Active travel means a mode of transport which involves physical activity to get from one destination to another – including travel to and from the places we live, work, learn, visit and play. Active travel includes walking (including wheelchair and scooter use) and cycling, with several benefits. It’s good for health as it’s a way of being active within your normal daily routine. It can also be quicker than taking the car, reduce congestion, lower air pollution, and save money on fuel, running costs and parking compared to driving.

A 20-minute neighbourhood is a community designed such that residents can access all their daily needs within a 20-minute walk or bike ride. It includes a mix of land uses, such as housing, shops, services, schools, parks, and public transportation. The concept aims to reduce car dependency and promote sustainability, liveability, and equity in urban planning. The idea has gained popularity globally, with some cities implementing policies to encourage 20-minute neighbourhoods.

The local authority Dumfries and Galloway Council (D&GC) have secured funding from Sustrans who in turn are appointed administrators of the Scottish Government Active Travel budget. Sustrans are a registered charity that are the custodian of the National Cycle Network – the UK-wide network of over 12,000 miles of signed paths and routes for walking, wheeling, cycling and exploring outdoors. The council have commissioned Narro Associates and Connected Transport Planning Ltd to provide support.

The purpose of this consultation is to gain your views, aspirations, and concerns about walking, cycling, and wheeling within your community. This feedback will be used to shape the proposals developed. This consultation is one of a number that will be undertaken as part of the project.

The PfE program supports the grant funding to worthy projects ranging from ideas and ambitions to existing designs. The programme is provided in incremental Stages 0-7. Each stage has a different focus.  More details on PfE can be obtained via the Sustrans PfE Video link from the virtual room home page (TAB 2).

The initial study will focus on agreeing the right route corridor to develop. Once the route has been identified we will evaluate a range of design options using the guidance provided within Transport Scotland’s Cycling by Design 2021 guidance. Measures that will be considered will include restricting access to some roads by vehicles and creating new shared purpose cycle and walking paths.

The study is investigating all the potential options to deliver a safe, attractive, and coherent route. This will involve the consideration of various facilities that include the following:

• Reducing non-essential traffic flow;
• Improving the ‘place’ to be more welcoming to pedestrians and cyclists;
• Creating opportunity to make better use road space;

The area being considered has received funding support through an application process.

Changes to the design can be considered as part of a future stage 3 process but you must use our survey feedback to communicate your views.

The study funding has been allocated by the current elected Scottish government to support and encourage travel behaviour change through the promotion of active travel. The funding is ringfenced for this purpose only and cannot be used for any other purpose. Any Design will require to consider how any improvement can be maintained by the council. Designing to minimize future maintenance is a core design consideration.

Absolutely. Any resident, worker, or visitor could be impacted by this project. The more feedback that is received, the more likely the proposals put forward by the consultants will be refined to the desires of the community. Each piece of feedback and each completed survey will be reviewed in detail. Therefore, your feedback is crucial to the direction of the project.

The consultants will be attending local venues during the consultation, which provides the opportunity for you to visit and discuss the project in more detail. There will be consultation material at the venues to provide the same level of detail to what is available online. This will include paper copies of the survey. Alternatively, staff in attendance at the venues will be happy to support you in completing the survey online.

The purpose of this consultation is to seek stakeholder views as part of the feasibility study into the proposed options. This will allow the future direction of the scheme to be determined. After the consultation, all comments will be reviewed and proposals will be progressed to allow concept designs to be produced.

At this stage costs are unknown. However, as part of the feasibility study, high level costs will be provided to allow schemes to be prioritised. The outcome of the feasibility study will be published upon completion (subject to the council’s approval.)

The purpose of the feasibility study is to understand what can and cannot be delivered. At this stage, there is no certainty that a design will be delivered. Following completion of the study, it will be necessary to secure funding and further design work will be required to provide more robust cost estimates. If and when proposals are ready to be progressed to a delivery stage, further consultation will be carried out. Support at this stage is vital to future project delivery.