Highland Council starts to deliver safe walking and cycling routes in response to coronavirus pandemic
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Highland Council is delivering the first in a series of active travel interventions across Highland in response to the coronavirus crisis.
After a successful award of £752,954 from the Scottish Government’s Spaces for People fund the council says it is receiving strong public support for interventions to make walking and cycling in the city weasier, with 77 per cent of comments submitted to a consultation agreeing with the interventions proposed.
The council has also been engaging with Stagecoach, Inverness Business Improvement District and other key stakeholders.
Feedback from these parties has raised some concerns, the council says, but also some support, recognising the need to ensure people can physically distance to combat the current pandemic crisis.
Officers are investigating options for "more complex" routes, based on the feedback received but impler interventions, like upgrading paths into Raigmore Hospital and removing active travel pinch points, are either being delivered or are about to commence, with some simply awaiting delivery of materials.
The council's head of infrastructure, Colin Howell said: "We are now moving rapidly into the implementation stage.
"It is crucial that we keep momentum to maximise the public health benefits of this project.
"We recognise there are some concerns and, as we begin to roll-out measures, we encourage people to continue to comment using the consultation portal.
"It is very common for changes in traffic management to create issues in the initial days after implementation but, as people get used to them and adjust their travel behaviour, these issues normally settle down.
"Therefore, we ask that people are patient and understand the public health reasons behind these interventions."
Inverness Provost Helen Carmichael said: "We are grateful to the stakeholders that have engaged with us so far in this essential project and I encourage others to go online and have their say.
"It is important that people recognise these measures are being put in place to protect public health, which must be the priority in this crisis.
"We’re taking bold steps to create a fair share of street space for people walking, wheeling and cycling and as such, this project forms an essential component in the post-Covid recovery and regeneration of Inverness.”
Councillor Trish Robertson, chairwoman of the council’s economy and infrastructure Committee said: "It is fundamental that communities and workers can move around using active travel and that we create safe ways for people to maintain physical distancing.
"The temporary measures being delivered are flexible so, by continuing our online conversation, we can monitor and respond to any issues that emerge during this rapidly evolving situation.
"As we transition out of lockdown, we all emerge with a different understanding and appreciation of space.
"I hope that we can learn from this experience and make walking, wheeling and cycling a bigger part of our everyday travel, which will have multiple other benefits to our health, climate and air quality, not to mention reducing congestion."
Take part in the online consultation here
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