Call on Glasgow City Council to Scrap EERR3

We’re in a climate emergency. But Glasgow City Council is still clinging on to a 1960s plan to build a giant motorway through the east end. 

Greens voted against the new road at every turn. On 28th October, we’re calling for the SNP Council to scrap EERR3, and instead transform the old Riddrie railway line alongside Alexandra Park into a new route for walking and cycling.

We want to invest in neglected Hogarth Park instead of building a road through it, and transform the railway line from a fly-tipping magnet to a better way for people to get to the Forge, the new Parkhead Health Hub and beyond.

1960s car-centric design has failed Glasgow - it's time to move into the 21st century and tackle the climate crisis. Please write to the Council and ask the SNP to support the Green motion to cancel EERR3. 

What is EERR3?

East End Regeneration Route Phase 3 is a planned 4 lane flyover from the Forge roundabout, through Hogarth Park and under Cumbernauld Road.

It would bring more traffic, more pollution, and more noise to residents in the part of the city with the lowest car ownership rate. 

The EERR was Labour’s project to ‘regenerate’ the east end by building a giant road right through it. Phase 1 & 2 have already happened - the huge 4 lane road from the M74 to the Parkhead roundabout, with dangerous cycle lanes - so this means Phase 3 actually still has planning permission and could be built at any moment, with no community consultation.  

In 2016/2017, the council under Labour control spent £500K to prepare a full Business Case on the flyover. Greens voted against this and for the money to be used for active travel instead but Labour overruled. No business case has been presented to committee since.

In 2021, SNP Council leaders revived the flyover idea by including it on a list of projects for UK Government funding. Greens voted against, but the SNP said more work is needed before we know enough to cancel it. 

We already know there’s a climate emergency. We also already know that transport is Scotland’s biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions; that car and van use accounts for over half of these emissions; and we know that building new roads creates more traffic.

We also know enough of the impact of motorway-centric design in our city. In the north east, we already live with increased noise and air pollution from the M8. But it’s also a physical barrier that’s hard to get around - the underpasses feel unsafe to use, they’re impossible for buggies and wheelchairs and they’re magnets for flytipping and broken glass. We do not need another massive road cutting our communities in half.

What the east end actually needs is safe ways for people to get around. The 2020 Transport Consultation showed that Glasgow’s residents want to see:

• Better environments for walking 

• More restrictions on traffic 

• More segregated cycle tracks/safer places to cycle 

• Better access to cycles and cycling support

Making our city greener is also a chance to make it better for everyday life. 

The old railway line bed that runs alongside Alexandra Park at Provan Road and down underneath Cumbernauld Road, through Hogarth Park and down to the Forge could be a new park - a new walking, wheeling and cycling route. 

This would give communities in the north east a brand new connection to get to the Forge shopping centre and the forthcoming new Parkhead Health Hub. Plus, Hogarth Park has been neglected for years because a road might be built right through it. With a new walking and cycle route through it, it would be a better used, safer space for the community. And with stretched Council budgets, this would be a much better use of money than the £60million price tag for EERR3.

We have all the reasons we need. Please sign and share our petition today to call on the Council to scrap EERR3.