A plan to breathe new life into an abandoned section of railway line now plagued by anti-social behaviour is one of five projects set to share in more than £3.6 million of funding designed to encourage active travel across Glasgow.
The Dummy Railway, named by locals after a bold and ambitious plan to create a railway between Paisley and Barrhead District, failed before it ever began in the 1900s - but is now set to be transformed and the creation of a wider public footpath approved
The railway was part of the former network that connected Ruchill and Stobhill Hospital but is now an underutilised poor quality footpath which connects Panmure Street to Bilsland Drive and onto Balmore Road with signs of antisocial behaviour.
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With funding of £233,978 from Sustrans Places for Everyone grant fund, the former railway which was demolished in the 1950s, will connect into the new development sites in the area, enhance public realm, retain biodiversity, while creating places for play and tackling antisocial behaviour.
On Thursday members of the City Administration Committee are expected to accept the award from the Sustrans grant fund which is designed to create safer, more attractive, healthier and “inclusive” places while diversifying the number of trips made by walking or cycling for everyday journeys.
Councillors are also expected to approve the funding to allow the continuation of certain developments including £429,638 for Saracen Street and £528,826 for Cessnock Village.
A further £136,504 and £2,295,000 will be awarded to the Flourishing Moldeninar and Govan City Network respectively.
A report presented to councillors this week reveals that the Possilpark - Saracen Street project aims to deliver a new public realm, high quality cycle infrastructure, drainage improvements, new lighting, pedestrian crossings, and improved access to bus stops.
This will improve the connection of Possilpark to the City Centre and West End.
Meanwhile the Cessnock-Ibrox Village Strip project looks to revitalise the local town centre, enabling sustainable travel options for the nearby employment areas and provide new crossing points and safer routes for young people walking, wheeling, and cycling to school.
Improvements will include the addition of controlled pedestrian crossings, wider footways, enhanced lighting, placemaking, play space, continuous footways, rain gardens, new greenspaces, traffic controls, and improved cycle infrastructure along Paisley Road West as part of the new city network.
The Flourishing Molendinar project was originally developed by the St Paul’s Youth Forum Community group and has been driven by the desire from the local community to place a higher focus on active travel, place making and pedestrian safety.
Over the next financial year the council’s project team will work closely with St. Paul’s to fulfil the group's visions for the local environment.
The project includes public realm and place making in Langdale Street, active travel and pedestrian crossing improvements in Provanmill Road, Royston Road and Cumbernauld Road.
The fifth project to be granted funding will be the Govan City Network with Greater Govan being the first area-based City Network to be progressed.
Earlier this year the local authority confirmed over £2m had been secured from Sustrans' Places for Everyone Fund to support the development of proposals for the City Network for walking, wheeling and cycling.
The Govan City Network project will develop an active travel network throughout Govan connecting to the Govan-Partick bridge, which is currently under construction.
Proposals will be presented to members of the CAC on Thursday morning.
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