Highland Council awarded more than £750,000 for network of walking and cycling routes in response to coronavirus pandemic
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Ambitious plans for a network of walking and cycling routes in Inverness have been awarded £752,954.
The changes – which will start to be introduced this week – are designed to make social distancing practical in a bid to reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus.
Over the coming weeks the city, plus other towns across the Highlands, will see a roll-out of temporary walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure along priority routes.
Highland Council is spearheading the work, which is supported by NHS Highland.
The money has come from the Scottish Government’s Spaces for People fund, which is administered by Sustrans.
The plans were revealed in the Inverness Courier earlier this month and a public consultation since then has attracted 433 comments.
The majority of respondents were supportive of the efforts and the council vowed to carefully consider feedback from people who disagreed with the plan.
The council’s head of infrastructure Colin Howell said: “As we move very rapidly from bid to implementation stage, we are working hard to ensure that these measures are rolled out in a safe and inclusive way that considers all users. Making sure people can safely social distance and move around using active travel are our key priorities.
"To ensure the best chance of these interventions being effective we are rolling them out now and encourage people to provide feedback through our council’s website so we can react to issues people raise where necessary.”
Councillor Trish Robertson, chairwoman of the council’s economy and infrastructure committee, said: “It is important that we continue to support and assist essential workers with active travel and create safe ways for people to maintain physical distancing, this may also help guide our future, given the environmental benefits in travel we have seen in recent weeks.
"These temporary measures will be flexible, and I stress that given the speed of roll out, we might not get every intervention right first time. That’s why we want to continue the conversation with our communities and would welcome feedback online to respond to how people are finding the new measures work or don’t work for them.”
Inverness Provost Helen Carmichael said: “The announcement today is a hugely welcome result for Inverness and the wider Highland region that we hope will bring about positive change in an otherwise challenging situation. We know these ambitious measures in Inverness are generating debate and discussion, which is what the consultation portal is there for. I encourage everyone that uses these routes to give us their feedback now and as measures are rolled out.”
Karen McGregor, director of Sustrans Scotland, said: “It’s clear that people across Scotland want to do the right thing during coronavirus. They want to look after their physical and mental health.
“They also want to make sure that they are keeping to physical distancing guidelines while still being safe on our streets.
“Providing funding support to Highland Council through our Spaces for People programme will make it easier and safer for people to travel around Inverness and other towns across the Highlands for essential travel and exercise.”
The temporary interventions proposed can be seen at: https://consult.highland.gov.uk/kse/
A council spokeswoman added: "The possibility of further bids into the fund are being looked at so the council invites the public to comment on issues being experienced in their local communities where further measures may be considered."
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