Glasgow's extensive £21.3 million Avenues Plus programme, a key component of the city centre's largest transformation in 50 years, is now in full swing.

Projects are active on the eastern, northern, and southern fringes of the city centre, aiming to create more attractive streets with improved pavements, roads, new trees, cycle lanes, and innovative rain gardens.

Councillor Angus Millar, Convener for City Centre Recovery, Transport and Climate at Glasgow City Council, recently visited the Duke Street and John Knox Street Avenues Plus project to mark its progress. He was joined by Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, and Fiona MacLeod, Director of Sustrans for Scotland, Cymru and Northern Ireland.

Current works are being delivered at Duke Street & John Knox Street, Cowcaddens Road & Dobbie's Loan, and South Portland Street. The Duke Street and John Knox Street Avenue project, for instance, will feature 30 new trees to help reduce pollution, resurfaced roads, widened and resurfaced pavements, new kerbing, and cycle paths. A notable environmental feature includes rain gardens designed to treat rainwater runoff before it's discharged into the historic Molendinar Burn, helping to reduce local flooding risks and improve water quality.

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The Avenues Plus programme, expected to be completed in Spring 2026, is funded through Tier 2 of the Scottish Government's Active Travel Infrastructure Fund for 2025-26.

Councillor Millar stated: "The Avenues Plus programme will help to transform areas on the fringes of Glasgow City Centre, with the current work on Duke Street and John Knox Street complementing the tremendous amount of regeneration and homebuilding that is currently taking place there. The programme is a key part of the regeneration of these areas, making them more attractive and vibrant places to live in and visit, improving the local environment and making it easier for everyone to travel in different ways."

Fiona Hyslop highlighted the Scottish Government's significant investment in active travel, with over £9.5 million specifically for this project, part of a wider £188 million commitment in 2025-26 for active and sustainable transport. Fiona MacLeod from Sustrans added that the improvements would give Glaswegians "the confidence and choice to get around the city in ways that benefit their health and the local environment," especially as nearly half of Glasgow households do not have access to a car.