First image of possible Glasgow park over M8 Published duration 8 February 2017

image copyright Keppie

A picture showing how the M8 in the centre of Glasgow might look if covered by a rooftop garden has been released.

Plans for a "cap" over the road near the Mitchell Library have yet to be approved.

Glasgow City Council said feasibility work could take about 12 months, with the actual design work due after this.

The proposal is part of the Sauchiehall Garnethill Regeneration framework that aims to link the city centre with the West End by removing the M8 barrier.

A council spokesman said it planned to start procurement for the feasibility work in late spring 2017, with investigations and modelling expected to begin in autumn.

Feasibility work will include traffic modelling to investigate how to manage heavily congested roads while making the area safer for pedestrians.

It will also include engineering work, site investigations and economic analysis.

'Thin air'

The council is undertaking comparative research with other cities, including the team behind the Klyde Warren Park in central Dallas.

The park, described by on its website as green space made "out of thin air", was opened in 2012 and covers the Rogers Woodall Freeway.

A final decision on the M8 proposal is expected to be made in the summer of 2018.

Glasgow City Council leader Frank McAveety, said: "This is a truly inspiring project, but also one that is complex as it is ambitious.

"We must get the groundwork right and take time to create something that benefits the city while delivering a new public space that attracts and connects people and places.

"Coupled with the other projects coming forward as part of the Sauchiehall and Garnethill regeneration project will ensure that we make this a prominent place in the city's life."

Design company Keppie produced the picture to show how the public space over the M8 could look.

A council spokesman said the image was just indicative, and the planned location of the park was closer to the top of Bath Street in front of Tay House.

image copyright Google