FOI/202100229126 · FOI/EIR · not held
M80 Stepps to Haggs scheme: EIR release
Information requested
Please can you provide me average journey times from Stirling to Cumbernauld both now and before upgrading M80.
Response
As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.
This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested in this part of your request.
The Scottish Government does not hold specific information on datasets for average journey times from Stirling to Cumbernauld.
Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government cannot provide information which it does not have.
However, Transport Scotland assess the impact of each road improvement scheme and compare conditions after the schemes have opened with predictions made during their design and development. The main areas that are evaluated include:
Operation Environment Safety Economy Integration Accessibility and social inclusion Cost to government Scheme objectives
Although we do not have specific metrics for the locations requested you may find the following information useful:
The M80 Stepps to Haggs scheme consists of 18 kilometres of new motorway, completed in August 2011, which ties in with the existing M80 at Junction 2 (Robroyston) and north of Haggs.
With regard to the M80 Stepps to Haggs, the 1-year after opening - project evaluation report is shown here:
https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/6382/m80-stepps-to-haggs-1ya-final-report-19-november-2015-19-november-2015.pdf.
The following two table (3.5 a & b) are copied below from the report for ease and represent the change in vehicle speeds between pre and post opening of the new section of motorway.
Table 3.5a: Observed AM Mean Vehicle Spot Speeds (mph)
Location Direction Pre Opening (2008) Post Opening (2013) Difference M80 Stepps to Haggs Section M80 J6a (Castlecary) Northbound 59 63 4 – M80 J7 (Haggs) Southbound 64 60 -4 M80 J6 (Old Inns) – Northbound 60 59 -1 M80 J6a (Castlecary) Southbound 60 62 2 M80 J5 (Auchenkilns) Northbound 58 57 -1 – M80 J6 (Old Inns) Southbound 64 61 -3 M73 Merge – Northbound 60 61 1 M80 J4a (Low Wood) Southbound 61 65 4 M80 J3 (Hornshill) – Northbound - 65 - M80 J4 (Mollinsburn) Southbound - 66 - Moodiesburn Bypass A80 Cumbernauld Northbound 36 41 5 Road at Moodiesburn Southbound 37 41 4 M80 South of Scheme Extents M80 J2 (Robroyston) - Northbound 50 62 12 M80 J3 (Hornshill) Southbound 59 56 -3 M80 J1 (Provan) - Northbound 60 56 -4 M80 J2 (Robroyston) Southbound 58 42 -16
Table 3.5b: Observed PM Mean Vehicle Spot Speeds (mph)
Location Direction Pre Opening (2008) Post Opening (2013) Difference M80 Stepps to Haggs Section M80 J6a (Castlecary) Northbound 60 56 -4 – M80 J7 (Haggs) Southbound 59 60 1 M80 J6 (Old Inns) – Northbound 61 61 0 M80 J6a (Castlecary) Southbound 52 57 5 M80 J5 (Auchenkilns) Northbound 59 58 -1 – M80 J6 (Old Inns) Southbound 60 57 -3 M73 Merge – Northbound 57 60 3 M80 J4a (Low Wood) Southbound 57 64 7 M80 J3 (Hornshill) – Northbound - 64 - M80 J4 (Mollinsburn) Southbound - 67 - Moodiesburn Bypass A80 Cumbernauld Northbound 27 40 13 Road at Moodiesburn Southbound 39 41 2 M80 South of Scheme Extents M80 J2 (Robroyston) - Northbound 46 59 13 M80 J3 (Hornshill) Southbound 61 60 -1 M80 J1 (Provan) - Northbound 57 54 -3 M80 J2 (Robroyston) Southbound 57 40 -7
Based on these figures the scheme has improved journey times and reliability, with a 30-40% reduction in journey times during peak travel, equating to a reduction of approximately 15 minutes for people using the route, For further details on the scheme itself these can be found here:
https://www.transport.gov.scot/projects/m80-stepps-to-haggs/m80-stepps-to-haggs/
Transport Scotland and the contractor will continue to monitor the operation of the route, and any notable operational issues arising would be included in subsequent evaluations as part of the on-going evaluation programme of the M80.
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Detected exemption language
We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA. This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government cannot provide information which it does not have.
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