32 . Glasgow Business August 2014
WE’RE CENTRE
A multi-agency approach is championing Glasgow’s reputation as a world-class visitor destination, including the car parking issue
G
lasgow’s city centre is the jewel in the crown of Scotland’s most vibrant and exciting
city. We all appreciate it is the hub of commerce and employment, a place of education and research, and a world-class environment for shopping, entertainment, food and drink and visitors. Glasgow Chamber of
Commerce has long been a champion of increasing business opportunities and customer footfall throughout the city centre. Te Get Ready Glasgow campaign was a direct call to businesses to make the most out of the influx for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Te more who venture into
Glasgow to eat, drink, dance, browse and shop, the more sustainable and prosperous our businesses will be. However, we all recognise the increasing strain on both public and private transport. Te Chamber has raised concerns about a drastic reduction in city centre car parking caused by the extension of Buchanan Galleries. “Will shoppers think that
parking in the city centre is too difficult during the period and change their habits accordingly?” asks the Chamber.
Glasgow Chamber was invited
to respond on behalf of members to the Glasgow City Centre Transport Strategy, set out by the City of Glasgow Council. Over the past year, the Chamber has atended a number of workshops and met with Glasgow council officials to discuss the proposed strategy and methodology. “We start with a strongly
positive endorsement of the progress the City Council has made in the development and publication of the City Centre Strategy, the establishment of a City Centre Strategy Board and the commitment of resources to the City Centre team,” said Stuart Patrick, Chief Executive of Glasgow Chamber. However, on the Transport
Strategy, he said “a much more explicit connection” needs to be made between the objectives of the Transport Strategy and those of the City Centre Strategy. Te Chamber is concerned that private and commercial vehicles are being overlooked. “We believe an explicit
statement of intent to increase footfall through the Transport Strategy would reflect that aim. Te existing proposed objectives could all be achieved by modal
Royal Exchange Square, St. Enoch Centre (above, left) and Buchanan Galleries (right), are a big pull for people visiting Glasgow city centre
shiſt alone and especially through driving private motor vehicles out of the city centre. We would suggest that the role of both private cars and commercial vehicles in supporting business in the city centre is understated in the proposed strategy,” he said. Te Chamber’s survey showed
that a lack of car parking was a reason why many people chose not to come into the city centre, while commercial vehicles, oſten delivering food and drink supplies to businesses, faced increased parking fines. Stuart argues that the “needs of commercial vehicles
have to be actively considered and accommodated” when delivering to city centre businesses. “We wish to avoid a direct
conflict between the needs of public transport providers and those users of private vehicles but we feel that the current strategy focuses on bus travel, cycling and pedestrian use on the assumption that no additional measures need to be taken to address the concerns of private vehicle users,” he said. Te Chamber said that during
the consultation process it heard Glasgow’s existing car park capacity was under-utilised, which
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