Bus gate plan to block major routes in city

Two new no-go zones for private vehicles could be created in the city centre with the introduction of more bus gates.

Council bosses, who want to reduce congestion in the city and improve air quality, have identified Renfield Street and Oswald Street for potential new bus gates.

But the proposals have already sparked fury from some drivers, with hundreds of on-street parking spaces also due to be removed.

It is also feared journey times would significantly increase if all the measures are implemented.

The city council is expected to approve the plans today, with the bus gates scheduled to be in place by 2017.

As previously reported by the Evening Times, a bus gate at Nelson Mandela Place, introduced in June, caught a daily average of 694 car drivers in its first week.

Operating from 7am until 7pm every day, it has been linked with a fall in congestion and in harmful traffic emissions in the city.

In just two months it generated £1.5 million in fines, sparking concerns from city business leaders.

The major new report into the city centre's transport and traffic states: "The main bus corridor proposals have been tested using transport modelling.

"The avenues and cycle routes were generally found to increase journey times and decrease average speeds for motorised traffic on affected corridors with some re-routing as well.

"The introduction of bus gates/traffic management measures on Renfield Street and Oswald Street provided benefits to buses on these corridors but led to re-routing and longer journey times for general traffic.

"Traffic travelling through the city centre is anticipated to fall by up to nine per cent as a result of the measures contained in the report."

Council bosses want to limit traffic heading north to south in the city centre by installing a bus gate on Renfield Street, one of the most polluted street in the country.

Another, limiting vehicles arriving from the South Side, is planned for Oswald Street.