Glasgow City Council to Consider Proposal to Reduce M8 Speed Limit to 30mph.
A proposal to lower the speed limit on the M8 motorway to 30mph as it passes through Glasgow’s city center is set to be presented to the city council next week. Green Party Councillor Christy Mearns is pushing for a six-month trial of the reduced speed limit on urban sections of the motorway and will be presenting the motion at an upcoming full council meeting.
In addition to the speed reduction, Mearns also plans to request a review of the authority to expand the low emission zone (LEZ) to motorway roads and involve Transport Scotland in researching ways to minimize the M8’s impact, with financial support for the study.
The motion calls for a report on current air quality monitoring along the motorway to be submitted to a committee within half a year. SNP Councillor Angus Millar, who oversees climate, Glasgow Green Deal, transport, and city center recovery efforts, plans to propose an amendment to the motion. This amendment would call for the long-term re-engineering or downgrading of the M8’s city center stretch and its replacement with an avenue or boulevard-style road.
Millar has reached out to the Scottish Government, requesting collaboration between Holyrood and the council to develop short, medium, and long-term strategies for mitigating the M8’s impact on the city center and nearby communities, including speed considerations.
Councillor Mearns emphasized the need for an alternative vision for the M8, considering its drawbacks, such as promoting car usage, causing harm to communities in its path, and hindering targets to reduce vehicle journeys, emissions, air pollution, and health issues. Mearns believes that, like other cities that have seen positive change from downgrading or replacing their motorways, Glasgow should urgently explore similar options.
Councillor Millar acknowledged the M8‘s detrimental effects on communities and the city center, stating that it is time to reassess whether a city center motorway is an appropriate solution for the 2030s and beyond. He mentioned that council policy calls for engagement with the Scottish Government to address the M8’s legacy and ongoing impact on the city center. Millar has personally raised this issue with the Scottish Government and initiated a formal conversation between the council, government, and civic society.
He expressed his eagerness to discuss the ongoing efforts at next week’s meeting and secure cross-party support for the council’s continued engagement with the Scottish Government on this matter.
Ultimately, this begs the question. Should the M8 be restricted to 30 mph for a greener future?
