A number of Glasgow businesses have spoken out about the ongoing Sauchiehall Street Avenues project, praising the impact it has had.
The £115 million Avenues programme, piloted in Sauchiehall Street, will upgrade at least 17 key streets across the city centre over the next six years until 2025.
Work in this area, which extends pavements and cycle lanes and reduces space for vehicles, is expected to be completed by the end of May.
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Now, some of Sauchiehall Street's main business people have praised the project, claiming it will transform the area.
Brian Fulton, co-director and co-owner of the Garage nightclub and chair of the Sauchiehall Street Avenue Project, said: "I think it's really going to make a big difference to how we use the street going forward.
"Back before the bid started people were really negative about the streetscape in the public realm so we spoke to businesses about what they would want from a street and public realm improvements was the main, overriding thing.
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"With the set up of the bid, it put us in a good position to lobby to have this as the first pilot project of the Avenues project and you can see here today the difference it's made to the streetscape compared to how it was four, five years ago."
The scheme, which will introduce green infrastructure, extend pedestrian walkways and reduce space for vehicles, have been separated into three blocks – A, B and C.
Block A includes the Sauchiehall Street development but will also oversee the transformation of Argyle Street, Dixson Street and St Enoch’s Centre into a pedestrian and cycle friendly city.
The Underline, which will connect the West End to the city centre via St George’s Place, Phoenix Road and New City Road, will promote similar routes.
Julie Douglas, co-owner of Cafe Antipasti said: "I just think it's going to make it a nice place to come to, a nice fresh look.
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"We've got these beautiful trees, really nice bright area. We're going to have lots of nice pavements, we're going to be able to put some more outdoor furniture out there, get that kind of European feel and I think it'll be a really nice area to come to and visit and just relax in, come and see shows and I think it'll be a really good incentive to get people down the area.
"I think it'll be really good to get the area active again, get some of these units filled. The more that's going on, the more people will come, so to make a beautiful street re-energise the area, will bring people back to the area it used to be with a really fresh look."
Gavin McGreish, co-owner of Campus, who has also worked in nine different businesses on the street since 1990, added: "I have worked on Sauchiehall Street in various businesses - nine in total - over the last 29 years and it's by far the biggest change I've seen in Sauchiehall Street.
"It's a very good change. I believe that once it's all finished, we will see a much more vibrant street."
A bid for fresh funding for the project will be submitted to Sustrans Community Links in mid-2019.
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