Sustrans launches new cycling networks

Sustainable transport charity, Sustrans, has launched the first in a series of new cycling networks in the UK. The initiative is part of a new UK-wide multi-million pound project to get people walking and cycling in their local areas.

Sustrans 'Connect2' network is funded by a £50 million Big Lottery Fund grant it was awarded after winning The People's Millions Lottery in December. According to Sustrans, over the next five years, "nearly £30 million a year will be invested in creating these local walking and cycling networks from Devon to Perthshire".

Nith Viaduct, Dumfries
Photo: South West of Scotland Transport Partnership

The first route to benefit from Sustrans 'Connect2' is the 'Queen of the South' Viaduct in Dumfries (above)... The former disused railway viaduct spanning the River Nith has been converted into a walking and cycling route, linking the Caledonian and Maxwell Town railway paths, joining up a route that stretches from Carlisle to Inverness on National Cycle Network Route 7.

According to Sustrans, the new path "will create a direct link between communities in the east and west of the town, enabling thousands of people to walk or cycle to school, to work or the town centre - to the benefit of both their health and the environment."

John Lauder, Scottish Director for Sustrans says: "Our ambition is that when you wake up in the morning, walking and cycling will be the obvious way to get around. Nearly half of all car journeys are under 3 miles, well within cycling distance and with the Queen of the South Viaduct opening today, walking and cycling will be a natural choice for local travel in Dumfries."

Other Sustrans' Connect2 schemes in Scotland include:
Glasgow's 'Bridge to no-where', which was abandoned in mid-air above a six lane motorway. Sustrans Connect2 will complete the bridge and it will form the heart of a network of cycling and walking tracks in the city.

A walking and cycling bridge over the River Tay connecting residents of Perth to Scone through a network of paths through Quarymill Woodland Park.

The towns of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse will be linked by a network of paths joining them to Chatelherault and Strathclyde Country Parks.

Across the UK, projects soon to get underway include a reinstated ferry at Blyth, Northumberland which last operated 30 years ago; a bridge across the River Ely at Tiger Bay in Cardiff; a new walking and cycling bridge over the railway line in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland, that will connect communities to the town centre and the opening of a bridge designed by Brunel, near his Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol.

The National Cycle Network already weaves across nearly 2,000 miles of Scotland. Some 39 million journeys are made on the National Cycle Network in Scotland every year.

For more information, see: www.sustrans.org.uk.