Research finds ‘depressing’ car focus in Glasgow
MORE than a third of Glasgow’s overall space is dedicated towards roads and car parking, analysis by the Scottish Parliament has found.
Holyrood think tank Scotland’s Futures Forum looked at the amount of space dedicated to private vehicles in comparison to other transport methods in Glasgow and Dundee.
Roads, car parks and on-street parking account for between 34.5% and 41% of space in the two cities.
It found that in Glasgow, more space is dedicated to outdoor smoking than bike parking. Overall, green spaces, public transport and cycling infrastructure were found to be “extremely lacking” and a “low priority” for the cities.
The think tank’s report – Stealing Our Cities: land-use analysis – made a number of recommendations, including a revision of bus timetables and converting single-level car parks with low usage into green spaces and small business spaces.
It also calls for more toucan crossings to create increased cycling accessibility and restricting on-street parking.
Futures Forum director Claudia Beamish MSP said: “Stealing Our Cities really gets us thinking about what sort of spaces and places we want to live in and welcome visitors to.
“The research shows a depressing dependency on the private car at the sites analysed.
“The recommendations, if acted on widely, would make for a much more pleasant city experience with more green space and easier and safer walking and cycling opportunities.”
The Scottish Parliament’s Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh MSP, chairman of the Futures Forum’s board of directors, added: “All parties in the Scottish Parliament are committed to tackling climate change.
“With transport accounting for more than a third of emissions in Scotland, this analysis encourages us all to consider how the status quo can be changed to do that.”
The research was conducted by Marli de Jongh, a PhD student at the University of Glasgow.
It was funded by Sages – an alliance of Scottish universities and the British Geological Society – and supported by the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation.