News on Glasgow Spaces for People

Work starts today to install temporary travel infrastructure on key streets around George Square, as part of the council's Spaces for People programme which is providing extra space for physical distancing to protect public health and suppress a resurgence of COVID-19.

These short-term measures which will include closing some roads to traffic, and the widening of footways; will make it easier for people to move around our city centre and more readily access shops, businesses, community facilities and public transport hubs including Queen Street Station.

The following roads will be closed to all traffic, except cycles:

The following footways will be widened in the area immediate to George Square:

On-street parking will be suspended in the affected areas, with extra space for people made available by repurposing the immediate road space usually occupied by parked vehicles.

View illustrative images of Spaces for People temporary measures [885kb]

Visualisations by Stantec

To mitigate any loss of disabled parking bays and taxi ranks as a result of these temporary measures, alternative provision has been made on adjacent streets. There are taxi ranks already in place at West George Street and Nelson Mandela Place. Disabled bays which number more than those temporarily taken out of use, have been made available in Albion Street, Hanover Street, Hutcheson Street, Martha Street, Miller Street and South Frederick Street.

There will be some limited local changes but when the works are complete the bus stops will remain at their existing locations or adjacent to them.

Supported by £3.5m funding from the Scottish Government and administered by Sustrans Scotland , Spaces for People will see temporary infrastructure measures introduced across Glasgow to provide extra space for people to walk, wheel or cycle as COVID-19 restrictions remain in place.

Short-term measures across our city centres and neighbourhoods will see footways widened at pinch points to ease pedestrian movement and make it easier to access businesses, community facilities and public transport hubs. Consideration will also be given to the positioning of temporary strategic cycling routes to highlight cycling as an attractive, viable and long term commuting choice.

If you have suggestions for public spaces in Glasgow where it is difficult to maintain physical distancing whilst out walking, cycling and wheeling, please share these on our Commonplace Mapping Tool . In collaboration with Sustrans Scotland, this interactive platform enables users to highlight areas across the city centre and neighbourhoods, where emergency temporary measures such as pavement widening and new cycle lanes could be introduced to help people maintain physical distancing and suppress a resurgence of the virus.

This temporary travel infrastructure will be in place from Friday 26 June 2020 for a minimum period of 10 weeks, and reviewed in line with the Scottish Government's COVID-19: Framework for Decision Making - Scotland's Route Map through and out of the crisis .

Work to make the changes should be complete on Monday 29 June 2020, with no works taking place on Saturday 27 June or Sunday 28 June 2020.