News on Active Perth Proposals

Hello!

First of all, hello to our new subscribers - we seem to have gained a few since we last released some news, which is great to see!

First thing first; we have some engagement coming up this weekend. Staff will be present at the Zero Waste Perth outlet in St John's Shopping Centre (South Street entrance) on Saturday 16th March, between 12-4pm. So please come along to discuss our proposals if you have the time!

We are aware there has been some negative comments on our proposals, but then bold statements will always split opinion and there is nothing wrong with people disagreeing with what we are proposing. What we do want to do is have an informed debate and that is why we will be in Perth on Saturday.

Some of the comments focus on some topics below and we want to try and de-myth some of these:

Nobody will use the cycle lanes - Built properly, cycle lanes offer an efficient form of transport and this is how we view them. The lanes will be part of a wider network and will be designed to provide people with a quicker route over a short distance. If people choose to take the car, that is ok! But there are plenty of people who want to see cycle lanes in Perth and this was backed up in the Bike Life Perth survey

Weather - Whilst it is Scottish tradition to think it rains everyday or 'all the time'....it doesn't. In fact, the climate with Perth is a lot drier to settlements on the west coast of Scotland. And for short journey's, there is plenty of opportunity for people to choose a bike or walk, over the car.

'We aren't Copenhagen or Amsterdam' - Very true. This is Perth, where there is a lot of flat streets, with some climbs. That said, this is about people and people want convenience. They want to get from A to B quickly and over short journey's, a bike is a lot more efficient than a car. It's also cheaper to use and takes up less space to park.

We recognise there is a place for the car, particularly with those in rural communities and limited mobility. We also understand that people won't look to use a bike every day and every journey, and that is completely fine! What we want to do is provide people with an alternative to the car for short journey's which will allow efficient movement across the city centre. By designing the network properly and delivering high quality segregated lanes, we are quietly confident that people will use the lanes, especially children. And ultimately that is what the investment is about - safer streets for people.

Posted on 14th March 2019

by Michael Morgan