A LEADING motorists' group says Scotland's largest council needs to get plans to reduce car use in the city right or people will simply go elsewhere.
The comment comes from Neil Greig, policy and research director with IAM RoadSmart, as it was revealed Glasgow City Council has ambitious plans for people first zones while aiming to cut peak time car traffic by a third by 2030.
The target of cutting rush hour car traffic by a third was unveiled under an ambitious plan for the city centre’s transformation.
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It is one of the key aims in a raft of measures to come out of Glasgow City Council’s draft City Centre Transformation Plan for 2022-31.
It is also hoped that initiatives will help double the population of the city by 2035 and there are plans to create a People First Zone in the city centre with civic spaces, pocket parks and street cafes.
Mr Greig said: "No one would object to a high quality, clean, litter free and attractive Glasgow city centre. For IAM RoadSmart however, this is all about co-ordinating the delivery of viable alternatives to the car at the same time as cracking down on access.
"If the council don’t get it right people will simply go elsewhere. The proposed Clyde Metro system is just the sort of high quality public transport option that would attract drivers out of their cars, but it won’t be in place for decades. Air quality is worst in bus only streets at the moment so a lot of work still needs to be done to deliver cleaner air from larger vehicles."
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Mr Greig said while controlling private car numbers in the heart of the city makes sense, vans and lorries will still need access for deliveries and the service economy.
He added: "A more welcoming approach for motorcycles, mopeds and other forms of personal powered transport could be one way of bridging the gap before better public transport comes on stream. A major uplift in the number of rail based park and ride sites around the city is also needed as they are already very popular.”
Alternative to car use needs to be offered
As well as achieving a 30% reduction in peak-hour private car traffic in the city centre by 2030, other measures include the re-allocation of road space in the city centre for active travel and green infrastructure and the delivery of improved public transport to help support a shift to more sustainable modes, particularly walking, cycling and public transport, with a target of 80% of peak-time travel to the city centre being made by active travel and public transport by 2030.
Other aims include improving access for the mobility-impaired; the delivery of improvements for servicing such as goods, deliveries and waste collection to improve the vitality of Glasgow city centre.
And one of the crucial aims is to help support a doubling of Glasgow city centre’s population by 2035 along with an aim to be carbon neutral by 2030.
Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “We all want a more attractive, welcoming, healthier, sustainable city centre that is also more resilient and easier to get around. The City Centre Transformation Plan is absolutely key to getting there. The proposals respond to the findings of the 2020 public engagement on the future of transport in the city centre, will contribute to our net-zero targets and will play a part in the area’s recovery from the pandemic. The Plan also underlines our commitment to delivering sustainable transport options for all of Glasgow.”
Projects including George Square and the wider Avenues and Avenues Plus programme will help the aims of the plan along with plans for a People First Zone in the city centre - a people-friendly low vehicular access area.
Creating people first zones will be a part of future Glasgow plans
The latter proposal, bounded by Hope Street, Cowcaddens Road, North Hanover/Glassford Street and Howard Street, would see the creation of an area of high-quality public realm where people are able to easily and safely walk and wheel around, and where feel that they - and not vehicles - have priority.
Consultation on the plan will begin in May, after the local government elections.
It has been shaped from the findings of 2020’s public engagement on future transport in the city, with almost 3,000 responses indicating a general recognition of the need for change, and some notable findings for the city centre, including:
• 81% supported road-space being re-allocated to Walking Wheeling & Public Transport:
• 77% supported that People and place are prioritised in the city centre: and
• 60% of respondents said they would consider leaving their car at home more for shorter journeys and walking or cycling instead.
The CCTP will come back for final committee consideration in September 2022.
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