Park and ride back on track

A sod cutting ceremony took place on Monday to officially mark the start of construction of the 700 space park and ride facility.

The project will be completed in two phases to maintain car parking provision at Croy during the build.

The first phase tackles the Cumbernauld side of the burn, the area furthest away from the station.

This work will be completed by September and will provide 250 new car parking spaces, ready for immediate use.

Access to the new area, off Constarry Road will be through a set of traffic lights.

Work on the second phase nearest the station will follow. The final parts, including constructing stairs to link the new facility to the rail station, will be completed by December this year.

Councillor Mark Griffin, who represents North Lanarkshire at Strathclyde Partnership for Transport meetings, is glad work has begun.

He said: "This is great news for commuters and local residents, who have put up with problems caused by the poor car parking facilities at Croy for too long.

"A lot of hard work has gone on behind the scenes by both SPT and North Lanarkshire Council officials to resolve earlier issues.

"I am pleased they have worked together to move the project from the drawing board to the construction phase."