Survey should be extended
Call for investigation into entire parking set up
A survey on the feasibility of a park and ride in Cambuslang should be extended to look at parking systems in the whole town centre, according to businesses.
South Lanarkshire Council is set to commission the survey next month ahead of a report before the end of the financial year.
Although this will include the area directly around the station, businesses feel it should consider the parking system in the whole town centre.
Gordon Mackay, head of roads and transportation services, told the Reformer: “The council will commission a consultant in August to undertake a park and ride study in Cambuslang.
“The study will include a review of the current and future commuter demand as well as parking practices in the vicinity of the station and, thereafter, consideration will be given to options to expand provision in the area.
“At this time we anticipate that a final report will be produced by the end of the financial year.”
He added: “The study being commissioned by the council will focus solely on Park and Ride demand and provision in Cambuslang.
“There are no plans to extend the scope of this to the wider town centre.
“We will, however, look at what is considered a suitable walking distance for commuters, with a view to identifying parking demand on neighbouring streets in the vicinity of the train station.”
In February, the Reformer reported that SPT could release over £400,000 in grants over the next three years for the park and ride project.
It is likely to be built as part of the development of the old Hoover site.
Parking was one of the biggest issues highlighted in Cambuslang Community Council’s business survey which was released earlier this year.
Angeline Coyle, owner of the Tea Bay coffee shop, welcomed the park and ride but said issues would remain.
“The wider issue needs to be looked at, not just a park and ride,” she said. “We need to look at how we maximise our Main Street.
“A park and ride would be good, but it is only a small part of the problem. People will still park in the surrounding streets like Hamilton Drive.
“We could have meters there to free up space. People will use the park and ride but others will still park on streets near the station because it is free.”
The town’s community council, while welcoming the feasibility study, also said they wanted to see the survey’s scope expanded.
Treasurer John Bachtler said they had been assured by the council that the survey would be wider ranging, adding: “At the moment, we have businesses losing customers or closing down because of the lack of parking.
“The car parks on Allison Drive and Cherry Tree Court fill up from early morning with commuters, leaving no space for shoppers.
“There are 400,000 extra passengers now using Cambuslang Station compared to 15 years ago.
“Restricting parking time on the Main Street itself to 30 minutes is a huge problem for anyone using the hairdressers, opticians, cafes, beauty salons and other such businesses.
“We have been pressing South Lanarkshire Council and Network Rail for the past two years to address this issue by creating more capacity and changing the parking policy on the Main Street.
“We would be very unhappy if the proposed feasibility study would be restricted to the creation of a park-and-ride, which would make no sense.
“We were assured - in writing - by South Lanarkshire Council only a month ago that the review would be wider than simply a park-and-ride.”