r/Glasgow Tools

Title
Author	Scunnered20
Comment	While I am very much behind the idea of removing or redesigning the M8 city corridor, I do think we need to think seriously about how to go about it. And I say "We" to include anyone involved in the discussion at any level including whoever comes up with the eventual range of options, and whichever level of government provides the necessary funding. As you say, in many of the often cited international examples, a new ring road or tunnel bypass has been created in place of a previous city centre motorway. This is not just in a few examples, but widespread. It is much rarer that cities are removing their city centre motorways with no alternative orbital road building to accompany the project. This needs to be included in the discussion for Glasgow, from a regional perspective. The key problem is that the M8 would then meet a hard end at Townhead Junction. Vehicles using the motorway to travel east from Edinburgh and elsewhere in the central belt would need to go somewhere. If it's to Inverclyde or Ayrshire, then the M73-M74 corridor is there for that purpose. Sorted. But there is no alternative route to travel to the northwest of Glasgow. All this said, there is an existing Scottish Government goal of reducing car KMs by 20% by 2030. We are seven years away now, and extremely far off target. I do not expect us to meet this target, but it is there in policy, so in principle it ought to be impossible for the government to condone further roadbuilding, even as a relief measure. On top of this, I only expect calls for more stringent measures to reduce emissions to grow between now and 2030. While meeting this 20% reduction target is a low political priority at the moment, this could well change as we approach 1.5 degrees average global temperature in a few years. There may be a political tipping point where all of this discussion, about whether or not to repair the M8, whether or not to remove it, whether or not to build a relief orbital route, all becomes trivial as government cracks down on vehicle use with greater urgency, making the discussion moot. Who knows.
Reddit Link	https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/zyxrvy/the_m8_is_damaging_for_city_centre_councillor/j28y2s6/
Created	Fri 30th Dec 2022 2:40pm
Status	normal ()

While I am very much behind the idea of removing or redesigning the M8 city corridor, I do think we need to think seriously about how to go about it. And I say "We" to include anyone involved in the discussion at any level including whoever comes up with the eventual range of options, and whichever level of government provides the necessary funding.

As you say, in many of the often cited international examples, a new ring road or tunnel bypass has been created in place of a previous city centre motorway. This is not just in a few examples, but widespread. It is much rarer that cities are removing their city centre motorways with no alternative orbital road building to accompany the project. This needs to be included in the discussion for Glasgow, from a regional perspective.

The key problem is that the M8 would then meet a hard end at Townhead Junction. Vehicles using the motorway to travel east from Edinburgh and elsewhere in the central belt would need to go somewhere. If it's to Inverclyde or Ayrshire, then the M73-M74 corridor is there for that purpose. Sorted. But there is no alternative route to travel to the northwest of Glasgow.

All this said, there is an existing Scottish Government goal of reducing car KMs by 20% by 2030. We are seven years away now, and extremely far off target. I do not expect us to meet this target, but it is there in policy, so in principle it ought to be impossible for the government to condone further roadbuilding, even as a relief measure.

On top of this, I only expect calls for more stringent measures to reduce emissions to grow between now and 2030. While meeting this 20% reduction target is a low political priority at the moment, this could well change as we approach 1.5 degrees average global temperature in a few years. There may be a political tipping point where all of this discussion, about whether or not to repair the M8, whether or not to remove it, whether or not to build a relief orbital route, all becomes trivial as government cracks down on vehicle use with greater urgency, making the discussion moot. Who knows.