kirknewton to livingston - review route 75

Final Draft Report

Cycle Review of NCN Route 75: Kirknewton - Livingston (West Lothian)

For Kirknewton Community Development Trust

By Transport Initiatives LLP

April 2011

Cycle Review of NCN Route 75: Kirknewton - Livingston Kirknewton Community Development Trust

CSSC05 Cycle Review NCN 75 Kirknewton-Livingston MS[2] Page 1 of 7

Cycle Review of NCN Route 75:

Kirknewton - Livingston (West Lothian)

Final Draft Report

Contact for this project:

Tim Pheby 151 Walmgate York Y01 9UB

Tel: 01904 628789

Mob: 07725 466838

Email: [email protected]

Transport Initiatives LLP

Registered Office: Office 4 145 Islingword Road

Brighton BN2 9SH

0845 345 7623

www.transport-initiatives.com

Registered in England and Wales

Partnership number OC310831

VAT registration no. 855 4208 21

Checking and sign off

Job: Cycle Review of NCN Route 75: Kirknewton - Livingston (West Lothian)

Client: Kirknewton CDT

Job number: CSSC05 Version number: 2.0

Issued by:

Tim Pheby for and on behalf of Transport Initiatives LLP

Signed

Date 27 April 2011

Checked by: Mark Strong

Date 27 April 2011

© Transport Initiatives LLP 2011

All photos © Transport Initiatives except where stated

All mapping based upon Ordnance Survey material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office © Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. West Lothian Council Licence no 100037194 2011



Cycle Review of NCN Route 75:

Kirknewton - Livingston (West Lothian)

Final Draft Report

Contents

1. Introduction ................................................................... 3

2. Cycle review methodology ............................................ 5

3. Summary of cycle review................................................ 6

4. Recommendations ......................................................... 7

Detailed Plans of Cycle Review (separate document)

Route A – Using NCN 75 Plan 1 Kirknewton to level crossing Plan 2 Level crossing to St Pauls School Plan 3 St Pauls School to North Bridge Plan 4 North Bridge to ASDA Livingston Route B using B Roads Plan 5 ASDA to Mid Calder Plan 6 Mid Calder to East Calder Plan 7 East Calder to A71 signals



1. Introduction

1.1 Background

Transport Initiatives LLP (TI) has been commissioned by the Kirknewton Community

Development Trust (KCDT) to carry out cycle audits of the Kirknewton area in West

Lothian. This is part of KCDT’s Carbon Challenge work to encourage sustainable travel

and reduce carbon emissions.

Two levels of cycle audit have been carried out. A Cycle Skills Network Audit (CSNA)

was carried out for the whole area. This was followed by a ‘Ride and Recommend’

Cycle Review along specific routes.

1.2 Cycle Skills Network Audit

The CSNA covered Kirknewton and the neighbouring towns of East Calder and

Balerno, as shown in Plans 1 and 2. This audit has graded all the public roads and

paths by the cycle skills levels needed to cycle on them safely.

Plan 1 Kirknewton area Cycle Skills Network Audit (whole area audited)

Plan 2 Kirknewton-Livingston Cycle Skills Network Audit



1.3 ‘Ride and Recommend’ Cycle Review

The Cycle Review looked at journeys to East Calder and Livingston along the National

Cycle Network (NCN) route 75. A Cycle Review is an assessment of the existing

cycling conditions along a route or routes by cycling along them. Recommendations

are suggested to make the route more cycle friendly and so increase its potential for

encouraging more people to cycle more often.

No costings for the suggested improvements have been given at this stage.



2. Cycle review methodology

2.1 Description

The work was undertaken by Tim Pheby of Transport Initiatives in the following

manner:

i. Site visit: This was carried out by bicycle on 3 and 15 March 2011 from Kirknewton to East Calder and ASDA in Livingston along the NCN route 75, and then on the B roads between the towns. These routes are shown on Plan 3 below.

ii. Recording information: Photos of issues along the routes were taken and have been listed along with their location on a map. These are shown in Tables 1-7 attached to this report.

iii. Review against five core principles: The routes have been compared to the design criteria for a high quality cycle route, which are summarised by the DfT’s five core principles. The route should be:

•••• Convenient •••• Accessible •••• Safe •••• Comfortable •••• Attractive

Plan 3 Kirknewton – Livingston cycle review: routes reviewed

Route A NCN 75

Route B (along B roads)



3. Summary of cycle review

3.1 Review against five core principles

Cycle route Route A – NCN 75 Route B – B7031 & B7015

Summary Longer route with more stops and some steep gradients, limited access to places, narrow poor quality farm

tracks, remote from surveillance

Shorter route with more gradual gradients, access to more places with smoother

surfaces and better surveillance, some traffic

Core Principles

1. Convenient

1.1 Distance (km) 8.65 6.25

1.2 No of stops for crossings/dismounts

5 3

1.3 Signing • NCN route 75 well signed.

• Some signs have destination and distances.

• Road signs include main town and village destinations but not distances

2. Access to:

2.1 Schools/colleges 2 2

2.2 Shops/cafes 4 4

2.3 Library 0 1

2.4 Leisure centres 0 1

3. Safety

Traffic danger • Right turn off B701 onto farm track above standards of Bikeability Level 1 or 2 cyclists

• All roads suitable for Bikeability Level 3 cyclists

Personnel surveillance

• Remote unlit farm track and river path sections with no personal surveillance

• Some remote sections of road but with passing traffic, otherwise mostly overlooked by houses and well lit

4. Comfortable

4.1 Surface quality • Potholes and puddles on farm track by Raw holdings

• Poor section of track by sewage works on River Almond

• Generally good – poor service cover in East Calder by mini roundabout

4.2 Gradients 1:20 DDA standard 5%

• A couple of steep sections to and along River Almond, which may require dismounting

• 50m gradual climb over 2km from East Calder to Kirknewton

4.3 Widths of road/tracks/lanes

• Very narrow section by bridge over River Almond

• Narrow cycle lanes in Kirknewton

• Narrow traffic lane widths on road to East Calder n. of A71

• Narrow cycle lanes in Kirknewton

5. Attractive

5.1 Debris - glass/dog mess

• Glass in subways in Livingston

• Grit on cycle path in East Calder

• Grit in cycle lanes in Kirknewton from winter gritting (being removed on visit on 15/3/11)

5.2 Aesthetics • Section along river attractive • Some attractive rural roads



4. Key recommendations

4.1 Summary

From the cycle review it is recommended that Kirknewton CDT propose the

improvements set out below to West Lothian Council.

4.2 Engineering

To improve safety and increase the range of travel options:

Speed Reduction

• Extend 20 mph zone by Kirknewton Primary School toward Kirknewton House to

where the 30 mph signs are now, with more pairs of speed cushions and a speed

table at the build out by the School Crossing patrol

• Extend 30 mph speed limit out of the village to where the 30 mph countdown

signs are currently sited

Junction improvements

• Install Advanced Stop Lines at the traffic signals in East Calder

• Improve the road surface at the level crossing in Kirknewton

Reallocation of Road Space

• Remove downhill cycle lanes and widen the uphill cycle lanes in Kirknewton

along the B7031. They are too narrow and mainly within a traffic calmed 20 mph

zone, hence vehicle speeds are low.

Off road routes

• Widen the paths on NCN 75 along the River Almond, especially the very narrow

substandard width approaches to the low bridge

Cycle parking

• Provide cycle parking for local shops in Kirknewton and East Calder.

• Cover the cycle parking at Kirknewton Primary School to give added security and

weather protection to students’ cycles.

Route signing

• Reconsider if signing for NCN 75 down the farm track by Raw Holdings is the

best route given the track’s poor condition. Consider using the path alongside the

Sports centre in East Calder instead.

4.3 Marketing

A local cycle map should be produced, based on the Cycle Skills Network Audit, to

encourage local cycle trips within and between the villages, as well as to Livingston.

4.4 Monitoring

To determine the level of cycling:

• Measure the level of cycling by pupils at Kirknewton Primary School by termly

hands-up surveys and counts of parked bikes

• Install an automatic cycle counter along the path by the Sports centre to record

local trips

kirknewton to livingston - review route 75

Documents

cycle review methodology

summary of cycle review

kirknewton area

cycle audits

kirknewtonlivingston

levels of cycle audit

kirknewton cdt job number

asda livingston route