A TEN-year plan is being launched to make Glasgow’s neighbourhoods ‘safe, pleasant, attractive’ people-friendly environments designed for ‘playing, walking and cycling’.
The Liveable Neighbourhoods Plan (LNP) aims to reduce the city’s dependency on cars and make active travel and public transport the first choice.
A report updating councillors states: “It is essential that our residents benefit from safer, quieter streets that facilitate play, walking and cycling.
“Through an area-based approach, the LNP will help to limit the city’s contribution to climate change and develop an inclusive network of accessible and revitalised neighbourhoods designed for the benefit of all, with integrated green infrastructure and enhanced public spaces.
“Through our LNP we want to transform streets, identified through meaningful engagement, into areas where people feel they are safe, pleasant, attractive environments.
“By encouraging active travel as the first choice of transport, these measures will benefit public health by reducing noise and air pollution.”
The city has been divided into 27 areas under the plan. Three of these are already have projects underway that are similar to the Liveable Neighbourhoods concept — the City Centre with its (Avenues Programme); Woodside (Connecting Woodside) and Yorkhill and Kelvingrove (Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Cycling Village).
The remianing 24 will be progressed in six tranches. The first four Liveable Neighbourhood areas to be progressed are:
— Dennistoun, Riddrie and Carntyne
— Hamiltonhill, Possilpark, Cowlairs and Port Dundas
— Langside, Mount Florida and Toryglen
— Greater Govan, Ibrox and Kingston
The report states: “It is possible to rebalance the way streets are designed and used, to make streetscapes more people friendly, better for socialising and commercial activity.
“This is alongside maintaining the transport needs as required for the city with an emphasis on living locally taking into account the needs of everyone in society.”
It continues: “It is important that each Liveable Neighbourhood Plan helps respond to and promotes the unique identity of their area.
“In this way, Liveable Neighbourhood Plans may differ and vary according to their location and the socio-economic characteristics, urban form, existing patterns of movement, nature and heritage of the area in question.”
A strategic business case is to be produced by March 2022 and will be used to secure construction funding.
