September 8 2023

Glasgow City Council is poised to undertake the next key element of its Avenues programme by breaking ground on Sauchiehall and Cambridge Street later this month.

The £5.7m public realm project gets underway in earnest from 27 September, plugging into the existing Sauchiehall Avenue at Rose Street and ending at West Nile Street. A connecting spur through Cambridge Street will also link up with Cowcaddens Road.

The revitalised routes will be defined by wider pavements, integrated active travel routes and 40 trees to encourage people to reclaim the streets. New kerbs, traffic signals and street lighting are also included in the work.

Wellbeing economy secretary, Neil Gray, said: “By making it easier and safer to walk or cycle, this Scottish Government-supported scheme can attract more visitors and residents back to the city centre. Increased footfall will boost local businesses in line with our ambitions to create a wellbeing economy which is green and growing.”

Preparatory work has already begun on the project, which is scheduled to be completed by summer 2024. Repair work to the M8 overpass has delayed implementation of the New City Road element of the plan.

5 Comments

#1 Posted by Lovely on 8 Sep 2023 at 10:57 AM

You really don't get a lit for £5,700,000.00 these days do you?

Given that the previous phase is mostly a complete failure let's hope this one is better designed and better implemented although it does not look much different thus far.

#2 Posted by Jake Janobs on 8 Sep 2023 at 11:01 AM

As someone who regularly walks and cycles around this area, those combined pedestrian/cycle areas are a disaster - very hard to predict where the next rogue deliveroo rider or confused pedestrian is coming from. I think these large separated cycle lanes are a bit over engineered - on a slow, straight, one-way street like Sauchiehall Street, cycling on the road with the cars and buses was never that difficult or dangerous. It is the complicated junctions and turn-offs that need to be prioritised for safe active travel, and the roads on which traffic moves at higher speeds.

#3 Posted by James Hepburn on 8 Sep 2023 at 13:10 PM

This only works if its kept clean. Glasgow City Council's biggest failing lies in how dirty its streets have become. The area of Sauchiehall Street that has already been converted is plastered with chewing gum and the debris of food waste from the plethora of take away shops, restaurants and bars. Its disgusting. The also need to ban food delivery cyclist who are a danger and a menace.

#4 Posted by Gregor Macfarlane on 8 Sep 2023 at 16:14 PM

The scheme at the top end of Sauchiehall St, completely just a few years ago, is already falling apart. Large number of paving stones loose, cracked, missing and filled with tarmac. Street furniture damaged. And yes as someone said above, filthy. Waste of time and money if within a short time it looks just as bad as it did before!

#5 Posted by Nairn's Bairn on 11 Sep 2023 at 14:54 PM

I agree with the statements above - maintenance is what is required, not a headline-grabbing 'new thing'.

It's expensive, you have to do it all year every year, and you can't have your photo taken next to it so it's always low down politicians priorities, but maintenance is the key.

The same applies to schools. New schools get the thumbs-up, while dull old maintenance has its budget cut again.

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