12 miles of bus lanes for Glasgow 09 | 09 | 2010
ORGANISERS OF the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games are aiming to achieve something most of us motorists often fail to achieve when driving in the city; constant movement. But motorists in Glasgow should also prepare themselves for the introduction of more than 12 miles of priority bus lanes.
In the new transport plans which have been unveiled, the organisers of the games state they hope to keep athletes, spectators and staff moving during the event when thousands of extra people will flood into Glasgow. And they also hope to leave a "lasting and permanent legacy" for the city.
But before achieving that — and, most definitely afterwards — there's likely to be a bit of pain as the organisers hope to create a core route network of dedicated lanes on existing roads to transport the 4500 athletes between the athletes' village, training and competition venues.
It may not be the most flattering mode of transport, but the competitors and staff will be ferried between venues in a fleet of minibuses and coaches which will use the dedicated lanes where necessary. The dedicated lanes — naturally — will give them priority over other traffic in a similar way to public service vehicles in bus lanes.
But here's the frightening reality, tucked away in the detail: after the games, most of the 12.5-miles that will form the core route network will be transformed into priority bus lanes.
"Ensuring that Glasgow gets star athletes where they need to be at the right time in order to train and compete is of paramount importance," Glasgow 2014 chief executive John Scott said. "We aim to get athletes to all of the Glasgow venues within 20 minutes of the athletes' village, so they spend their time competing and not commuting.
"Not only will we be fulfilling a critical role to deliver an outstanding games, but we are using the investment to deliver a lasting and permanent legacy for the people of Glasgow."
Strange how Mr Scott chooses to use the word 'legacy' rather than expand and highlight the fact there will be more than 12 miles of priority bus lanes introduced into Glasgow's already congested road network.
The transport plan — the first of three versions which will evolve before the final version is published in 2013 — also highlights that other permanent improvements which would be left after the games would include new bus shelters, improved information and signage along the routes and better public safety through additional CCTV.
Additional CCTV? Now that's another subject worth discussing.
Jim McGill