Falkirk Council has pledged to make "a real change in direction" as it aims to make walking, wheeling or cycling more popular than taking the car for shorter, everyday journeys. In the long term, that will mean big changes such as replacing space on roads that is currently used for on-street parking with wider footways and new cycleways.
The 15-year active travel and local transport strategies, which were presented to members of Falkirk Council's executive on Tuesday, is based on an extensive consultation on active travel undertaken in 2021.
It found that 75 per cent of people in the Falkirk council area use a car as their primary mode of transport, even for fairly short journeys. But it also revealed that while many people would like to use more active travel, there are barriers to them doing so. More than 50 per cent of over 65-year-olds said they felt roads were unsafe for them as pedestrians.
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The consultation also highlighted that while women are more likely to use the local bus services, many have reported safety concerns when using public transport.
Michael McGuinness, told members that it was important to remember they are not starting from scratch, as Falkirk Council has a 600km path network, that has seen £31million of investment over the past 25 years. This saw Falkirk receive the Rambler’s award for ‘Britain’s Best Walking Neighbourhood’ in 2019.
The report points out that more than 85 per cent of the population of the Falkirk district live within a 10km cycle distance of Falkirk town centre. With better infrastructure and more use of e-bikes, the council believes that journeys of this length can be made easier and more accessible.
Councillors were reminded that what they were agreeing to is a strategy and an action plan that will put the vision into practice will follow. Mr McGuinness hopes that the strategy will also unlock funding to match their ambitions.
SNP councillor Paul Garner admitted that establishing a network that is focused on active travel "will be challenging" but added that Falkirk has "a fantastic record" when implementing walking and cycling infrastructure. "This is a great starting point and we will endeavour to keep building a network that people in Falkirk can be proud of and will enjoy using," he said.
Councillor Anne Hannah, leader of the Labour group, said she welcomed the strategy but was concerned that such as extensive document did not have much to say about buses.
The council's public consultation revealed that local service users feel there is not enough information about public transport in their local area and the strategy pledges to improve this where possible.
Mr McGuinness said there were lots of elements that will come to the fore as the strategy progresses, including better public transport and safe walking routes to schools.
Conservative councillor for Falkirk North, James Bundy said: "Being anti-car or anti-private ownership is not the answer. We must make walking and cycling more attractive for short-term journeys. One way of doing this is by making it easier to walk and cycle in areas associated with busy traffic, such as Grahams Road and Glasgow Road in my ward."
