Act now and get west end bus stops back, council bosses urged
Shops and residents are struggling, warn councillors
Council officers have been accused of a “lack of urgency” in investigating the reinstatement of two bus stops in Paisley.
In December, councillors Kenny and Mags MacLaren lodged a motion calling on local authority bosses to look at putting two busy stops back at the top of Well Street, which were moved by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) without any consultation.
Their call received unanimous backing from the chamber but, more than six months on, the two Paisley Northwest councillors say they feel they have been “ignored”, with no apparent progress having been made.
One stop originally stood outside Graeme’s Butchers, with the other directly opposite on the other side of the street.
But they were moved to the bottom of the Well Street hill, which has made it more difficult for elderly passengers to walk to the butchers.
At a virtual meeting of Paisley West and Central Community Council last month, members said no one from Renfrewshire Council had spoken to them about the investigation, leading to fears it has fallen by the wayside.
“I’m concerned officers appear to have ignored this motion,” said Kenny MacLaren.
“I’ve asked for details of any consultation they have carried out. There was plenty of time between the motion being passed and the Covid-19 outbreak for this to happen.
“These stops were removed by SPT without any consultation and Graeme’s Butchers reckon it cost them a ten per cent loss in trade.”
The council said they had been engaging with SPT on the positioning of the stops prior to the coronavirus pandemic, but discussions had to be put on hold due to dealing with the emergency response.
It was revealed in December last year SPT would not move the bus stops back to their original spots unless the council forked out £60,000 for the initial installation.
SPT said at the time the relocation of the stops had been agreed with the council as part of plans to ease congestion at the junction of Well Street and Meadow Street.
Mags MacLaren added: “I am concerned about the apparent lack of urgency needed to get these bus stops reinstated.
“The will of the whole council chamber was to get action on reinstating the bus stops and I would hope this can be processed as quickly as possible.”
A council spokesman said: “Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we have been focused on delivering our essential services and ensuring the health and safety of all residents and, therefore, discussions around the positioning of these bus stops have been paused.
“Prior to the pandemic, we were engaging with SPT to investigate how best to proceed and, once we are in a position to resume these discussions, we will ensure the local community, businesses and elected members are involved at the appropriate stage.”
An SPT spokesperson said: “We are waiting on Renfrewshire Council to restart discussions on how to proceed.”
These stops were removed by SPT without any consultation and Graeme’s Butchers reckon it cost them a ten per cent loss