Cowdenbeath Area Committee
31st August 2011
Agenda Item No. 6
Improved Facilities for Bus Passengers –
Cowdenbeath Area
Report by: Dr Bob McLellan, Head of Transportation Services & Environmental Services
Wards Affected: 7, 8 and 9
Purpose
This report seeks committee approval for the scope of phase 2 of this project
following extensive option development, appraisal and local consultation.
Recommendation(s)
It is recommended, as phase 2 of this project, that Committee:
i)
agree to the provision of a new Puffin crossing in Bridge Street, Cowdenbeath;
ii) agree to the provision of 3 bus lay-bys, re-location of 1 bus stop and the
provision of associated high quality bus shelters in High Street, Cowdenbeath,
as detailed in Section 2.0 of this report (should committee not be minded to
follow national guidance on the recommended provision of bus stops and
footway widths in town centre locations)
or
agree to remit officers to bring forward alternative proposals related to high
quality bus shelter replacements and to the delivery of some bus priority
measures recommended by the Dunfermline to Inverkeithing bus priority
feasibility study;
iii) agree to the provision of additional off-road car parking bays in Dullomuir Drive,
Kelty, to assist bus progression.
Resource Implications
£400K was allocated within the approved 2008-2011 capital investment plan for the
provision of “Improved Facilities for Bus Passengers in the Cowdenbeath area”.
£100K was available for phase 1 of the project, which is now substantially complete.
The balance of £300K of this allocation was identified as a potential savings option
in the Capital Plan Review, which the Policy, Finance & Asset Management (PFAM)
committee agreed not to include within the savings plan at its meeting on 16 June
2011.
Legal & Risk Implications
There are no known legal implications. Should bus lay-bys be provided, there will
be a risk to pedestrian safety and convenience where associated footway widths
must be reduced to accommodate the lay-bys within the constraints of the street
layout. There may also be a risk of delay to bus services where buses may find
difficulty in rejoining the traffic flow when exiting the lay-bys.
Impact Assessment
No formal impact assessment has been undertaken, however the provision of Puffin
crossings meets national guidance and will improve pedestrian safety (particularly
for people with a mobility impairment), reduce traffic delays and assist access to
bus services along Cowdenbeath High Street. Should bus lay-bys be provided, the
resulting reduction in footway widths could increase difficulties for people with a
visual impairment, for wheelchair users and for people pushing child buggies.
Consultation
Extensive consultation has been undertaken with local members via 5
Cowdenbeath Area Committee workshops, including discussions with, and input
from, Stagecoach in Fife. Proposals have also been discussed with the local
Community Council and an information event was held in Cowdenbeath on 23 June
2010 at which the local community and businesses had an opportunity to view and
comment on the proposals.
1.0 Background
1.1
£400K was allocated within the approved 2008-2011 capital investment plan
by the Policy Finance and Asset Management Committee in June 2008 for the
provision of “Improved Facilities for Bus Passengers in the Cowdenbeath
area”. Transportation Services subsequently prepared a Business Case for
this funding and brought a report to the Cowdenbeath Area Committee on 22
October 2008 with recommendations, based on the Business Case.
Consideration of this report was deferred by the committee to allow a series of
discussions with the local members which subsequently took place on 7
occasions during a rolling programme between December 2008 and
September 2010 and included 5 workshop events, a site inspection of
Cowdenbeath High Street and an information event in the town.
1.2
During these workshop and consultation events, a total of 14 options were
considered and assessed, including initial discussions regarding the feasibility
of a bus station for Cowdenbeath.
1.3
A report to the Policy Finance & Asset Management Committee on 9
September 2010 by the Executive Director of Finance & Resources provided
an update on the ongoing review of the Capital Plan approved by the Council
in February 2009. The report highlighted the reductions in the likely level of
resources available to fund the plan, consequential ongoing work to review the
projects within the current plan, pressures on existing projects and essential
emerging needs identified by the Services. As part of the review, all Services
were asked to identify 25% reductions to allow options for members to
consider. Transportation Services included £300k of the funding allocated to
this project in the list of projects the Service would be unable to progress if the
25% reduction was confirmed. A decision on the review of the Capital Plan
was deferred until 16 June 2011, when the PFAM committee decided that the
£300K allocation would remain committed to this project.
1.4
Pending the outcome of the review of the Capital Plan, £100K was committed
to phase 1 of the project during 2010/11, which included the conversion of 4
Pelican crossings on High Street, Cowdenbeath, to Puffin crossing standard
and the conversion of a Zebra crossing on Broad Street, Cowdenbeath, to
Puffin Crossing standard. This work is substantially complete.
2.0 Issues and Options
2.1 At workshop No. 5 held on 15 September 2010, members set the final priority
for the various elements of the project. In relation to phase 2, the following
options were set down (subject to funding) as:


Provision of a new Puffin crossing on Bridge Street, Cowdenbeath;
Provision of 2 bus lay-bys at the existing bus stops near The Clansman
public house (location 2) and near Greggs Bakery (location 3), with the
provision of third lay-by near Stott’s shop (location 4). The existing bus stop
nearest to location 4 is approx 100 metres south and is to be re-located
accordingly. Additional disabled parking is to be provided at location 3.
 Provision of additional off-road car parking bays in Dullomuir Drive, Kelty, to
improve bus progression.
The existing bus shelter south of Stott’s shop is provided and managed by
Clearchannel as a key advertising location and they have advised that they will
not fund the provision of a new shelter. The project budget is sufficient to
provide this new shelter.
2.2 The national guide to best practice on access to pedestrian and transport
infrastructure, “Inclusive Mobility” by Department for Transport, recommends
that the minimum available footway width at bus stops should be 3.0 metres
and 3.5 metres at shops. Whilst these standards are not always achievable
within existing constraints of some town centres, Cowdenbeath High Street
substantially achieved these standards following major improvements a few
years ago. The provision of bus lay-bys would unavoidably introduce
associated localised reductions in footway width at the associated bus
boarding points to accommodate the lay-bys within the constraints of the street
layout as follows:

At The Clansman public house from 6.0m to 2.4m, with a possible reduction
to 1.3m at the JKLM Hair Salon;
 At Greggs Bakery from 4.0m to 2.4m;
 At Stott’s shop from 2.6m to 1.6m.
These localised width reductions will cause some difficulties in relation to
pedestrian safety and in relation to ease of movement for people with a visual
impairment, for wheelchair users and for people pushing child buggies. They
will also reduce the quality and convenience of access to bus services.
2.3 The Scottish Government’s statutory document on designing places,
“Designing Streets”, advises that in these types of town centre locations buses
should stop on the road and not in lay-bys. The provision of bus lay-bys
reallocates road space to the detriment of pedestrians and can result in delays
to bus services through difficulties in re-entering the traffic flow when exiting
the lay-bys.
2.4
Transportation officers have advised via the various workshops and
consultation events that more effective improved facilities for bus passengers,
as opposed to bus lay-bys, could be realised through retaining the existing bus
stop arrangements, providing associated high quality bus shelter
replacements with electronic timetable information and through delivery of
some of the measures proposed in the Dunfermline to Inverkeithing bus
priority feasibility study, particularly some bus lanes. Improvements to bus
priority in Dunfermline will result in improvements to service reliability and
journey times for some bus services through the Cowdenbeath area. These
recommendations were discounted by members.
3.0 Conclusions
3.1
The provision of a new Puffin crossing on Bridge Street, Cowdenbeath, will
support safer crossing opportunities between bus stops in the town centre
(particularly for people with a mobility impairment) and will reduce delays to
traffic, including buses, through more intelligent detection of pedestrian activity
and cancelling unnecessary pedestrian phases.
3.2
The provision of additional off-road parking bays on Dullomuir Drive, Kelty, will
help to protect associated bus service journey times, where they pass through
this part of Kelty, by relieving congestion and obstruction resulting from parked
cars.
3.3
The provision of bus lay-bys in a town centre location such as Cowdenbeath
High Street is contrary to current national advice and guidance since they
favour general traffic flow at the expense of pedestrians and buses. Their
provision in Cowdenbeath would result in localised narrowing of associated
footways, also against national guidance, leading to difficulties for pedestrians
and bus users.
List of Appendices
None
Background Papers
The following papers were relied on in the preparation of this report in terms of the Local
Government (Scotland) Act, 1973:
“Inclusive Mobility” by the Department for Transport
“Designing Streets” by the Scottish Government
Report Contact
Author Name
Murray Hannah
Author’s Job Title
Traffic Management & Safety Team Leader
Workplace
Community Safety Centre, Kingdom House, Saltire Centre, Glenrothes
Telephone
08451 55 55 55 + 480081
Email
murray.hannah@fife.gov.uk