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Active travel campaigners are set to be formally congratulated on their efforts after a Green MSP tabled a motion to the Scottish Parliament


By Scott Maclennan

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Highlands and Islands Greens MSP Ariane Burgess.
Highlands and Islands Greens MSP Ariane Burgess.

Campaigners for active travel in the Highlands are set to be formally congratulated on their efforts after a Green MSP tabled a motion to the Scottish Parliament.

Critical Mass and its younger iteration Kidical Mass have been staging ride-outs for “wheelers” to call for better infrastructure so cyclists are safe on the roads.

Critical Mass is part of a global movement where people of all ages cycle and wheel together to demonstrate that people who use “non-polluting forms of transport should be able to travel safely on the roads”.

The aims are to encourage demand for better active travel infrastructure in the city and community connection bringing people with a common interest a public voice.

Kat Heath, from Critical Mass, said: “Around 50 people arrived at Falcon Square with their bikes and lights, including Ariane Burgess, Greens MSP for the Highlands and Islands.

“The mascot was a group member’s fantastic cargo bike with a skeleton passenger and Critical Mass flag. Some might think the skeleton was an overstatement, but as 4.2 million deaths worldwide per year are attributable to air pollution it is actually stark reality.”

Two days later Ms Burgess lodged a motion calling on Holyrood to congratulate participants on an earlier Kidical Mass event and to recognise that “this was part of a worldwide event to advocate safe spaces for active travel, especially for young people”.

She said: “I am delighted to join people of all ages from across Inverness to highlight the need for safer active travel infrastructure so more people living in and around the city who want to cycle or wheel in the city can do so safely.

“Safe routes and well-designed 20-minute neighbourhoods in more urban areas need to be combined to help us make choices that are good for people and the planet. I’m riding out with the Critical Mass community to call for safe and easy to use walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure to be installed.”

Related Story – Spaces for People: Inverness Castle one-way system ditched but Academy Street bollards will stay while the Millburn Road cycle lane is to be shortened


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