Clare has received the below letter from South Lanarkshire Roads and Transportation Services in response to her complaint about the traffic management issues being experienced in Cambuslang and Rutherglen.

It is disappointing that the response appears to put the onus on the public to provide their own solutions to the problems they are experiencing.

If you are still experiencing severe disruption and long journey times in the area please contact me. I will be keeping the situation under review and will update you with any further developments.

Transcript

Dear Ms Haughey,

Closure of A724 Cambuslang Road, Rutherglen

Thank you for your letter of 22 February 2017 regarding the above.

As you know Cambuslang Road has been closed to allow strengthening and refurbishment of this important railway bridge which carries both local services and the West Coast Main Line into Glasgow Central station.

Works of this type require considerable advance planning both in terms of impacts on the road and rail networks. This planning began last summer and during the autumn specific timings were then finalised.

Clearly a decision to close a busy road such as Cambuslang Road is not taken lightly. However, the narrowness of the road at this location effectively leaves us with no practical alternatives.

Having taken the decision to close the road, and agreed timings, attention subsequently focussed on a public relations exercise intended to make sure road users were aware of this closure and had the opportunity to consider their travel options.

Considerable efforts have been made to provide road users with advance warning of these works in order that alternative travel options can be considered. In advance of the closure Network Rail erected prominent signage at the locus on 6th February, including large high visibility electronic signage to advise road users of the upcoming closure. They carried out an extensive consultation and public relations exercise involving social media, visiting neighbouring businesses and distributing 4000 leaflets to surrounding properties. Both local and national media outlets were advised of their proposals and the associated road closure and traffic management plans. Information has also been very conspicuously displayed on the Council’s website and it is hoped that all of the measures described would help to give drivers sufficient information to allow them to consider their travel patterns, allow extra time for their journeys and to generally make informed decisions.

Through last week we had staff on site at key junctions adjusting traffic signal timings as far as possible and at times controlling signals manually. However, there are significant limitations on the capacity of signal controlled junctions and while manual interventions can assist to some degree road users also need to play their part.

In this regard our advice is to:-

• Consider the need for journeys
• Consider alternative modes of transport
• Consider alternative routes
• If possible, avoid travelling at peak times

Please be assured we are doing as much as we can to reduce congestion. However, closure of a major strategic route such as Cambuslang Road will inevitably generate significant inconvenience and it is essential that all road users heed the advance warnings and consider their travel options.

I hope this information assists you.
Yours sincerely

Michael McGlynn
Executive Director