Tag: Blogs

To mark Clean Air Day, Sustrans Scotland are inviting members of the public to share their views on the current conditions and issues along the streets and the types of improvements they would like to see, as part of a new “Meadows to George Street: Streets for People” project.

This initial engagement from the public in the project forms part of a series of events and activities over the summer which will gather the views of anyone who uses the route or who has an interest in it. People are invited to visit the project webpage to sign up for updates and share their views via the online Placecheck tool.

“Meadows to George Street: Streets for People” is funded by the Scottish Government through Sustrans Scotland’s “Community Links PLUS design competition”. It aims to transform this busy transport route in the heart of historic Edinburgh by significantly enhancing the quality of walking, cycling and public spaces. The project will extend along Hanover Street, The Mound, George IV Bridge, Forrest Road, Bristo Place and Teviot Place.

Sustrans Scotland head of infrastructure, Matthew Macdonald said:

“The ‘Meadows to George Street’ project will vastly improve the experience for people walking and cycling in Edinburgh and help create safe, coherent and attractive routes through the city centre.

“The City of Edinburgh Council have demonstrated real vision in their proposal and has shown they are keen to improve journeys for people on foot and on bikes, of all abilities, across the capital.”

As part of a City Summit to mark the International Clean Air Day, City of Edinburgh Council will hold a series of events, including closing one of Edinburgh’s central streets to cars and having a procession led by Scotland’s Transport Minister, Humza Yousaf.

Sustrans Scotland’s National Director, John Lauder said:

“Clean air has never been more important, and the need for action never more urgent.  Walking and cycling are all steps people can take to do their bit in reducing emissions, while improving their health. In contrast, poor quality air has been shown to cause a whole range of health problems. The best and easiest way to deal with air pollution in cities is to reduce the number of cars in congested urban spaces.”

Find out more about how we are working towards improving air quality

Read more about our Community Links PLUS Projects  

Update 31/08/2019: Community Links PLUS has become part of Places for Everyone. Details for the new programme can be found here.

Sustrans recognises the importance of bringing partners together from across the country to share learning and best practice which is why, four years ago, we started our Raising The Standards Day.

Packed with interactive workshops, presentations and cycle study tours, the day encourages partners and stakeholders who we work with through our Community Links grant funding, to think about how we can recalibrate our streets in favour of people.

Raising future standards

In light of the Scottish Government’s recent commitment to double the budget for active travel, we have never had a better opportunity to raise the standards and ambition across Community Links and Community Links PLUS programmes.

This increase in funding is an opportunity to demonstrate what we can do for our communities when we design places and spaces that work for people, and not just vehicles.

There will be a lot of eyes on our sector over the next three years, and we want to give them something positive to talk about.

Working with our partners, it is essential that we deliver well planned projects that link communities to infrastructure through exemplary community engagement, and bring together strategic partnerships across sectors, organisations and departments, to maximise our reach and impact.

Making a difference to policy

The projects that we have already delivered in partnership through our infrastructure programmes, have and are influencing key decision makers across Scotland.

This was brought home to me when chairing the 2017 Community Links PLUS panel. Roy Brannen, Chief Executive of Transport Scotland, said he was blown away by the wealth of information, the quality, and the amount of hard work that had gone into the five proposals.

As time will demonstrate all five proposals are obviously worth funding, but I’m also sure they had a large part to play in influencing the government to double the budget for active travel.

Making a difference to people

Sustrans’ work is not only making a difference at these political levels of influence. Crucially we’re also making a difference to peoples’ lives.

For example you only need to look at the River Lossie Cycle Path in Moray, which is bringing out the locals’ inner child and breathing life into a long forgotten mode of active travel, the rollerskates. Or the resident of Milngavie who bought a bike after construction of the Bear’s Way. Or the Doctor in Dalbeattie who started prescribing walking and cycling after we built a shared use path.

Our work enables healthier lifestyles and we must continue to do so, ensuring that we’re reaching the communities that need it the most.

Moving forward

Our recent ‘Transport Poverty in Scotland’ report highlighted that more than one million people in this country are at risk of transport poverty – where a lack of affordable and accessible transport is a barrier to accessing essential services and work.

We can’t take our eye off the ball, and we must focus on delivering high quality projects that will lead to an ‘active nation’.

And, working together with partners and the Scottish Government, we will continue to deliver ambitious, high quality projects that will help enable more people to walk and cycle for more of the journeys they make every day.