The next phase of the biggest transformation of Glasgow’s public realm in decades gets underway early in the New Year.
Construction teams will begin the revamp of Duke Street (pictured above) and John Knox Street as part of the multi-million-pound Avenues Plus programme in January, with the South Portland Street Avenue project in Laurieston commencing in the same month.
The Cowcaddens Road and Dobbies Loan Avenues to the north of the city centre are due to begin in February. All the projects are scheduled for completion in late winter and spring 2026.
£21 million of Scottish Government investment, awarded through walking, wheeling and cycling charity Sustrans’ Places for Everyone programme, will help Glasgow City Council deliver the new Avenue Plus infrastructure.
This builds on the wider Avenues programme, funded through £115 million of investment from the Glasgow City Region City Deal and which is the biggest overhaul of Glasgow city centre’s streetscapes since the 1970s.
Transforming the look and feel of many key thoroughfares, the Avenues and Avenues Plus will better connect the city centre with neighbourhoods on its fringes which have been both experiencing development and residential growth in recent years and are key entrance points to downtown Glasgow.
Cllr Angus Millar, Convener for Climate, Transport and City Centre Recovery at Glasgow City Council, said the latest phase of the Avenues Plus were vital in creating safe, accessible and attractive routes in and out of the city centre.
He added that while there would be some disruption during construction, all routes would remain open and residents and businesses would be kept informed as the work commenced and progressed.
He said: “The city centre is experiencing a period of significant transition but so too are those communities on its peripheries. Some are unrecognisable from just a few years.
“The commission of experts we tasked with providing us with recommendations to improve connectivity around Glasgow proposed extending the Avenues out of the core city centre and that’s now happening. In just over a year’s time Glaswegians will see areas ignored for too long positively transformed.
“Some disruption is inevitable over the 15 months of construction, particularly given the importance of some of the routes. But the Council and our construction partners will ensure we do all we can to keep that to the minimum and keep Glaswegians and businesses informed.
“At the end we’ll have the high-quality public realm and transport infrastructure a modern European city like Glasgow deserves.”
As well as being a catalyst for continuing investment and economic growth, the programme is critical to Glasgow’s Net Zero ambitions by handing over more space to pedestrians and active travel, creating more city centre green spaces and equipping streets to better cope with flood risks with hundreds of new trees improving drainage.
The work on the latest phase will include extension and resurfacing of footways, new kerbing, road resurfacing and marking, creation of new cycleways, and the installation of rain gardens, which will help reduce local pollution levels.
The Duke Street and John Knox Street Avenues works are being carried out by Rainton Construction with a budget of almost £8 million.
The formal award of the Cowcaddens Road and Dobbies Loan Avenues contract will take place in early December and has a value of approximately £6.5 million. The £2.3 million South Portland Street Avenue contract is due to be awarded by the end of this month.
Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop said:”I welcome the start of the next phase of the Glasgow Avenues Plus project which the Scottish Government is supporting with £21 million of funding. This phase is supported through a £21 million award from the Places for Everyone programme, funded by the Scottish Government through Transport Scotland and administered through Sustrans. This phase will assist in revitalising Glasgow City Centre, making the area safer, more attractive and accessible for everyone living in and travelling through the city centre. Over £155 million has already been allocated to Active Travel this year by the Scottish Government, which continues to bring real change to communities across Scotland. The Scottish Government’s continued investment in these projects enable people to leave their cars at home and embrace a more active lifestyle for our health, wellbeing and climate.”
To secure funding via Sustrans Places for Everyone programme, all of the Avenues Plus projects due to get underway have been subject to significant stakeholder engagement.
Karen McGregor, Scotland Director at Sustrans, said: “Every time we choose to walk, wheel or cycle for a short trip, it’s a choice which makes a difference – and these small decisions all add up to something big for our health, our wellbeing, and the money we save. But we know from talking to communities across the city that many people don’t feel confident enough to make these choices. This isn’t fair. And this is why it’s so important to invest in safer and more inclusive connections which support more Glaswegians in getting around the way they want to. This phase of Avenues Plus will do exactly that, and we’re delighted to support the commitment of Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government in making this positive vision a reality.”
