Call for new bus station to beat gridlock in city

james73 · Call for new bus station to beat gridlock in city

Call for new bus station to beat gridlock in city (Evening Times)

A SECOND major bus station could be built in Glasgow in a bid to ease the
chronic congestion in City Centre streets.

Transport experts have suggested siting a new "hub" close to St Enoch
Shopping Centre to serve the south of the city.

Consultants Faber Maunsell said it would not only relieve pressure on the
road network but also on Buchanan Bus Station, which is currently
"gridlocked" at peak times.

The move - contained in a report commissioned by Strathclyde Partnership
for Transport - could go a long way to reducing bus traffic in "hotspot"
corridors such as Renfield Street, Union Street and Hope Street.

It means that some services - especially those serving the South Side -
could begin and end their journeys at the hub rather than travel through
the busy City Centre.

The volume of bus traffic in Glasgow streets has been highlighted by the
Evening Times as a major congestion problem since we launched our Get
Glasgow Moving campaign earlier this year.

City council officials have pledged to take radical action to cut down on
the congestion after our campaign revealed the full extent of the problem.

On Renfield Street and Union Street alone, there are an average of 350
buses an hour.

Thirty-five people have been injured in road accidents in the past three
years at the Union Street/Argyle Street junction.

And Hope Street - a bottleneck with queues of buses, taxis and private
cars - has only just avoided being named the most polluted street in
Britain yet again.

SPT has now agreed to look into the feasibility of providing the new
interchange, possibly on land near King Street.

And Glasgow City Council said the move could be a key factor in cutting
City Centre congestion levels.

A spokeswoman for First Glasgow, the city's largest bus operator, welcomed
the suggestion.

She said: "There is indeed a shortage of terminus capacity within Glasgow
City Centre.

"Any new infrastructure that would provide the opportunity to alleviate
pressures elsewhere and further enhance the public transport network
would be very welcome indeed. We will be following this with interest."

Robert Booth, the council's executive director of land and environmental
services, said: "We would welcome a south bus hub as it would
significantly reduce the need for cross-city traffic and therefore reduce
congestion."

Transport expert Neil Greig also welcomed the idea, although he said it
"sounded like history repeating itself".

There was a bus terminus in St Enoch Square for several decades until it
was closed down when the area was redeveloped in 2001.

James H