Glasgow car ban
Barred within 5 years – but were businesses asked?
CARS will be banned from the centre of Scotland’s biggest city in a bid to slash carbon emissions.
Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken said a number of streets would become car-free as part of a £30billion plan to make the city carbon-neutral by 2030, with the area created by 2026.
SNP councillor Miss Aitken said the council had taken some ‘tough decisions’ on pollution and congestion, including creating Scotland’s first Low Emission Zone (LEZ), and wanted to take this a step further.
However, concerns have been raised that businesses and restaurants within the no-car zone have not been properly consulted about the scheme.
LEZs restrict access for the most polluting vehicles to improve air quality. Vehicles that fail to meet LEZ standards are not allowed to enter the zone, with a penalty charge payable by a vehicle’s registered keeper if they do.
Miss Aitken said: ‘Over the coming days we are going to announce that we have designated a core of our historic city centre from George Square, over to Hope Street where Central Station is, from Cathedral Street to the north to Argyle Street to the south and work towards that being a space entirely free of private cars over the next five years – obviously with caveats for disabled access.
‘This core of Glasgow city centre will be given over entirely to public transport and to people moving actively.’
Scottish Conservative Glasgow MSP Annie Wells said: ‘Of course we need to tackle the climate emergency but changes like this cannot be announced without proper consultation. Local residents and businesses must be fully consulted by the SNP administration ahead of any plans which would see cars banned from the city centre.’
Glasgow’s move comes after other Scottish cities, including Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee, announced their own LEZs.
The City of Edinburgh Council said it was ‘now in the implementation phase with a consultation and implementation plan soon to follow’. It released a list of exempt vehicles which includes the likes of emergency vehicles and blue badge holders.
Aberdeen is still debating its proposed LEZ, which has already been changed after public feedback. Dundee said its LEZ will operate year-round, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with initial penalties of £60, reduced by 50 per cent if paid within the first 14 days.