(Developed traffic)

• Glasgow's CBD


  • Developed in the pre-car era with medieval/Victorian sections unsuited for modern traffic
  • CBD streets are narrow, cobbled and follow a grid-iron pattern with many junctions, making it difficult for modern traffic to get around
• Major roads in Glasgow

  • Have to converge to cross the river Clyde, leading to bottlenecks at bridges over the rivers e.g. Kingston Bridge and Clyde Arc
• Commuting in Glasgow


  • Increase in the number of people commuting from dormitory towns and villages as more people live in the suburbs, leading to many people converging on a few main roads (e.g. Great Western Road)
  • Glasgow has major industrial areas at Hillington Industrial estate leading to large amounts of commuters out with the city centre
  • Thousands of car journeys per day in Glasgow are generated by through traffic, clogging up city streets unnecessarily e.g at the Charing Cross section of the M8
• Growing car ownership


  Related to high disposable income and increased number of 2 (or more) car families, results in >50% of employed people in Glasgow travelling to work by car
• Increased use of private transport for school run


  Can extend and expand rush hours
• Growing population in Glasgow

  Due to rural-urban migration, leads to greater pressure on the road network and the need to prioritise public transport
• Air quality in Glasgow's CBD

  Poor, can lead to increased respiratory diseases e.g. Hope Street most polluted street in Scotland
• Pedestrianisation of CBD roads

  1. Increased the safety of pedestrians in shopping areas

  2. Improved the air quality of the environment as there is less pollution
• Low emission zones


  Came into force in June 2023 to set an environmental limit on certain road spaces – restricting access for the most polluting vehicles to improve air quality
• Encouraging public transport


  1. Installing free Wi-Fi on buses/trains may encourage more people to travel by public transport as they can work on their commute

  2. However, many people prefer the convenience of using their own car especially in poor weather

  3. Queen Street station is currently being upgraded with longer platforms so more people can use trains and electrified lines mean the trains are much quicker and more reliable
• Partick Interchange


  1. Old grid iron streets plus increased car ownership caused congestion problems so new transport links were built

  2. This new development encourages more people to use public transport so can limit the impacts of pollution in the city centre

  3. The Transport hub is fully lit making it safer for women and young people to travel at night, and there are CCTV cameras in place
• New roads


  New links to motorway extensions e.g. the M74 help bypass already heavily congested areas, removing unnecessary through traffic from bottlenecks such as the Kingston Bridge
• Parking restrictions


  1. Parking restrictions (e.g. double yellow lines) and fines have reduced the amount of on street parking which allows the streets to be wider allowing more space for cars

  2. Glasgow city council have recently banned free parking on a Sunday to encourage more people to use more sustainable modes of transport
• Bus lanes


  1. Help speed up public transport journey times which make it more efficient and so discourage the use of private transport (cars)

  2. Bus lane cameras have been introduced such as on Glassford Street meaning that buses are more reliable and faster whilst also putting people off bringing their car into the city as they may be fined £60
• Strict traffic regulations in and around the CBD and a shortage of car parking facilities leads to unnecessary traffic flow as people search for parking