It’s the only city in Britain with a motorway running right through the middle, and a group of campaigners in Glasgow are trying to the city’s M8 reduced.

A group calling itself @ReplacetheM8 is calling for the Scottish Government to “Investigate options for removing and reducing the impact of the central Glasgow section of the M8”.

It wants “an independent feasibility study to investigate scenarios for reducing the impact of the M8 between the M74 and Glasgow Cathedral including, specifically, complete removal and repurposing of the land”.

The petition reads:

It is not clear whether the commitment to ongoing maintenance of the elevated M8 has been evaluated in light of the new cooperation agreement between the SNP and Green Party which states “we will not build road infrastructure to cater for unconstrained increases in traffic”.

It is not clear if full removal of the central section has been considered by Glasgow Council or Scottish Government or Scottish Highways as a way of addressing GCC’s Regeneration Framework Objectives which states:
– Reinforce the city centre’s economic competitiveness;
– Re-populate the city centre;
– Reconnect the City centre with surrounding communities and its riverside;
– Reduce traffic dominance and car dependency;
– Green the city centre and make it climate resilient;
– Repair, restore and enhance the urban fabric.

Evidence is plentiful showing removal of similar roads around the world does not have anticipated negative impacts and brings economic, social and environmental benefits.

At time of writing, though, just 325 people had signed.

(Picture – Yay Images)