East Lothian Council’s Road Services Team secured over £2.5m in external funding last year to support walking, cycling, electric vehicle infrastructure, and associated promotional activities.
This came from sources as diverse as the Road Safety Improvement Fund through to Innovate UK funding for pilot schemes to help more people walk and cycle to work.
While Transport Scotland directly funded a range of projects such as new road crossings, pavement widenings, a new route to school in Wallyford and a considerable amount of design work, Sustrans were also investing in the strategic cycle network in East Lothian through their NCN Development Fund. Together these have allowed East Lothian Council to move forward with detailed designs for the Active Freeway, a new high quality cycle route linking Dunbar to Musselburgh. We eagerly await news of national funding decisions which will determine when construction can begin.
Designs for new cycling infrastructure in Musselburgh are continuing alongside the proposals for the Flood Protection Scheme, ensuring that the town will be fully connected for all modes of transport into the future.
A whole range of new bike stands have sprung up in schools and in town centres, and the county is hosting a new and flexible bike hire scheme by partnering with Brompton, the folding bike manufacturer. Another commercial partnership with Quarterre, will see modular Journey Hub bus shelters being established, and expanding according to demand.
Meanwhile, our car charging infrastructure continues to lead the country in terms of reach and innovation, with nearly 230 chargers now installed. Thanks to Transport Scotland we will shortly be trialling a mechanism for opening up the Council’s own fleet of electric vehicles to drivers around the county through on-demand car hire out of hours.
Councillor John McMillan, Cabinet Member for Environment, Economic Development and Tourism said: “Despite limited resources we continue to deliver on our commitments to support active and sustainable travel by accessing external funding. The webpages at www.eastlothian.gov.uk/roads, contain up-to-date information about all our major infrastructure projects which are in underway.”