Publication - FOI/EIR release

M8 from Shields Road to Exit 15, 2012-22: EIR release

Published: 6 December 2023
Topic: Public sector
FOI reference: 202300336505
Date received: 31 December 2022
Date responded: 10 February 2023

Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.

Information requested

Twenty-one questions in relation to the M8 and Glasgow City Centre (the M8 from Shield's Rd. in the West, to East at exit 15). The timescale is for the last 10 calendar years.

1. Which measures does Transport Scotland consider to implement in order to reduce the harmful impact of the M8 on Glasgow’s City Centre?

2. How much (in total vehicle numbers, and %) of the M8 traffic is through-traffic, without a trip destination in the city centre? a) from M8/M77 west (~Shield's Rd) to east (~exit 15) and vice versa, b) from A814 Clydeside Expressway (~Skypark) to M8 east (~exit 15) and vice versa.

3. How many crashes are there on the M8 within the city centre boundaries annually, on average?

4. How many serious injuries, and how many deaths occur as result of crashes on the M8 and slip roads within the city centre boundaries annually, on average?

5. How often is excess speed a reason, or the main reason, of crashes on the M8 and slip roads within the city centre boundaries?

6. How high are the direct financial costs associated with crashes on the M8 and slip roads within the city centre boundaries annually?

7. How many tons of CO2, NOx and other harmful gases do vehicles release on the M8 inside the city boundaries annually? How much tyre and brake particulates are released inside the city boundaries annually? What are the health and mortality costs of this pollution? See e.g. “The mortality cost of Carbon”, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-24487-w

8. How high is the average (peak) noise pollution emanating from the M8 within the city boundaries, e.g., in dB at 50 m distance?

9. How strong is the health impact of the noise emanating from the M8 within city boundaries? How do you calculate/monitor/measure this? See e.g. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/02/traffic-noise-slows-childrensmemory- development-study-finds

10. How high are the total health, well-being and social costs of M8 motor traffic inside the city boundaries annually? Which value for costs per motor vehicle-km do you use to calculate this? https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800918308097…

11. How high are the average annual maintenance costs for the M8 and slip roads within the city boundaries?

12. How much would average travel times for through traffic on the M8 within the city boundaries increase if the speed limit would be set to 30 mph (20 mph, respectively) within city limits?

13. How much would the crash rate, and probability for serious injuries and death, be reduced, if one would reduce the M8 speed limit to 30 mph within city boundaries? How much if one would set the limit to 20 mph?

14. If the speed was limited to 30 mph (20 mph), how much less tons of CO2, NOx and other harmful gases would vehicles release on the M8 inside the city boundaries annually? How much less tyre and brake particulates would be released inside the city boundaries annually? How high would the health benefits of reduced pollution be, due to reduced motor traffic km, and reduced pollution per motor traffic km due to lower speeds?

15. If the speed was limited to 30 mph (20 mph), by how much would the average (peak) traffic noise level emanating from the M8 within city boundaries be reduced?

16. If the speed was limited to 30 mph (20 mph), by how much would the health impact of noise pollution by the M8 motor traffic within city boundaries be reduced?

17. If the speed was limited to 30 mph (20 mph), by how much would total health, well-being and social costs of M8 motor traffic inside the city boundaries be reduced annually?

18. If the speed was limited to 30 mph (20 mph), by how much could the lifetime of the current structures be extended without the need for 'essential repairs'? By how much would the average annual maintenance costs be reduced as reduced structural stress and strain, and wear and tear?

19. How many square metres of road surface could be released if you would replace the city M8 with a high-capacity urban boulevard that does not need long-winded slip roads but works with simple 90° exits, turns and crossroads?

20. What is the estimated increase of existing building and land value if the M8 was replaced by an urban boulevard with high capacity but low speed (30 mph, or 20 mph, respectively)? What is the total value of additional land that would become available by replacing the M8 with a compact, low speed urban boulevard?

21. If data regarding the above questions is not sufficiently known, what is the justification not to introduce and enforce a speed limit of 30 or 20 mph as soon as possible, in order to protect M8 road users and Glasgow’s city centre population from the well-known harmful impact of excess traffic and speed, until reliable data on the harmful impact of the M8 on Glasgow's city centre is obtained?

As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA. This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Response

1. Transport Scotland’s approach to noise in relation to trunk roads including the M8 is detailed in The Transportation Noise Action Plan (TNAP) 2019-2023, available at https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/43657/transportation-noise-action-plan-2019-2023- december-2018.pdf. This plan commits Transport Scotland to continue to ensure noise management is incorporated into all transport-related activities, across the spectrum of design, construction, maintenance, policy, and point-to-point transportation activities, to further seek to manage noise levels where necessary and practicable at Noise Management Areas (NMAs) and aim to preserve environmental noise quality where it is good.

In addition, the Glasgow Noise Action Plan developed by Glasgow City Council identified the following Noise Management Areas on the M8 around Glasgow. See Annex A. As part of a Transportation Noise Action Plan, five soundproofing barriers were constructed in 2020 at priority areas for noise management, however none of these were on the M8. We are currently developing proposals for further barriers where practicable at noise management areas on the trunk road network. This includes locations on the M8 such as Riddrie, where the environmental investigations are being scheduled to take place.

Road traffic noise on trunk roads, such as the M8, is comprised of three components: 1. vehicle engine noise; 2. vehicle rolling noise (the friction between the vehicle wheels and the road surface); and 3. driver behaviour. The introduction of electric vehicles will reduce engine noise at lower speeds, where the noise level difference between an electric and an internal combustion engine can be greater than 6 dB (A) at 10 km/h. However, at higher speeds, both types of vehicles become equally loud, mainly due to rolling noise. Transport Scotland has committed to a new standard of road surfacing (TS 2010), which is generally quieter than traditional surfacing material and this is being laid on the M8 as part of our ongoing maintenance regime. Transport Scotland is also working to manage modal shift and encouraging the uptake of noise efficient tyres to help to reduce noise at source.

2. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested. Therefore, we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. This is because Transport Scotland are not able to track vehicles movements on and off the road.

3. On average, per year over the last 10 years (1 January 2013 to 31 December 2022), there have been 39.1 personal injury accidents on the M8 and its slip roads.

On average, per year over the last 10 years (1 January 2013 to 31 December 2022), there have been 0.5 fatal casualties on the M8 and its slip roads.

On average, per year over the last 10 years (1 January 2013 to 31 December 2022), there have been 4 serious injuries on the M8 and its slip roads.

For Q3 and Q4 please note –

Transport Scotland only holds accident information which is provided to us by Police Scotland.
Transport Scotland does not hold information relating to damage only accidents (i.e., not involving an injury).
Transport Scotland only holds accident information for the trunk road network.
The accident information Transport Scotland holds is subject to change. e.g. we receive late returns from Police Scotland, who are responsible for recording details of injury accidents.
Annual Scottish accident figures are published by Transport Scotland on a yearly basis and can be found by entering Reported Road Casualties Scotland into your search engine.
From summer 2019, Police Scotland introduced a new system for recording traffic collisions. Due to improved recording and categorisation processes, it is expected that there will be an increase in the number of casualties and accidents on Scottish roads that are classified as serious. The evidence from other police forces within the UK that introduced the same system is that this increase will be around 20%. This increase would not affect an actual change in the severity of accident occurring on Scottish roads but would instead reflect more accurate recording.
Statisticians within the Department for Transport have devised a method for adjusting the road casualty figures to ensure that they can be compared over time on a consistent basis. Transport Scotland’s Key Reported Road Casualties and Reported Road Casualties statistics publications will present both adjusted and unadjusted figures. (Source: Transport Scotland Accident Manager Database. Notes: Statistics for Police Scotland. Date Period: 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2022. Date Extracted - 6 february 2023.)

5. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested. Therefore, we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. This is because this information is not recorded by Transport Scotland.

6. Transport Scotland produces accident costs that includes a human cost that covers an amount to reflect the pain, grief and suffering to the casualty, relatives and friends, and for fatal casualties, the intrinsic loss of enjoyment of life over and above the consumption of goods and services. The economic cost covers loss of output due to injury and medical costs.
The cost of an accident also includes the cost of damage to vehicles / property and the cost of police and insurance administration. The table in Annex B provides the information that Transport Scotland has available. We can also provide an average cost of an injury accident for all severities on all trunk roads for 2021 - £256,551. This figure is updated annually. How this figure is calculated can be found at page 51 in the Reported Road Casualty Scotland document, 'Reported Road Casualties Scotland 2021'.

7. Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy. The following tool developed by The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) can be used to model the contribution of M8 emissions in the city centre, therefore the information you have requested is available from Public Air Quality Information (sepa.org.uk).

8. We can evaluate levels of noise pollution using noise models produced as part of round 3 of the Environmental Noise Directive and published alongside the Transport Noise Action Plan 2019- 2023. This data is available on the Scotland’s Noise website which can be accessed online at: https://noise.environment.gov.scot. The key indicates levels of noise experienced in specific areas across seven bands, with noise levels in decibels (db) demarcated at intervals as follows: less than 55db; between 55 and 60db; between 60 and 65db; between 65 and 70db; between 70 and 75 db; between 75 and 80db; and greater than 80db.

Figure 1 shows noise pollution emanating from the M8 in the Kinning Park/Kingston/Tradeston area. The model shows that at a distance of 50 metres we can expect to experience average noise levels between 70 to 75db and 75 to 80db. Figure 2 shows noise pollution emanating from the M8 at Anderston. The model shows that at a distance of 50 metres we can expect to experience average noise levels between 70 to 75db and 75 to 80db. Figure 3 shows noise pollution emanating from the M8 between Townhead and Dennistoun, near the Royal Infirmary Hospital. The model shows that at a distance of 50 metres we can expect to experience average noise levels between 70 to 75db and 75 to 80db. These same noise levels are broadly experienced where the M8 passes through the city limits.

9. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested. Therefore, we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. This is because Transport Scotland does not record this information.

10. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested. Therefore, we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. This is because Transport Scotland does not record this information.

11. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested. Therefore, we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. This is because Transport Scotland only records maintenance costs for the whole route and not specific stretches of routes.

12. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested. Therefore, we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. The journey time of traffic were the speed limits to be changed to 30 mph and / or 20 mph would be a function of various factors including the volume of traffic and congestion on the road at any given time.

13. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested. Therefore, we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. This is because Transport Scotland only holds data for actual incidents.

14. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested. Therefore, we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. This is because this information is not recorded by Transport Scotland.

15. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have [some of] the information you have requested. Therefore, we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. This is because Transport Scotland does not retain noise impact assessment data which could provide accurate results based on this scenario relating to the M8.

16. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested. Therefore, we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. This is because this information is not recorded by Transport Scotland.

However, Transport Scotland’s approach to assessing the health impact of noise pollution is to apply the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) and Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) reports to provide an overall framework for the assessment of road schemes and the impact on health. It is also important that, where possible, the approach adopted is consistent with any advice contained within the other relevant documents such as PAN 56 and WHO guidance.

17. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested. Therefore, we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. This is because this information is not recorded by Transport Scotland.

18.While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested. Therefore, we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. This is because this information is not recorded by Transport Scotland.

19. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested. Therefore, we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. This is because to make any comparison and analysis between the road surfaces of the existing motorway and slips roads over this section and a theoretical road intervention is not possible.

20. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested. Therefore, we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. This is because Transport Scotland does not hold information on building and land values.

21. As part of the Road Safety Framework to 2030, Transport Scotland is undertaking a National Speed Management Review to support a range of policies that helps those Government national outcomes and indicators relevant to this area. Related policy drivers include better road safety and health outcomes, promotion of active travel, climate change mitigation, place making and economic growth. The review has commenced and will consider what appropriate speeds mean within a Scottish context. It will thereafter consider whether any changes to speed limits may be beneficial for specific locations on the trunk road network. The new framework can be read in full in 'Scotland's road safety framework to 2030'.

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