Bears Way project '˜on pause'

Independent Councillor Duncan Cumming put forward a motion which asked for the project to be paused at last Thursday’s meeting which was agreed.

This means that the council will now carry out a community consultation on phases 2 and 3 of the project.

Provide an information leaflet to every household in Bearsden and Milngavie.

Conduct a series of conventional public meetings which will give residents the chance to ask the design team and council officials questions - with the minutes of the meetings made available on the council’s website.

Complie a report on the outcome of the consultation which takes the findings into account.

And formally write to the emergency services, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board to ask their views on phase one of the project and publish their response on the council’s website.

Councillor Cumming said: “I’m very pleased that the majority of councillors have woken up to the major concerns that I and the vast majority of my constituents have with the Bears Way.

“I have been campaigning for this since November 2013 but my suggestions were ignored. Concerns about the project have continued apace and I’ve been inundated with contact from distressed constituents. I’m disappointed that Labour and Conservative councillors didn’t support me.”

Councillor Alan Moir, convener of development and regeneration, said: “The latest motion - and the previous decision in December - reflect what the council had already agreed within the Active Travel Strategy, specifically that there would be further consultation, modelling and design work on Bears Way, and this would be reported to an appropriate committee of the council before any decision on any further phases.

“We have liaised with Police Scotland and can confirm they have highlighted no issues with the design of phase one, and have not attributed a single accident to the road layout with a number of recent incidents being

attributed to driver error.

“We fully recognise the need to consult and engage with local residents, businesses, road users and stakeholders. We have maintained this commitment to date and will continue to do so.

“As part of this commitment council officers recently attended the AGM of Burnbrae Residents’ Association and corrected a number of inaccurate observations regarding the design and carriageway width, use by blue-light

services and recently reported accidents.

“We are happy to continue to respond to any comments and concerns during this early stage of the operation of the new road layout.”