r/Glasgow Tools

Title
Author	eenbiertje
Comment	You're right to say that a resurgence of the city centre can only happen with improvements to public transport. There are things in the planning, in fact, already being worked on to prioritize public transport in a way that hasn't been done in Glasgow in about 40 years. There's the headline stuff you might've heard about recently (idea of a metro style network of new light rail and rapid transit lines) which is probably years to decades away, to less glamourous but essential stuff around bus prioritisation on the roads which is being worked on now. The active travel stuff could also be transformational, considering half of Glasgow residents don't own a car. I'm gradually becoming quite hopeful about how improved the city's public transport could be in just a few years. That aside, I do think some people will always prefer to use a car, and some people will always prefer the offering at out of town malls over the town. They already cater to slightly different consumers to one another, but this divide is only going to become more stark as time passes and certain types of retail become utterly unviable in town centres. I expect out of town malls and retail parks may become the only place you'll find big box / big brand retailers selling things like electronics, large consumer goods, etc. We're already heading that way. That doesn't have to be a disaster for city centres. Just a change. Cities are transforming to cater to hospitality and resident focused retail. This will be the same in Glasgow as more people begin to live in the centre (a trend under way and one of the council's central strategic aims for this decade). There might be a lingering amount of big brand retail in the city centre, particularly clothing, but what the town offers will change. I think people are too quick to associate (1) car parking availability, and (2) the presence of big brand retail, as signs of a "healthy" or prosperous city centre. Just because that's what we're used to seeing in Glasgow for 50 odd years, doesn't mean it's the only viable model for a city centres. We're slowly moving to what you might call a more continental model, where the residential density of the city centre supports itself, and so access by car from the suburbs becomes less important a consideration.
Reddit Link	https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/s7lhkp/m_and_s_on_sauchiehall_street_to_shut/hvjp5e0/
Created	Fri 4th Feb 2022 10:53am
Status	normal ()

You're right to say that a resurgence of the city centre can only happen with improvements to public transport.

There are things in the planning, in fact, already being worked on to prioritize public transport in a way that hasn't been done in Glasgow in about 40 years.

There's the headline stuff you might've heard about recently (idea of a metro style network of new light rail and rapid transit lines) which is probably years to decades away, to less glamourous but essential stuff around bus prioritisation on the roads which is being worked on now. The active travel stuff could also be transformational, considering half of Glasgow residents don't own a car.

I'm gradually becoming quite hopeful about how improved the city's public transport could be in just a few years.

That aside, I do think some people will always prefer to use a car, and some people will always prefer the offering at out of town malls over the town. They already cater to slightly different consumers to one another, but this divide is only going to become more stark as time passes and certain types of retail become utterly unviable in town centres.

I expect out of town malls and retail parks may become *the only place* you'll find big box / big brand retailers selling things like electronics, large consumer goods, etc. We're already heading that way. That doesn't have to be a disaster for city centres. Just a change.

Cities are transforming to cater to hospitality and resident focused retail. This will be the same in Glasgow as more people begin to live in the centre (a trend under way and one of the council's central strategic aims for this decade). There might be a lingering amount of big brand retail in the city centre, particularly clothing, but what the town offers will change.

I think people are too quick to associate (1) car parking availability, and (2) the presence of big brand retail, as signs of a "healthy" or prosperous city centre. Just because that's what we're used to seeing in Glasgow for 50 odd years, doesn't mean it's the only viable model for a city centres.

We're slowly moving to what you might call a more continental model, where the residential density of the city centre supports itself, and so access by car from the suburbs becomes less important a consideration.