More space will be made for people to walk, wheel and cycle around Glasgow after the city secured extra funding.
Glasgow’s Spaces for People programme has been given an additional £4m from Sustrans Scotland.
The money will be used to expand, enhance and maintain schemes supporting physical distancing in public places.
It takes the total amount awarded to the council for Spaces for People initiatives to £7.5m.
Temporary measures to tackle COVID-19 have seen footways in busier areas widened and pop-up cycle lanes installed.
The latest funds will provide Park and Pedal and Park and Stride facilities at satellite car parks, along with the roll-out of additional pedestrian priority measures at traffic light controlled junctions.
The money will also help fund the clearance of overhanging vegetation to make narrow footways safe.
Other initiatives to be advanced include the expansion of School Car Free Zones.
'Repurposing'
The earliest Spaces for People projects saw Kelvin Way closed to traffic to facilitate access to Kelvingrove Park, and the creation of a Clydeside pop-up cycle lane to ease physical distancing on nearby footways.
Spaces for People has also boosted cycling provision across the city, with pop-up cycle lanes now in use on the Broomielaw, London Road, Great Western Road, Gorbals Street and Cumbernauld Road.
Cllr Anna Richardson, Convener for Sustainability and Carbon Reduction said: “Throughout the city we have been repurposing our roads and footways to provide extra space for walking, wheeling and cycling and help people maintain physical distancing during the Covid-19 emergency.
"The breadth of measures we’ve delivered so far shows our clear commitment to creating the safer spaces necessary to help people get on with their lives and accelerate our recovery.
“These changes can also encourage more and more of us to consider sustainable travel as a viable long term choice that not only benefits our environment but also our wellbeing.
"I’m delighted that our second Spaces for People bid to Sustrans Scotland was successful meaning we can build further on the infrastructure we’ve created so far.”
John Lauder, Deputy CEO of Sustrans and Executive Director for Scotland said: “The huge interest and demand in our Spaces for People fund over the past few months, has made it clear that people recognise the importance and benefits which come with travelling actively and sustainably for everyday journeys and exercise.
“However, we also know that perceptions of safety, and the lack of choices for quiet or traffic-free walking and cycling routes to key destinations, is a key barrier to people considering a viable alternative to their car."
More information on Spaces for People is available at www.glasgow.gov.uk/spacesforpeople
