CONNECTING GLASGOW Creating an Inclusive, Thriving, Liveable City PAGE 2 FORWARD The Glasgow Connectivity Commission was established by Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council, as an independent body. She invited us not to shirk from making tough recommendations. We chose to interpret the term “connectivity” in its widest We started from a variety of backgrounds and began sense, examining its role in driving Inclusive Growth, i.e. with different perspectives on what the ‘connectivity’ how the transport system connects economic value and problem is and what the cure may be. The city can take social impact, contributing to better life outcomes such as encouragement from the fact that our recommendations in employability through accessibility and in health through have the unanimous support of the Commission – this air quality, high levels of road safety and by promoting should give confidence to implement our policy proposals more active lifestyles. as quickly as possible. This is the first of two reports and covers proposals which It’s 20 years since I left Scotland to Chair the UK fall within the jurisdiction of the City Council: land use, Government’s Commission for Integrated Transport roads hierarchy and bus policy. In the second report, and in that time I have been impressed with the which we shall publish early in 2019, we’ll consider improvements that have been made in its transport policies which are crucial to connectivity within the city, infrastructure. Transport has benefited from devolution, and but are primarily the responsibility of agencies operating Transport Scotland has become a very effective delivery at the regional and national levels, including the city region agency, making significant improvements to connectivity Cabinet, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport between Scotland’s cities and regions, with rail and road and Transport Scotland. links transformed. We will make recommendations in that report on how to It is now time for the Scottish Government to sharpen its improve rail and road connectivity in the Glasgow travel focus on improving travel within Scotland’s cities and their to work area, issues of national importance, and also travel to work areas, starting with our only metropolitan comment on the current transport governance structure region – Glasgow. and whether its level of subsidiarity is fit for purpose. As the Scottish Government steps up its infrastructure In this initial report a great deal of our geographical focus investment ambitions, the Glasgow city region must has been on Glasgow’s city centre, the beating heart of the become the number one priority if we want Scotland to city region, as any improvements to connectivity must start deliver inclusive growth. Glasgow is Scotland’s principal here, reaching out through the arteries into engine for productivity growth, but it will fail to achieve the regional economy. its full economic potential until it gives opportunity to its citizens throughout the city. We adopted a parliamentary committee approach, taking written and oral evidence and we are extremely grateful A greater Glasgow, in every sense of that term, will make for the informed, robust and insightful submissions we Scotland’s economy stronger. This needs a national focus. received from such a diverse range of stakeholders. It’s Glasgow’s turn! I would like to thank my fellow commissioners for giving up so much of their time on a pro-bono basis. It should be stressed that we signed up as members of the Commission as individuals, not representing any particular organisation. PROFESSOR DAVID BEGG CHAIR, GLASGOW’S CONNECTIVITY COMMISSION PAGE 3 CONNECTIVITY COMMISSION PROFESSOR DAVID BEGG, ANNE LEDGERWOOD, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, GENERAL MANAGER, TRANSPORT TIMES ST. ENOCH SHOPPING CENTRE Prof David Begg is Chief Executive of As general manager of St. Enoch Centre and Chair of Portobello Partnership Ltd which specialises the City Centre Retail Association, Anne is one of the in strategic advice to clients in the transport city’s most influential retail figures with over 15 years sector; publishes Transport Times online blog; in shopping centre management. She continues to and runs a series of transport best practice drive St. Enoch Centre as a leading retail destination as awards in conjunction with the Department it enters its 30th year with further investment and the for Transport, Transport Scotland and Transport introduction of a new leisure offering to the city centre. for London. DAMIEN HENDERSON, IAIN DOCHERTY, SCOTTISH AFFAIRS AND MEDIA MANAGER, PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC VIRGIN TRAINS POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Damien Henderson is Scottish Affairs and Media UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW Manager for Virgin Trains. Prior to joining Virgin Trains Iain Docherty is Professor of Public Policy and in 2013, he worked as a journalist at The Herald for Governance at the University of Glasgow. 10 years, latterly as Transport Correspondent. He has been researching the transport sector Damien is on the board of sustainable transport for 20 years, working with governments charity Transform Scotland and steering committee and public agencies in the UK, US, Australia, of the Release Scotland partnership. Canada, The Netherlands and Sweden. He is currently Non-Executive Director of the ScotRail Operating Board. GARETH WILLIAMS, HEAD OF POLICY, ROSS MARTIN, SCOTTISH COUNCIL FOR INDEPENDENT ADVISER DEVELOPMENT AND INDUSTRY ON REGIONAL ECONOMIES As Head of Policy, Gareth develops SCDI’s major policy reports, including From Fragile to Agile: Working with local and national governments A Blueprint for Growth & Prosperity; Automatic… Ross seeks to create the conditions for For The People? How Scotland can harness the inclusive growth, developing projects to technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution effect sustainable, transformative change. to increase economic and social prosperity; and He recognises the need for a signal shift to Scotland’s Big Mo: Industrial Strategy, Inclusive the use of low carbon infrastructure, and an Growth and the Future of Mobility. accelerating use of digital technology. BILL REEVE (OBSERVER), STUART PATRICK, CHIEF DIRECTOR OF RAIL, EXECUTIVE, GLASGOW CHAMBER TRANSPORT SCOTLAND OF COMMERCE Bill joined Transport Scotland to establish its new Stuart is committed to the business success rail team, following the devolution of rail powers of Chamber members and championing the to the Scottish Parliament in 2005. He is also the economic growth of the Glasgow city region. Independent Chair of the Rail North Partnership Stuart was previously at Scottish Enterprise, Board, the partnership between DfT and Rail North specialising in urban economic development responsible for the Northern and Trans Pennine and the transformation of Glasgow. He Express franchises. qualified as a Chartered Accountant, has an MBA from Strathclyde University and an accountancy degree from Glasgow University. PAGE 4 A CITY OF CONNECTIVITY CONTRADICTIONS Glasgow is a city of connectivity contradictions and contrasts. It has the UK’s best suburban rail network outside London, where passenger numbers have grown exponentially over the last decade, creating a crisis of growth as even strong levels of national investment struggle to keep pace with relentlessly rising demand. On the other hand, its bus network, responsible for carrying Along with other successful major cities, Glasgow is facing a far greater number of passengers, has experienced the the key urban challenge of our times – how to repurpose steepest decline of any UK city over that same decade, transport networks built for the unsustainable, high carbon creating a crisis to decline, isolating communities from economy in order to prioritise pedestrians and create the city’s economic, social and cultural core. attractive, people-centred places supporting thriving populations in a clean and healthy city centre environment. Glasgow has also seen strong investment in its strategic road network, with the recent completion of the M74 and As Glasgow has such a disproportionately high amount infrastructure improvements on the M8, M73 & M74. Yet of its city centre space devoted to roads and parking, it has one of the lowest levels of car ownership in Britain, Glasgow City Council can make a large impact even with and these contrasts, coupled with relatively weak traffic its limited powers to act. As temporarily demonstrated restraint, create the potential for a rapid rise in car use during the Commonwealth Games, Glasgow can rebalance and congestion. its use of street space, reallocating roads dedicated to traffic, allowing the city centre to breathe, and creating These connectivity contrasts are reflected in, and spaces where people do not want to simply visit and contribute to, an economically divided city, where, in broad pass through but spend time. terms, two thirds of the population are benefiting from and contributing to growth and a third are simply being The city has shown how to get more people walking, left behind. If you live near a train station or own a car cycling and able to linger in a cleaner, more pleasant you are far more likely to be connected – and contributing environment. Pedestrian-friendly streets linking active to – Glasgow’s increasingly strong economy, which is places and usable spaces, where people safely enjoy being driven by highly-skilled, productive workers. a range of activities, can give Glasgow a more cosmopolitan feel. Glaswegians who don’t own a car currently contribute least to the air pollution but suffer