COUNCILLORS are set to be asked to approve that the planned Helensburgh to Dumbarton cycle path moves alongside the A814 between Cardross and Helensburgh.
A proposal to move the route to the seaward side of the road was first revealed in December, six years after it was planned to site it close to the railway line.
A new report has now said that the roadside route is the “more deliverable” option for phase one of the path, which links Cardross with Helensburgh. Sections of the cycle path have already been constructed on that side of the road.
The report will now recommend that councillors approve updating the preferred alignment for phase one. Argyll and Bute Council’s Helensburgh and Lomond area committee will meet on Tuesday, June 9.
Executive director Kirsty Flanagan said: “Officers and staff from the external design team have continued to meet with landowners on phase one of the route between Cardross and Helensburgh to seek in principle landowner agreement for a single, deliverable route.
“All landowners have provisionally stated support for a route following the A814, subject to localized design considerations.
“It is expected that having landowner support for a single route will enable faster development and delivery of the route and is a consideration in the route deliverability review process.
“As a number of changes have occurred since the current preferred route alignment was selected in 2019, a deliverability review re-considering the route adjacent to the inland side of the railway line and a route adjacent to the A814 road has been undertaken by the external design team, Connected Transport Planning (CTP).
“The purpose of this review is to identify the most deliverable alignment, considering a range of relevant factors including construction works, future maintenance, landowner and community preferences, and adherence to the Cycle by Design requirements.
“The review indicates that a route following the southern (seaward) side of the A814 would be more deliverable, maintainable and adoptable compared to a route following the inland side of the railway.
“A route following the southern side of the A814 also more closely aligns with the design criteria set out in the national design guidance Transport Scotland require all projects to adhere to.
“Both routes are forecast to provide a similar level of end-user benefits with the road route offering additional advantages in terms of natural surveillance and user safety.
“Subject to committee confirmation on a preferred route, the design team are prepared to commence definition of the ground investigation surveys required to enable the full engineering design and commence engagement with relevant landowners to seek their agreement to undertake these surveys.”
On phase two of the proposed path, linking Cardross with Dumbarton, Ms Flanagan added: “Following some amendments to the concept design, landowners on the phase two section linking Cardross and Dumbarton have agreed in principle to the outline design.
“Officers and staff from the external design team have continued to engage with landowners to provide progress updates and to build confidence in the design process.”
