At Calderwood we want residents to walk and cycle as much as possible. In order to encourage this we must provide a convenient network of attractive safe routes for them.

In this section:

Profile : Andrew Currie“I’m Andrew Carrie. I’ve been a traffic engineer for 28 years. I currently work for DBA and I’ve been appointed by Stirling Developments as their traffic consultant.

I have the advantage of understanding the local transportation issues as I live in West Lothian, only four miles from East Calder. I have lived in this area for 25 years. 20 years ago, before I joined DBA, I worked for the Council and was a roads engineer for this area, including East Calder and the A71.

I can fully appreciate that the residents of East Calder do not wish to have their village life spoiled by an intrusion of new trafi c from the Calderwood development. Avoiding this is at the heart of our traffi c strategy. Congestion on the A71 will be another local concern. However, we plan to mitigate this by enhancing existing public transport and addressing local points of congestion such as Wilkieston. A development as large as Calderwood is always going to create some additional traffic. However, there is a genuine intention to minimise car usage and establish a sustainable transport system for new residents and existing residents in the area”.

A Successful Place : Movement Strategy

A Place For People Not Cars

Calderwood is primarily a place for people not cars. We believe that in residential areas and popular public places pedestrians should have priority in the streets and spaces. Residential streets should be a place where children can meet and play. It should not be regarded as a dangerous unattractive place. Of course the car needs to be accommodated but this can be done sensitively and successfully by allowing the setting to inform the driver.

Montage of successful examples

NB. A higher definition version of this map, showing an expanded area, can be viewed or downloaded in PDF format here (will open in new browser window),

  1. New primary roads will be created to improve access to the new community, the new high school and the new park and ride at the station.
  2. Existing roads will be transformed to residential only access and green routes for pedestrians and cyclists.
  3. New safe walking and cycling routes will be established.
  4. A major new park and ride facility to accommodate up to 400 cars will be situated adjacent to Kirknewton railway station. This can be delivered even if the existing level crossing is closed in the future.
  5. Traffic calming measure will restrict the flow of traffic passing at Cliffton Cottages.
  6. A new bypass at Wilkieston will help mitigate potential congestion on the A71.
  7. The movement strategy ensures that all primary traffic accessing all major destination routes, including the new high school will avoid journeys through East Calder.

Holland and Scandinavia have pioneered this approach for many years and have proved that drivers are more careful when informed by natural speed restrictions like shared surfaces, proximity to people, narrow spaces, landscaping, than by any amount of signage and road markings.

Efforts should also be made to house cars away from street frontages. Many beautiful streets are blighted by the visual impact of parked cars. Home zones and centralised parking and courtyard parking are good ways of alleviating this problem.

Montage of successful examples

Streets can be landscaped too. The development at Poundbury, Dorchester is an excellent example of this approach and does not have a single road sign or road marking in the entire development. Apart from the improved safety to its residents, there is also the huge benefit of a far more attractive streetscape.

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