Landscapes Under Threat - M74 Northern Extension
The proposed M74 Northern Extension is a five-mile mostly elevated urban motorway that will run to the heart of Glasgow, a city already lumbered with the M8 and its noxious effects.
The M74 extension is a project of the Scottish Executive which, while committing itself to reducing automobile use and a 70/30 ratio of spending on public transport versus private transport, has allocated no less than £375 million to this project alone, although costs are expected to reach a half billion pounds. No similar commitment has been made to public transport initiatives, let alone on a scale to meet the Government's stated spending objectives.
The road - initial plans for which date to the mid-1960s - will not relieve congestion, of course, but will increase climate change emissions (again contravening stated government objectives), while severing communities along the route and disturbing chromium-contaminated land. A Local Public Inquiry headed by the former chief reporter for the Scottish Executive concluded decisively, evaluating evidence on numerous points, that the scheme should be abandoned. However, the Transport Minister over-ruled and issued formal orders to build the road. Opponents have not given up.
This illustration is from an Environmental Impact Assessment done by the Strathclyde Regional Council, which was promoting the road but which no longer exists after local government re-organisation. The plans for the road have slightly changed but this set of images is accurate in terms of scale and proximity to buildings in the city's southside.
See the website of Joint Action against the M74 - www.jam74.org