r/Glasgow Tools

Title
Author	Scunnered20
Comment	I'd argue it's not quite down to that. It's more down to how we depopulated the city itself and moved people out to new towns and remote estates in the 1950s and 1960s. The rate of car ownership within the city boundary is low, very low by the standards of a city this size (c. 600,000 residents). Car ownership spikes when you get to 3 miles+ from the city centre, as you cross into neighbouring local authorities. Transport in the city boundary itself is ok. Sure things could be better connected and integrated, and cheaper, and there are notable areas with poorer coverage than others (Castlemilk for example). But generally we've got very good bus route provision as well as the second largest suburban rail network outside of London to move people around. The main issue is with everyone who lives outside this zone and has little choice but to commute by car. This comes down to planning failures that are still going on. We're still building massive estates on the fringes of the city which are designed entirely, almost exclusively around car ownership. Just look at a birds eye view of Royrobston on Google Maps for example. Cul-de-sacs and dead ends which make walking from neighbourhood to neighbourhood a tedious and difficult talk. Shops and amenities located in one specific corner on the edge of the massive estate, again forcing people to drive. Multi-stage pedestrian crossings and retail parks which have one entrance (designed for cars), often at the opposite side to where people might be walking from. The mistakes go way beyond public transport, right down to the detail of how we design our neighbourhoods and public spaces. All designed with the car at the centre, and pedestrians and other road users an afterthought.
Reddit Link	https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/10lygxj/the_sheer_amount_of_cars_in_glasgow/j632iyh/
Created	Fri 27th Jan 2023 10:45am
Status	normal ()

I'd argue it's not *quite* down to that. It's more down to how we depopulated the city itself and moved people out to new towns and remote estates in the 1950s and 1960s. The rate of car ownership within the city boundary is low, very low by the standards of a city this size (c. 600,000 residents). Car ownership spikes when you get to 3 miles+ from the city centre, as you cross into neighbouring local authorities.

Transport in the city boundary itself is ok. Sure things could be better connected and integrated, and cheaper, and there are notable areas with poorer coverage than others (Castlemilk for example). But generally we've got very good bus route provision as well as the second largest suburban rail network outside of London to move people around.

The main issue is with everyone who lives outside this zone and has little choice but to commute by car. This comes down to planning failures that are still going on. We're still building massive estates on the fringes of the city which are designed entirely, almost exclusively around car ownership.

Just look at a birds eye view of Royrobston on Google Maps for example. Cul-de-sacs and dead ends which make walking from neighbourhood to neighbourhood a tedious and difficult talk. Shops and amenities located in one specific corner on the edge of the massive estate, again forcing people to drive. Multi-stage pedestrian crossings and retail parks which have one entrance (designed for cars), often at the opposite side to where people might be walking from.

The mistakes go way beyond public transport, right down to the detail of how we design our neighbourhoods and public spaces. All designed with the car at the centre, and pedestrians and other road users an afterthought.