October 27 2020

Proposals to urbanise the M8 motorway through Glasgow have won approval from councillors who have embraced measures to 'untangle the spaghetti' by reducing the frequency of junctions in the Blythswood District Regeneration Framework (DRF).

Part of a radical rethink of transport priorities the plans seek to reduce excessive car infrastructure by re-routing external journeys and HGV's away from the city centre to free up additional space for walking and cycling.

An initial priority will be the M80/M77 interchange which will be repositioned as a 'City Gate' employing smart signage to redirect non-essential traffic south via the M74.

Options under consideration include replacement of flyovers at Waterloo Street and Bothwell Street with grade-level T-junctions and a slip road. This would help expand the frequency of pedestrian crossing points to Anderston. Other possibilities include reconnecting William Street and Bothwell Street by establishing a raised green bridge and the installation of sound barriers to mitigate noise nuisance.

The Blythswood DRF document notes: "There is scope to reduce the frequency of motorway junctions thereby reducing spatial impact and improving the efficiency of the motorway. Potential remedial action could take place over and/or along the sunken stretch of M8, albeit the greatest impact would be from a significant reduction of traffic and ultimately the removal of the city centre motorway altogether."

Prior proposals to deck over a central span of the motorway cutting have been ditched in favour of widening existing bridges to accommodate greenery, play spaces and even pavilions; spreading the potential benefits over a greater area and minimising costs.

15 Comments

#1 Posted by Darren on 27 Oct 2020 at 20:47 PM

Great so the m74 will become a car park. This is utter pie in the sky. Where's the consultation with affected users, typical Glasgow city council, non existent. I agree, there needs a radical rethink and redevelopment of the existing infrastructure, the m77/m8 merge particularly needs major attention urgently.

#2 Posted by Not Darren on 28 Oct 2020 at 06:18 AM

Singapore, Tokyo and Doha all got their fantastic transport networks by listening to no-one. Discuss.

#3 Posted by Robin B's Discount on 28 Oct 2020 at 12:16 PM

Agree with @2. We put far too much emphasis on the self serving interests of the public. In many cases this end up with projects being 'designed by proxy' which accounts for a lot of the dull dirge out there.

Keep the general public out of it - they are by and large idiots.

#4 Posted by David on 28 Oct 2020 at 15:16 PM

#2 Totally agree. Perhaps by spending less money on these never ending consultations, more funds would be available to actually get on with it and get the job done. Plus if the public had their way, the entire city would be covered in more grass patches. That is about the extent of their contribution.

Whilst I really welcome the ambition of the diagram produced, a much greater covering of the M8 than first anticipated, this idea was first floated in the 2000s, we've already been waiting 15-20 years, please just someone get on with it!

#5 Posted by Inahuf on 28 Oct 2020 at 20:00 PM

These comments!?! And we wonder why the design professions are considered elitist, out of touch and not worth listening to when setting public policy. Grrr

#6 Posted by Robin B’s Discount on 28 Oct 2020 at 20:56 PM

@5, i hear what you’re saying, but it’s true. People can’t be trusted with these sort of things. People are idiots. People like Coldplay and voted for Brexit.

#7 Posted by Ross Mitchell on 29 Oct 2020 at 10:39 AM

Some positive ideas coming through here, but want to see action sooner rather than later!
In terms of listening to the public, far more education would be required in order to get constructive feedback from the majority. Especially when it comes to dealing with road traffic, as drivers become obsessed with marginally slower journeys, rather than quality of life.

#8 Posted by Mick on 29 Oct 2020 at 12:56 PM

The similarities and repeated phrases in the above strike me as an organised attack from the pro car libby

#9 Posted by Robin B's Discount on 29 Oct 2020 at 15:22 PM

Yes. We just left the October Pro Car Lobby Committee Meeting with clear instructions to attack this post on Urban Realm. It was the main focus of our meeting.

#10 Posted by BBB on 29 Oct 2020 at 19:28 PM

People who regularly travel through an urban environment will be very familiar with annoying urban idiosyncrasies that they'd like to see changed, when they do these public consultations they get the feedback from the boots on the ground of what they'd like to see done, the more people that suggest a certain idea the more they know it annoys people. They probably get a lot of rubbish ideas, but they might get the occasional gem of an idea from random members of the public.

#11 Posted by Fush and Chups on 30 Oct 2020 at 11:40 AM

Motorways have no place in a city centre. The damage they cause to the urban fabric and general quality of life is immeasurable.

Realistically the M8 needs to go in its entirety. This is polishing the proverbial. That said, anything is an improvement on the current state of affairs. This does seem to go further than previous plans, especially with talk of buildings spanning the motorway.

Public consultations for the most part are a waste of time and money as most members of the public are rather selfish and can't see past the end of their noses. Anything that slows down the journey from their depressing new build housing estate into the city centre is bad. Aside, perhaps, from a new drive thru so that they can drink their sugared beverage and throw the remains on the side of the road.

#12 Posted by Grim Beeper on 30 Oct 2020 at 20:04 PM

Just copy Boston. (Councillors need note : no visit necessary just virtual tours). Cover the motorway as much as possible, create parks and green spaces and....er that's it.

#13 Posted by Chris on 31 Oct 2020 at 14:50 PM

#12 I think this is what everyone wants but realistically it's not within Glasgow's budget. The Big Dig in Boston had an estimated cost of $21.5 billion, which was largely covered by Washington. I can't picture Holyrood having that level of funding nor Westminster that level of fucks to give about Glasgow.

#14 Posted by Herbert on 1 Nov 2020 at 00:21 AM

They say that they can't lower the M8 properly because of the railway and subway tunnels under it, if these tunnels weren't there they would have covered it when they built it. I wonder how much a 2 lane motorway tunnel from Kinning Park to Royston would cost? Probably the best option to have a tunnel at that point and close the M8 where it runs through the city center, maybe keep the Kingston Bridge and turn it into a Garden Bridge like the one BoJo was wanting for London.

#15 Posted by Robin B's Discount on 2 Nov 2020 at 11:26 AM

Aye, Ok Herbert...

Post your comments