Glasgow’s ‘Avenue’ pilot almost complete

STREETS

Glasgow City Council expects to complete the first of its ‘Avenue’ public realm schemes in the city centre by the end of May. 

The £115m Avenues programme, funded by the Glasgow City Region city deal, will see 17 city centre streets treated by 2025. The works will feature reallocating road space from vehicular traffic to pedestrians and cyclists, installing planters, and better street lighting. 

The pilot scheme on Sauchiehall Street West is nearing completion and the remainder of the programme will be delivered in three blocks, A, B and C. 

The block A design contract has been sub-divided into three groups of streets: 

• North Hanover Street and Cathedral Street

• Argyle Street West, Argyle Street East, Dixon Street, and St Enoch’s Square

• The Underline, Cambridge Street, and Sauchiehall Street Precinct

The initial focus for block A is the Underline, Cambridge Street and Sauchiehall Street Precinct Avenues. Richard Brown, Glasgow’s executive director of development and economy, told councillors this would reinstate a “historically direct route through communities that were fragmented in the 1970s by the construction of the M8”. 

The Argyle Street Avenue, covering the area from the Kingston Bridge to Trongate, has completed its concept design, and is moving to detailed design. 

The council has updated its city centre traffic model and is currently modelling the full Avenues programme, different scenarios for bus corridors, and options for fully or partially pedestrianising George Square. 

“North Hanover Street and Cathedral Street Avenues will be most critical to the traffic model, and on that basis no work has commenced beyond early concept analysis,” said Brown.

The council has awarded the Block B design contract, with the streets again subdivided into three groups. Concept development is underway on the first group.

The Block C design contract should be awarded in July 2020.

Glasgow plans to bid to Sustrans’ new Places for Everyone Fund (LTT 15 Mar) to enable further streets to receive Avenues treatment.