Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure & Connectivity Michael Matheson announced a package of support for councils to put in place additional active travel provision in the Scottish Parliament yesterday.

“It has been heartening to see an increase in the number of people cycling and walking over the past few weeks,” he said. “These are behavioural changes we want to see continuing during this public health emergency and beyond.”

The Scottish Government’s new support package includes a £10M ‘Spaces for People’ fund that councils can use to put in place temporary infrastructure such as pop up cycle lanes and wider footways. The fund will be administered by Sustrans.

Michael Matheson also announced that guidance would be issued to support councils on the use of existing legislation, which gives local authorities powers to quickly implement temporary road reallocation measures.

“I very much hope that local authorities come forward with bold, ambitious plans when it comes to implementing temporary active travel measures, following the examples of other cities, towns and places around the world,” he said.

Cycling activity in Scotland last week was 35% higher than the weekly average in February. Walking has also increased across the country since the start of lockdown, while demand for public transport is 90 to 95% down.

The Cabinet Secretary said that Transport Scotland officials are currently considering how travel behaviour may change as and when the country moves out of the current lockdown.

“This work recognises that physical distancing is likely to remain for some time to come and will have implications for how our transport system is able to operate safely and support people and businesses in Scotland.

“We need to consider the ‘new normal’ for transport and have a grown up conversation about the choices that need to be made.” He suggested that capacity on public transport could be reduced to between 10 and 25% of previous levels to allow for continued physical distancing.

Sustrans Scotland deputy chief executive John Lauder commented: “We welcome the Scottish Government’s package of support and we are ready to respond to local authorities’ needs through our Spaces for People fund.

“It’s clear that people across Scotland want to do the right thing during Coronavirus. They want to look after their physical and mental health. They also want to make sure that they are keeping to physical distancing guidelines while still being safe on our streets.

“With our local authority partners we have helped turn around this idea in less than two weeks and it’s great to work with a government that listens and engages so actively.”

(Photograph: City of Edinburgh Council)