Lanarkshire commuters are being urged to plan ahead for journeys to and from Glasgow as the city prepares to host global climate change conference COP26, with “severe transport congestion” expected.
With tens of thousands of Lanarkshire residents ordinarily travelling into the city each day, officials are warning about the “unprecedented impact” of the event on the region’s transport networks, and add that “planned and unplanned protests are also inevitable”.
Stretches of the M8, M74 and M80 motorways are expected to be significantly busier than normal during the event from October 31 to November 12; and the overall transport impact will begin from this Saturday when the Clydeside Expressway, beside the conference site, closes for nearly a month.
Figures from the most recent national census, in 2011, showed that Lanarkshire had the highest amount of daily inflows to Glasgow of any of its surrounding local authority areas.
Those statistics indicate that an estimated 31,591 journeys were made each day from South Lanarkshire, and 28,034 from North Lanarkshire.
Up to 140 world leaders and 25,000 conference delegates are expected at the climate change event – including the Queen, US president Joe Biden and leading politicians, environmentalists and scientists from all over the world.
Transport Scotland head of events resilience Nicola Blaney said: “The scale of COP26 is unprecedented in terms of the impact it will have on our transport networks.
“We know that Hallowe'en weekend, Monday and Tuesday November 1 and 2, and Saturday November 6 will all be particularly busy and commuters should expect severe delays.
“This is due to a combination of road closures around the SEC including the Clydeside Expressway, and the additional demand on the network from those attending the conference.
“We’d urge everyone to stay informed and plan ahead to make the right journeys at the right times so we can keep Glasgow and the central belt moving as the region takes to the world stage for this once-in-a-lifetime event.”
Commuters and anyone travelling to the city are encouraged to use the Get Ready Glasgow website for constantly-updates information on impacted roads, alternative routes and congestion.
Transport minister Graeme Dey said: “The most up-to-date information including a detailed travel plan, maps and road closures is readily available.
“I would again urge commuters, businesses and the public to take some time to familiarise themselves with the plans so that we can all work together to help deliver a successful event.”
Denise Hamilton, head of Glasgow city council’s COP26 team, said: “This is going to be the largest gathering of world leaders the UK has ever seen; making sure it’s a safe and successful event for residents and visitors alike has meant working closely with organisers and police to agree security road closures and alternative routes.
“This event is so important that as well as world leaders, many activists and protest groups are coming to Glasgow to express their concerns about climate change.
"Their actions will have an additional impact and potentially unpredictable effects on traffic flows within the city.
“We’re urging everyone to be flexible and plan ahead – there will be congestion and disruption and some days will be far busier than others.”
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