Dunoon to Hunters Quay Active Travel Route : Concept Design and Future External Funding
Argyll and Bute Council · 3 September 2024
Back to Bute and Cowal Area Committee — 3 September 2024 and its agenda
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL Bute and Cowal DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH 03 September 2024 DUNOON TO HUNTERS QUAY ACTIVE TRAVEL ROUTE : CONCEPT DESIGN AND FUTURE EXTERNAL FUNDING 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1. This report provides an update to Members on the Dunoon to Hunters Quay active travel route, highlights the next steps and seeks support from Members for the continuation of the project to complete the design process. A further report will be presented to Members prior to any construction stage. 1.2. The funding for this project has come from Transport Scotland through the Sustrans administered Places for Everyone programme (PFE) which is a highly competitive challenge fund that requires designs to adhere to strict design parameters in order for them to be considered by the PFE funding application assessment panels. 1.3. An initial concept design in line with PFE design requirements that included a dedicated segregated cycle track was issued for public consultation between May and June 2023. This consultation received 383 responses. The majority of responses to this concept design were largely negative, primarily due to the proposed removal of on street parking required to deliver the scheme. 1.4. Following this feedback it was agreed with the project funders that a revised concept design which minimised loss of on street parking would be produced that responded to the comments received from the public consultation. 1.5. To help gauge views and opinions from key stakeholders on the new emerging concept design a series of workshops were held between the 27th November 2023 and the 17th January 2024. 1.6. A public consultation on the new concept design was held between 29th January and the 26th February 2024 March and a drop in day was held in the Queens Hall on the 31st January. 1.7. This consultation received 207 responses, out of a resident population of 9,140 in Dunoon. 42% of respondents said that they were supportive or very supportive of the new concept design; 46% of respondents said they were unsupportive or very unsupportive of the new concept design. 1.8. Although a slightly higher percentage of respondents said they were unsupportive of the route the main concerns appear to be in relation to the
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sections of the route that run through Kirn and between Kirn and Hunters Quay and are in relation to the loss of on street parking. 1.9. An additional stakeholder workshops were held post consultation on 13th March to provide feedback on the findings of the consultation and to provide an update on the design. 1.10. If members approve the progression of this project, additional funding for the developed and technical design stages will be required. At present the primary route to access further funding for this project (and other active travel infrastructure projects) would be through the Transport Scotland PFE programme. RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended that the Bute and Cowal members: • Note the progress made to date. • Support the continuation of the project and the submission of a new PFE funding application for design stage 3 (Developed Design) and stage 4 (Technical Design) to complete the design work required.
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL Bute and Cowal DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH 03 September 2024 DUNOON TO HUNTERS QAUY ACTIVE TRAVEL ROUTE : CONCEPT DESIGN AND FUTURE EXTERNAL FUNDING 2.0 INTRODUCTION 2.1. This report provides an update to Members on the progress made to date on the Dunoon to Hunters Quay active travel project, highlights the next steps and seeks support for the project from Members. 3.0 RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1 It is recommended that the Bute and Cowal members: • Note the progress made to date. • Support the continuation of the project and the submission of a new PFE funding application for design stage 3 (Developed Design) and stage 4 (Technical Design) to complete the design work required. 4.0 DETAIL 4.1. The Council’s Active Travel Team, 1.7 FTE (Full Time Equivalent employees), is part of the Strategic Transport Team within the Development and Economic Growth Service. No Council funding is currently received by the Active Travel Team. All project costs, including internal staff costs, have to be funded via successfully securing highly competitive external challenge funds. 4.2. In 2023/24, the Active Travel Team secured £2.56M external funding for the development and delivery of a total of 22 projects across Argyll and Bute, including the Dunoon to Hunters Quay Active Travel Route Project. 4.3. Transport Scotland’s Places for Everyone (PFE) programme is structured around 8 project stages with a highly competitive challenge fund; with the 32 local authorities, 7 regional transport partnerships, two national parks and numerous community groups across Scotland competing against each other to secure the funding each project requires. 4.4. A minimum of three new competitive funding submissions are required to complete a project using PFE funding, with competitive applications required, as a minimum, prior to Stage 0 (Strategic Definition), Stage 3 (Developed Design) and Stage 5 (Construction). The project stages are (0) Strategic Definition, (1)
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Preparation and Brief, (2) Concept Design), (3) Developed Design, (4) Technical Design, (5) Construction, (6) Handover & Close Out and (7) In Use. January – June 2023: Stage 0-2 Concept Design 4.5. Following the confirmation of PFE funding that was awarded specifically for this project a concept design for an active travel route between Dunoon and Hunters Quay was developed between January and March 2023 through a series stakeholder workshops. 4.6. One of the key stakeholders involved in shaping the concept design was the paid PFE funding manager, Sustrans, who requested that the new route should provide the highest level of service as set out by Cycling by Design and wherever possible this should be achieved through the reallocation of existing road space in favour of non-motorised users. 4.7. The concept design that emerged proposed the introduction of a continuous bidirectional segregated cycle track from Dunoon Ferry Terminal to James Street, Kirn. The creation of the new bidirectional cycle track was to be achieved through the reallocation of carriageway space, primarily through the removal of existing on street parking bays along the seaward side of the route. Two on street parking surveys were carried out that appeared to suggest that the design provided sufficient on street parking capacity along the route to accommodate parking demand through the provision of parking bays along the landward side of the route and the retention of some parking bays along the seaward side where this was possible. For safety the new cycle track also proposed replacing the mini roundabouts on the A815 at Pier Esplanade and at John Street with priority junctions. 4.8. Due to existing width constraints the section of the route between James Street and Hunters Quay proposed three design options and asked people to select their preferred option. 4.9. A public consultation on this concept design was held between 10th May and 26th June 2023 with a public drop in session held at the Queens Hall on the 16th May; Around 100 people attended the event with 83 leaving comment. The public consultation received a total of 383 responses. 4.10. The main barriers to walking and wheeling were listed as: the weather (47%); the need to carry too many things (28%); traffic speeds (23%); concerns with safety/lack of safe off road paths and footways (22%); it takes too long (21%). 4.11. The main barriers to cycling were listed as: The weather (42%); the need to carry too many things (27%); concerns with safety/lack of safe off road paths and footways (26%); do not enjoy cycling (25%) traffic speeds on road (24%). 4.12. 57% of respondents said they strongly disagreed with the proposed reduction in parking bays between Dunoon and Hunters Quay to accommodate improved walking, wheeling and cycling, 11% disagreed, 9% agreed and 8% strongly agreed with the proposal.
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4.13. There was particular concern raised from businesses at Kirn about the loss of parking around Kirn and the impact this could have on the viability of their businesses. 4.14. Following the largely negative responses from the community to the initial concept design it was agreed with the PFE fund manager, Sustrans, to prepare a new concept design that did not required to remove significant levels of on street parking. Officers secured additional funding from the Scottish Government Cycling Walking and Safer Routes (CWSR) fund to cover the additional cost of developing a new concept design. July 2023 – March 2024: Revised Stage 0-2 Concept Design 4.15. The design team developed a revised concept design taking account of the comments previously received. The revised concept design sought to retain existing levels of on street parking with the route primarily being a widened shared use path with improved connections where there were level differences between the path and the A815 and better crossing facilities over the A815 4.16. In response to the feedback from the earlier consultation the following additional technical surveys were also commissioned • 7 day on street parking, duration of stay, occupancy and turnover survey within Kirn ( between the hours 0700 and 1900) • 3 day on street parking beat survey for the project area out with the Kirn survey (between the hours 0700 and 2000) • A classified junction turning count for the Hunters Quay ferry terminal junction (between the hours 0700 and 1900) 4.17. A new programme of stakeholder workshops was subsequently drawn up. The pre consultation workshops which are shown in the table below were arranged to help develop a design that could be supported in principle by the project sponsor and key stakeholders Format Date Stakeholder Virtual Workshop 27/11/2023 Argyll and Bute Council Officers Sustrans Virtual Workshop 06/12/2023 Argyll and Bute Council Officers Virtual Meeting 13/12/23 Dunoon Presents Virtual 1-1 Meeting 09/01/2024 Western Ferries In-Person Meeting 1 17/01/2024 Argyll and Bute Council Officers Argyll and Bute Council Elected Members Live Argyll Local Community Organisations In-Person Meeting 2 17/01/2024 Argyll and Bute Council Officers Argyll and Bute Council Elected Members Local Businesses
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4.18. A public consultation on the new concept design was held between 29th January and the 26th February 2024 and a drop in day was held in the Queens Hall on the 31st January. 4.19. The concept design was split into 4 sections for the consultation; Section A- Victoria Parade to Riverside Leisure Centre. Section B – Riverside Leisure Centre to Kirn. ; Section B – Through Kirn and Section D Kirn to Hunters Quay at a location approximately 100m south of the ferry terminal. 4.20. Section A proposed a design for a bidirectional segregated cycle track utilising the existing available road and footway width without the need to remove any on street parking. 4.21. Sections B-D proposed widening the footway to create a wider shared surface path for walking, wheeling and cycling. This was largely achievable by using the existing road verge; however as the route approaches Hunters Quay the available usable verge width significantly reduces and it was proposed to extend the existing double yellow lines from the Hunters Quay ferry terminal further south towards Kirn to allow for the wider footway and be able to retain the required carriageway running widths. 4.22. The design also contains a series of improved crossing facilities along the length of the route. The proposed crossing at Kirn required the removal of approximately 5 on street parking bays to allow for safe visibility lines. The proposed crossing at John Street required the existing road lay out be changed from a mini roundabout to a priority junction. None of the other crossing required significant changes to the existing road layout. 4.23. The consultation received 207 responses, a drop of 176 from the previous consultation. The results on the new concept design were more evenly split with 42% of respondents saying that they were supportive or very supportive of the new concept design and 46% of respondents saying they were unsupportive or very unsupportive of the new concept design. 4.24. Although a slightly higher percentage of respondents said they were still unsupportive of the design the main concerns appear to be in relation to sections C and D of the route between Kirn and Hunters Quay and again these concerns focused on the loss of on street parking, both formal parking through the loss of parking bays required for the new controlled crossing at Kirn and informal parking through the extension of the double yellow lines from Hunters Quay south towards Kirn. 4.25. Further amendments were made to the final concept design based upon the findings of the public consultation. These final changes were: • Relocating the proposed formal crossing facility in Kirn to provide additional space for on-street parking and loading activity associated with the Kirn Variety Store and Java Walk businesses on the east side of the A815.
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• Retaining some on-street parking between Kirn and Hunters Quay through amendments to the extent of new double yellow lines. • Proposal for a new formal crossing facility outside Fountain Quay Care Home. • The retention of the mini-roundabout at the junction between John Street and the Esplanade (rather than a new priority junction) and the removal of the formal crossing facility proposed at this location. • Incorporation of a raised table at key junctions (rather than a continuous footway) • Inclusion of zebra crossing facilities across the segregated cycle track in proximity to the Dunoon Ferry Terminal 4.26. A stakeholder meeting was held with Police Scotland on 12th March who raised no major concerns about the design at this stage. 4.27. A post consultation workshop with stakeholders was held on 13th March to provide feedback on the findings of the consultation and to provide an update on proposed next steps. 4.28. As a complete package this project has so far produced • A Concept Design Package which includes: o General Arrangement Plans and Cross Sections o Technical Surveys: ▪ On street parking beat surveys ▪ On street parking, duration of stay and occupancy surveys ▪ Automatic traffic counter and traffic flow speeds surveys ▪ Car park occupancy surveys ▪ Classified junction turning counts ▪ Walking, wheeling and cycling flows surveys ▪ Topographical survey ▪ Utilities survey ▪ Desk top flood risk review. o Preliminary Ecological Appraisal o Stage 1 Road Safety Audit o Constraints Plan • A Business Case which includes: o Benefit cost ratio appraisal o Risk registers • A Behavior Change Plan • A Monitoring and Evaluation Plan • Equalities and Impact Assessment
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Next Stages 4.29. If members approve the progression of this project, additional funding for the developed and technical design stages will be required. At present the primary route to access new funding for this project (and other active travel infrastructure projects) would be through the Transport Scotland PFE programme. 4.30. The PFE funding for is a highly competitive challenge fund that requires designs to adhere to strict design parameters in order for them to be considered by the PFE funding application assessment panels. 5.0 CONCLUSION 5.1. Two public consultations have been held to help inform the production of a concept design for a new and improved active travel route between Dunoon and Hunters Quay. The last public consultation showed a split of 42% of respondents in support of the design and 46% unsupportive of the design. 5.2. The potential loss of on street parking in the vicinity of Hunters Quay and, to a lesser extent, to enable a new pedestrian crossing in Kirn, remains the main reason why 46% of respondents were unsupportive of the design. In response to this further amendments have been made to the concept design with the proposed crossing at Kirn now located further south along the A815 so that no on street parking capacity in the vicinity of the Kirn Shops is reduced and six on street parking bays have been introduced into the design in the vicinity of Hunters Quay. 5.3. External funding from PFE has been sought for 2024/25 to progress the concept design through design stages 3 and 4. However, the award of this funding is not guaranteed. 6.0 IMPLICATIONS 6.1. Policy Completion of this project will support the Council’s Local Outcome Improvement Plan (2024-34) outcomes 1: Transport Infrastructure and 3: Community Wellbeing. The project is in keeping with LDP2. The project also supports achievement of the Scottish Government’s objectives set out in the Cycling Action Plan for Scotland (CAPS) and Let’s Get Scotland Walking - The National Walking Strategy. 6.2. Financial The design and any land purchase will be funded by external competitive funding applications. The Council has not contributed any funding to design costs. There is strong evidence that people who are more active, for example by walking or cycling, have improved physical and mental health and are less
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likely to require social care services in later life which could result in a future saving to the Council or HSCP. 6.3. Legal Continued input will be required from Legal Services to support any land purchase. 6.4. HR None. 6.5. Fairer Scotland Duty: 6.5.1 Equalities Completion of this project will provide enhanced opportunities within the project area for people to travel more sustainably and actively by walking, wheeling and cycling. The route has been designed to be DDA compliant and will provide a safe and accessible route for those with mobility aids including wheelchairs and parents/guardians with a child’s pram or buggy. 6.5.2 Socio- economic Duty The route will improve access to essential services, retail, leisure and employment opportunities for local residents, with studies demonstrating those who travelled actively had a higher monthly spend in local businesses than those who travel via motorised transport. The design will also offer opportunities for individuals to travel for leisure, again encouraging spend in local businesses connected by the route. 6.5.3 Islands There are no adverse impacts. 6.6. Climate Change Active Travel is the least carbon intensive mode of travel. Providing the opportunity for residents and visitors to consider an alternative to having to use a private car to travel between these communities will help lower Argyll and Bute’s carbon footprint. 6.7. Risk There is a reputational risk to the Council if the project is not completed within a reasonable timeframe and if community support for the project is not obtained. 6.8. Customer Services None. 6.9. The Rights of the Child (UNCRC) Completion of this project will provide enhanced facilities designed to be suitable for use by an unaccompanied 12 year old. The route has been designed to be DDA compliant and will provide a safe and accessible route for children with disabilities.
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Executive Director with the responsibility for Development and Economic Growth: Kirsty Flanagan Policy Lead for Roads, Transport and Amenity Services: Councillor John Armour 17 July 2024 For further information contact: Douglas Grierson, Sustainable Transport Coordinator Douglas.grierson@argyll-bute.gov.uk 01546 604228