Glasgow City Council has announced plans to reduce the number of kilometres travelled by car in the city by 30% as part of efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.
The Scottish city’s new draft transport strategy, which covers over 100 policies, also aims to tackle poverty, support economic growth and create more liveable neighbourhoods by boosting public and active modes of transport.
Some 27% of vehicle journeys in Glasgow are reportedly less than 1km, and the city council said there was significant potential to reduce the carbon emissions created during those trips.
Support for the 30% target comes from initiatives such as council’s Active Travel Strategy, which includes a proposal to build a city-wide network of segregated cycling infrastructure, and the Liveable Neighbourhoods initiative to support more local access to essential services and enable shorter, local trips by walking, wheeling and cycling.
Other projects designed to draw people from their personal vehicles include the Clyde Metro, which recently received backing in the Scottish government’s Strategic Transport Projects Review, and increased bus priority on roads.
Following consideration at the Environment, Sustainability and Carbon Reduction Policy Committee, the final policy framework of the Glasgow Transport Strategy will now go before the council’s City Administration Committee for final approval.
Councillor Anna Richardson, city convener for sustainability and carbon reduction, Glasgow City Council, said: “Making in-roads on our car use is essential if we are to bring down the carbon emissions that drive climate change.
“But supporting sustainable transport choices also means we can make city streets safer and more attractive places to be, which in turns helps to improve quality of life for local residents.
“The new transport strategy fully recognises how important transport is to our daily lives and the overall success of the city.
“The far reaching policy objectives in the strategy create a vision of a healthy and thriving city but also a sustainable Glasgow that is prepared for the challenge of climate change.”
According to UK Department of Transport estimates, some 1.7 billion vehicle miles were travelled in the Glasgow city area in 2020.
This represented a sharp drop in vehicle miles travelled due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Prior to Covid, figures for 2019 show a peak of almost 2.25 billion vehicle miles per annum, with around two-thirds of vehicle miles travelled on trunk roads and a third over local roads.
The Scottish government has set a national target of reducing car kilometres by 20% via its recently published Route Map.
It highlights the expectation that car use in rural and island communities will not necessarily reduce at the same rate as in towns and cities, and there is an expectation that cities will contribute strongly to the national target.
