Rowoverhow to cut pollution and congestion
Political Correspondent RANSPORT campaigners, bus firms and business leaders clashed at a transport summit in Glasgow over the future of the city.
The summit heard how Glasgow must move away from the car and motorised transport, according to a university transport academic.
At the city council transport summit, Professor Iain Docherty of Glasgow University, told delegates the motor car is having a negative impact on the city.
He said in order to make transport sustainable Glasgow had to move to other forms of transport.
Council leader Susan Aitken set up the transport summit to get people form the bus and train companies together with transport campaign groups, council officials and business organisations to discuss the way forward for Glasgow.
Professor Docherty said Glasgow’s competitors were already ahead of the city in transport infrastructure and getting the right balance.
He said that car users for decades have been given preferential treatment to users of other modes of transport.
THe was critical of the City Deal projects for what he described as failing to take advantage of the opportunity to promote sustainable transport. He said: “It is not what any self-respecting 21st century city would choose to do.”
Professor Docherty said the problem hadn’t changed in 20 years, adding: “We know we have too much traffic and we know we can reduce it without damaging the economy.”
However he also warned said that opponents would seek to prevent sustainable measures being put in place.
He added: “We need to support the council to act.
“If we don’t, the usual suspects will thwart those efforts.”
Last week the city approved plans to introduce a Low Emissions Zone targeting the worst polluting buses with the aim of reducing the effects of pollution from buses.
Vincent McNally, of Glasgow City Council Land and Environmental Services department said that air quality can’t be tackled only by the Low Emission Zone targeting buses.
He said a phased expansion would be required.
The bus operators were less than happy that their sector was first in the sight to clean up the city’s polluted air.
A representative from First, the city’s biggest bus operator, said it was essential that the operators were included in the delivery of of change and the decision making and not merely be consulted.
And George Mair, Director of Confederation of Passenger Transport, said buses were part of the solution and shouldn’t be singled out for special treatment.
He said: “It can’t be right that others are left untouched.
And he warned against shutting off streets to traffic.
He added: “As you close off streets in the city centre then the traffic grows in the streets that are around it.”
Business leaders also, however, warned against pushing car users out of the city.
Stuart Patrick, Chief Executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said the city centre retail and night time economy bars and restaurants provided more than 30,000 jobs in the city.
He warned that people will make their own decisions, and they might not be the ones that the policy makers hope for.
He said: “The city centre is the primary regional economic asset a self re-energising engine of growth.”
Mr Patrick said that Buchanan Street , the busiest shopping street in the city had suffered a drop in footfall of around two million a year recently, warning there were evidently challenges facing the city centre.
He added: “The primary barrier is reducing access to car parking. People make decisions not to switch to other modes of transport but to other shopping areas out of town with free parking.” Mr Patrick added: “How will consumers react when the LEZ includes cars?”