GREENS CALL FOR ACTION AGAINST EFFECTS OF THE M8
Following news that pupils at St Patrick’s Primary School, on the edge of the M8, are distressed about air pollution at their school, the Glasgow Green Group’s Transport spokesperson, Bailie Christy Mearns, is requesting more urgent action from Transport Scotland.
Bailie Mearns had previously brought and passed a motion to Glasgow City Council calling for immediate measures, such as ‘greening’ and increased air quality monitoring around the M8, as well as a joint action-plan to see the M8 phased out of the city centre completely.
Councillor Christy Mearns said:
“I welcome the progress that has been made in recent months, with Glasgow City Council and Transport Scotland now engaged in more formal dialogue on these issues. However, it’s clear that a much greater level of commitment is required from Transport Scotland to explore longer-term replacement options in order to meaningfully tackle air quality issues, excessive noise pollution and to fix the public realm which is still so badly affected by the M8.
Unfortunately, it seems that there is still more focus on celebrating the success of the Kingston Bridge, rather than on repairing the damage which has been done because of it. Neighbourhoods have been destroyed, local residents live with constant noise and heavy traffic on their doorsteps, and children continue to suffer the harmful effects of toxic air on their developing bodies.
Given the vast amount of public money being spent on repairing the M8, which will bake in many more years of unnecessary air pollution, CO2 emissions and car journeys, it’s high time that the Scottish Government advocated for some of this to be directed towards a more positive end goal that supports people and planet instead.”
Scottish Greens’ Transport spokesperson, Mark Ruskell MSP, joined Bailie Mearns for a walk around the M8’s perimeter in the City Centre.
Reacting to experiencing the effects of the M8 on its surrounding areas, Mr Ruskell commented:
“Cities around the world are re-thinking their road space and its time for Glasgow to be bold and do the same. The M8 has for decades been a blight on the city and its time to think about how the road’s impact on surrounding communities can be lessened.
There is much progress that can be made in the short term while a long term discussion takes place about the future of the road. Priority bus lanes on the M8 should be delivered as quickly as possible to speed up journey times, while the M74 offers options for re-balancing traffic flows around the city.”