Could we see a Glasgow street open for the first time in 40 years?
A plea to reopen side streets in communities has been issued by a Glasgow councillor
Councillor Allan Gow is urging council officials to take on board the views of residents living in the northwest of the city who want to see side streets, near Saracen Street, reopened to the community after being closed off since the 1980s.
As part of the council’s extensive programme to promote active travel plans, residents have been encouraged to take part in a consultation about a new active travel route between Saracen Street and Balmore Road.
The route would then connect with the existing cycle lanes on Garscube Road and form part of the Inner North City Network.
Councillor Gow believes this is a chance to change the way communities move around the city.
Speaking at a recent committee meeting he said: “Saracen Street is one of the north’s main routes in and out of the city centre. It has become like that because there are all sorts of side streets closed off from the 1980s due to a number of issues like anti-social behaviour.
“It is already evident to me that there is a keenness to have some of those historically closed off streets reopened again to allow communities to reclaim some of those streets back.
“If you open some of these streets up then it may well relieve some of the traffic on Saracen Street which is very narrow, which has large double decker busses and lorries passing through.
“Any proposal to move and extend pavements or produce active travel lanes is likely to cause issues in terms of design let alone use.
“Have the officers seen situations like this elsewhere in the city and can they give any assurance that these wider contextual matters, some of which are long-standing, can actually feature into the council’s response to the consultation.
“My plea is we don’t just go for the criteria. We need to take the opportunity to open up these communities which are coming back to life after decades of dereliction.
“It is a really good opportunity to change the way in which people move around that part of the city.”
A council officer confirmed that they were aware of how these side streets and spaces operate.
He said: “There is a longer and bigger picture in terms of the strategic objectives on what the projects are about. We are committed to our net zero obligations and providing our communities with different alternatives.
“We need to look at how we make Saracen Street more attractive and balance these concerns. The consultation is live and we hope the community comes in and tells us what they think and take it to a further consultation.”