Then, at the next stage of the design process once revisions based on feedback is complete there will be further opportunities to share your views.
How is the project funded?
This stage of the project is fully funded by the Transport Scotland Places for Everyone Fund which is delivered by Sustrans. People sometimes have concerns that new projects will take funds away from other areas of the Council where they were previously committed, but this is not the case.
Could this money be spent on something else?
No. The Places for Everyone funding that the Council was successful in obtaining has to be spent on the City Network.
Good cycling infrastructure does cost money, but it is incorrect to say it is a large amount in the scope of overall transport spending, or that it is a poor return on investment. Cycling infrastructure has been shown to pay back to society more than it costs – a 2014 UK government report cited returns of between 2:1 and 35:1.
The Business Case for Glasgow’s Active Travel City Network quantified estimate of the benefit cost ratio is therefore 5.4 for the Active Travel Strategy, this represents a “Very High” value for money category.
Cycling infrastructure is comparatively cheaper that road infrastructure. An 8 kilometre section of the M74 provided a cost of £692m, whereas the 270 kilometres of the Glasgow City Network is estimated at £400-500m over 10 years.
Does the project meet the requirements of the Equality Act 2010?
The project is legally required to comply with the Equality Act 2010 and an Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) will be carried out at key stages to ensure this. Glasgow City Council have clear aspirations that the City Network will be well lit and routed through busier areas providing higher levels of passive supervision, so people feel as safe as possible using it at night and that it is inclusive of all populations including women, LGBTQ+ and ethnic minorities who are more affected by personal security issues. It must minimise conflicts between people moving around the city in different ways; that means that inclusive design will be embedded in the design of the City Network.
How have pedestrians and wheelchair users been considered and prioritised in the proposals?
Pedestrians and people who use mobility aids including wheelchairs will benefit from new crossings including raised tables, dropped kerbs, and improved public spaces.
At locations where it is safe and appropriate to do so, raised tables are proposed to make it easier to cross side-road junctions. Raised tables are sections of road that are at the same level as the pavement so that there is no step down and so that vehicles are encouraged to slow down and observe the highway code by letting people cross.
The interaction of any new active travel facility with bus stops is being carefully considered. In several cases bus users will need to cross the cycleway to reach the bus stop but is required in this project to implemented high quality cycling infrastructure.
Why are protected cycle lanes / segregated cycleways needed?
We have assessed the streets on the proposed routes, looking at the most appropriate options to accommodate all road users safely. Some streets carry high volumes of traffic and are bus routes which means they are not suitable for on-road cycling for everyone. Separate cycle lanes / segregated cycleways mean cyclists of all abilities can travel safely and comfortably.
Will cycle parking be provided along these routes?
Yes, cycle parking will be provided at key locations along the route. We would like your feedback on where those locations could be.
What are the impacts of on-street parking as a result of the proposals?
Reallocating road space to people travelling on foot or by bike will have an impact on parking at certain locations. We are attempting to retain as much parking as possible, especially where we know that this is important to local people.
We are undertaking parking and loading surveys to understand where people park and load currently, and for how long they undertake these activities for.
How will the proposals impact upon loading?
Loading will still be permitted but there may be changes to where and when loading is allowed. The specifics of this will depend on which option is taken forward as the preferred design.
We are undertaking parking and loading surveys to understand where people park and load currently, and for how long they undertake these activities for. This has given us an appreciation of what provision of parking and loading is required.
Any proposed changes to loading and unloading will be subject to its own statutory consultation.
What effects will the proposals have on businesses?
We are aiming to improve walking, cycling and wheeling in Glasgow, and improving pedestrian, wheelchair and cyclist movement to shops and local businesses, and between different shops and businesses, is an important part of this.
We expect a well-connected local centre or town to attract people to use the amenities and create a more vibrant and prosperous environment for businesses. There is evidence from many other schemes that improving public spaces can boost retail sales, and that cycle parking delivers five times the retail spend per square metre than the same area of car parking.
Local businesses will be consulted with, throughout the development of the project. The Council will work with local businesses to understand their concerns. With them, the Council will assess the impacts of the works and mitigate them where appropriate.
Will buses be impacted by the proposals?
Buses will be able to operate as they do now. The proposals will not mean any changes to services are needed but some bus stops will be upgraded or moved slightly to accommodate the space required for cycling and updated traffic modelling.