Extra Space Created for Pedestrians on Renfield Street and West George Street

Published: 30 July 2020

Work starts today to install temporary travel infrastructure on even more city centre streets, as part of the council's Spaces for People programme which is providing extra space for physical distancing to protect public health and suppress a resurgence of COVID-19.

Footways will be widened along Renfield Street, and on West George Street between Wellington Street and Renfield Street.

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On-street parking and loading lanes will be suspended in the affected areas, with extra space for people made available by repurposing the immediate road space usually occupied by parked or stationary vehicles.

There will be no removal of disabled parking bays in respect of these specific works, and existing bus stops will be unaffected.

City Centre Progress

Work completed so far as part of Spaces for People includes footway widening around Glasgow Central Station High and Low Level entrances to provide additional queuing space, as well as footway widening and road closures in and around George Square.

A bus/cycle/taxi gate has been added to George Square (south) and South Frederick St (north), and a bus/cycle/taxi lane on Cochrane Street, to create sustainable transport corridors. This work was completed in tandem with pavement widening on Hope Street, Union Street and Bath Street and the build out into the road of temporary bus boarders to ensure continued accessibility onto and off, local service buses.

Other initiatives in the city centre to ease pedestrian movement include traffic light automation which removes the need to touch the button to prompt the green man to display.  The automated traffic lights will also where appropriate, be set to either minimise pedestrian waiting time or increase the duration the green man is displayed; with both adjustments made where possible.

Full details of temporary City Centre projects already in place, and ongoing can be found here.

Spaces for People

Supported by £3.5m funding from the Scottish Government and administered by Sustrans Scotland, Spaces for People will see temporary infrastructure measures introduced across Glasgow to provide extra space for people to walk, wheel or cycle as COVID-19 restrictions remain in place.

Short-term measures across our city centres and neighbourhoods will see footways widened at pinch points to ease pedestrian movement and make it easier to access businesses, community facilities and public transport hubs. Consideration will also be given to the positioning of temporary strategic cycling routes to highlight cycling as an attractive, viable and long term commuting choice.

This temporary travel infrastructure will be in place from today (Thursday 30 July 2020) for a minimum period of 10 weeks, and reviewed in line with the Scottish Government's COVID-19: Framework for Decision Making - Scotland's Route Map through and out of the crisis.

Work to make the changes should be complete by tomorrow, Friday 31 July 2020.