December 1 2022

Glasgow City Council has approved a transport plan which will guide the delivery of a People First Zone across the city centre over the next decade.

An area bounded by Hope Street, Cowcaddens Road, North Hanover/Glassford Street and Howard Street forms the heart of this zone, in which vehicles will face additional restrictions to minimise congestion.

Key targets include a 23% reduction in vehicle movements and a corresponding 43% increase in walking and a three-fold increase in cycling. This will be achieved by encouraging parking around the periphery of the central core, from where ongoing access can be made by a series of linked avenues which will reallocate roads for active travel and green infrastructure.

£450k of funding has been obtained to conduct an accessibility audit and develop the zone, just one part of a broader package of complementary works that include the Avenues programme, George Square revamp and a landscaped deck at Charing Cross.

Councillor Angus Millar said: "The proposed People First Zone could be transformative for the city centre, and I am delighted that we have secured funding to take forward more detailed work on this project, while funding for an accessibility audit will help us ensure our streets are inclusive for all.”

The approved City Centre Transport Plan, prepared by Systra, is now available to view. 

17 Comments

#1 Posted by Not Impressed on 1 Dec 2022 at 11:34 AM

I am so confused as to where this all stands. Is the avenues still alive? Will the cap on the M8 ever develop from a CGI? Will we ever sort out and bother integrating public transport (common tickets on the busses would be a good start). I despair..

#2 Posted by Neil on 2 Dec 2022 at 10:04 AM

Aren't those PV panels all facing north?

#3 Posted by Anne McCurley on 2 Dec 2022 at 11:21 AM

Cambridge Street is way too busy to have vehicles, including buses and heavy goods lorries, forced into half of the road whilst the other half has been allocated to the odd bicycle, plants and a couple of chairs. Why? This outiside an hotel which recently hosted Baftas and resulted in road closure as space was so tight.

#4 Posted by Realist on 2 Dec 2022 at 22:02 PM

23% target reduction of vehicle movement.

Why not go the whole hog and target 24%.

#5 Posted by Jaz on 3 Dec 2022 at 08:40 AM

Why am I and all motorist paying Road tax when we cannot use the road for buses and cycle lanes which are almost never used, the motorists pay a lot more for road tax than buses ever will
The roads are an absolute disgrace full of pot holes and will only get worse under GCC SNP rule/Ruin but as per usual Joe Bloggs public will be punished and made to pay financially for incompetence on behalf of Sturgeon and her incompetent government.
Get Labour back, SNP are as useful as a snowball in hell.
Wake up Glasgow and all other Scottish cities before we are made a third world country under politicians who never studied politics in their lives.

#6 Posted by K B G on 3 Dec 2022 at 11:02 AM

More lunacy from Glasgow council, who seem intent on their own kind of madness. Make no provision for cars, despite the fact that emissions from them will be declining rapidly with the move to electric, make no provision for proper public transport and then seal of the city centre. Businesses are ON THEIR KNEES and the council are driving people away, favouring a virtue signalling approach instead. Within the decade, there will be stories to the effect of councillors wracking their brains to try and concoct ways to 'breathe life back into the city', the same life they are strangling from it now.

#7 Posted by George on 5 Dec 2022 at 12:30 PM

Couldnt agree more #6. We have to remember that here in the west of Scotland it is raining 75% of the time so why we persist with schemes to help cycling and walking when most of the time its not possible.
And because of this and the fact it is harder to park in town, more and more are either ordering online or using Silverburn or Braehead where they actually welcome cars!
These ill thought out schemes are nothing more than box ticking exercises that are killing Glasgow city centre, lets see sense before it becomes a ghost town.

#8 Posted by modernish on 5 Dec 2022 at 13:57 PM

@#4 - steady on. I'm all for pushing the boat out but let's not go mad. Why don't we push it to 23.423456789%?
Even if we miss it by a small margin, it'll still be an improvement on 23%

#9 Posted by DJ on 5 Dec 2022 at 16:44 PM

Bunch of boomers on here today who couldn't possibly go for a walk in the rain. The planet is doomed with these attitudes.

#10 Posted by FHM on 5 Dec 2022 at 17:02 PM

#5 you have never paid Road Tax in your life. You, and all motorists, have paid VED which is initially based on the carbon dioxide it emits, i.e how polluting it is to everyone else not in a vehicle. Where you are confused is that general taxation pays for the upkeep of roads. And general taxation is of course, taxes paid by everyone, regardless if they pollute the streets making non essential journeys.

#9. Nailed it. Drivers moaning about drivers causing traffic is probably the most infuriating thing about living in a city dominated by cars. You are the problem (pointing at drivers).

#11 Posted by ong bak on 5 Dec 2022 at 17:17 PM

#9 Doomed based on what?

#12 Posted by Glasgow Bob on 5 Dec 2022 at 19:41 PM

#9 to be fair most Glaswegians couldnt walk the length of themselves and that's why these motorists need their cars.

#13 Posted by Big L on 5 Dec 2022 at 23:07 PM

As someone that cycles, walks and drives a car I can see that their should be less cars parked on and clogging up our streets with traffic. If I have to drive the long way round I’m happy to. But currently pedestrians stand in the rain while cars whizz past given priority. I do think we need to calm down on all the segregated cycle paths especially on shopping streets where they interfere with pedestrians, as someone said cycling is often not possible in Glasgow. Other drivers self centred views are really mind boggling maybe put yourselves in other shoes before going radge about not being able to abandon your car wherever you feel like and I’m sure business are All thriving coz you can drive where ever you want. Even though you clearly all use Amazon and that actually why businesses are failing anyway. More zebra crossings. Less cars parked everywhere. Thanks for attending my ted talk.

#14 Posted by Gandalf the Pink on 6 Dec 2022 at 08:10 AM

#5 - Road tax blooper - automatic 3 match ban for not understanding taxation.

Electric bicycles will be common place soon and will encourage active travel. We are in the midst of a societal change away from combustion engine personal travel, the quicker the better. Keep building cycle lanes. Usage will continue to grow.

#15 Posted by Robert on 6 Dec 2022 at 15:33 PM

Appreciate that electric cycles are green, but they are not active travel any more than electric cars are. However, if a reduction in the number of wheels is desirable, what about developing electric unicycles?

#16 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 7 Dec 2022 at 13:03 PM

They cannot do their day job -- road surface quality in the town would defeat a Land Rover.

So they dream with nonsense like this -- trying to build Venice but without the canals.

They are the Anti Destination League -- only the young / fit / healthy need apply.

#17 Posted by modernish on 8 Dec 2022 at 08:48 AM

@#15 - most electric bicycles only allow the motor to kick-in if you are actually pedaling. The power provided is to augment the energy you are producing for yourself. This makes commuting a reasonable distance a more attractive option for those who don't have showers at their destination.
In which case electric bicycles are an active travel solution that should be encouraged.

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