East Dunbartonshire was formed in 1996 at the creation of the unitary authorities and the break up of Strathclyde Region. It is approximately 77 square miles (20,172 hectares) in total land area to the north of Glasgow. The majority of the 105,000 population (79%) reside in the towns of Bearsden, Milngavie, Bishopbriggs, and Kirkintilloch. It has a thriving economy. Of those who are employed 55% are employed are within the sectors of Management, Directors and Senior Officials; Professional Occupations; or Associate Professional and Technical. Over 25,000 of this economically active population (49%) work or study in Glasgow; 4,000 travel by bus, 3,600 by train and 17,000 by car. This has been a stable figure, despite a recent rise in rail use. The number of people who drive to work as shown in Table 2 is higher than in the Regional Transport Partnership area (Strathclyde Partnership for Transport — SPT) area or Scotland as a whole and accords with the relatively senior sectors of employment noted above. The main vehicle routes into Glasgow are the A803 from Kirkintilloch through Bishopbriggs to Springburn and the A81 from Milngavie through Bearsden to Anniesland Cross or through Maryhill Road. The A806 opened in 2010 to link Kirkintilloch with the M80 and this is another major route into Glasgow. At the same time, the M80 has been extended towards the M9. These are shown in Figure 3. This number of vehicles travelling to and from Glasgow each day puts a lot of pressure on the road network. The A803 operates over capacity in the morning peak, although the number of vehicles has reduced over the last 5 years. This may be due to the economic climate or the opening of the A806. There will be further changes to traffic flows on the A803 as the Bishopbriggs Relief Road progresses and links the east of Bishopbriggs with Robroyston. Traffic is expected to increase on the A81 corridor as development proceeds in the Kilmardinny / Westpark area. Strathclyde Regional Council installed the Centrally Integrated TRAffic Control (CITRAC) system across much of the region in the early 1980s. This synchronised signals along routes and reported faults to the centre for quick attendance and repair. The area that became East Dunbartonshire had 40 sites which remained under the CITRAC control through an agreement with Glasgow City Council (GCC). In the late 1990s GCC recognised that CITRAC had a limited life and would require to be replaced. The solution was the development of the BIAS (Bus Information and Signalling) system; a more dynamic system that would respond to traffic demands and in particular provide the ability to deliver bus priority where required. BIAS is an implementation of SCOOT integrated with other systems. Due to a range of technical challenges it was not until around 2005 that GCC began working towards the implementation of BIAS. As local authorities began to move towards alternative traffic signal control and come off CITRAC, the pro rate costs for those retaining CITRAC were set to increase to cover maintenance of the system. It was clear, however, that support for CITRAC would be withdrawn completely. Further, the signal timings associated with CITRAC became dated and it was not clear that they were the most appropriate to minimise delay for current traffic conditions. At Bishopbriggs Cross in particular, the Council received complaints about peak time congestion and a lack of time given for pedestrians to cross the road. There was a degree of cross boundary blame about who was responsible for the signals, East Dunbartonshire as the local authority or Glasgow as the service provider. In 2005 the Council declared an air quality management area for the A803 through Bishopbriggs due to repeatedly high emissions linked to congestion. The Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) had an action to support and facilitate implementation ofa Quality Bus Corridor on A803 and another to assess requirements for additional traffic management on A803 corridor. These actions encouraged officers to examine an alternative urban traffic control. In 2005 the Council received developer contributions for a SCOOT (Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique) system in Bearsden. However technical challenges meant that it was unable to implement the system at that time. The Local Transport Strategy (LTS) 2009-13 had seven principle objectives. These included: manage the transport network effectively with a focus on reducing congestion, and improve air quality. Within these objectives, there were further objectives to reduce congestion, increase sustainable travel and increase the walking and cycling accessibility of town centres. Building on the LTS, in 2010, the Council approved a move towards SCOOT as an adaptive, real-time method of traffic control that would replace CITRAC and support the aims of the AQAP and LTS. It is anticipated that SCOOT can reduce pollution emissions by between 3% and 6% and outperform ‘good’ fixed time plans by reducing delay by more than 25%. East Dunbartonshire Council, like all local authorities, faces tough financial choices. The Council does not have a large staff trained in UTC and has relied on Glasgow CC to deliver this through CITRAC. Through a consortium agreement, Siemens Ltd. provides maintenance of signalling equipment and responds to call outs. (Author/publisher)
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