Cycling Infrastructure Part 2

Why has the cycling infrastructure across most parts of the UK actually declined over recent years? - Why have local councils not delivered on their promises?... Why are there nowhere near enough cycle lanes across the region to encourage cycling?.. Has too much funding been given each year to charities who have simply failed to deliver?.. Did somebody in Government replace the word cycling with 'walking, wheeling and cycling' in the hope nobody would notice?

Another year has passed since our previous article on the state of the roads in Perthshire (9^th February 2023), and while Highland Perthshire still has fantastic scenery, the vast majority of roads and infrastructure serving this part of Scotland, especially in the towns and cities, remains extremely poor!.. so much so that here in Perth the local council has not delivered any of the new cycling lanes they had promised, or improved their cycling infrastructure since way before the Covid pandemic!

Therefore our guided e-bike tours for the 2024 season will try to focus on more departures from Pitlochry. Hopefully this way we can offer our guests bike tours that avoid all those potholes and unmaintained roads in Perth city centre.

All our tours that depart from Perth (to Dundee, Crieff or Loch Leven) can still be booked, and we will try to find more suitable routes that take us as quickly as possible out of the city centre!

We do cycle tours, but sometimes when environmental issues are raised they are worth pursuing.. especially when they have any kind of impact on ecotourism (sustainable transport) or conserving the environment

At HBT we hope to create a long-lasting sustainable tourism attraction, which will help protect the environment, but it would help if local decision makers could actually deliver the basics.. at present the roads and so called 'cycle lanes' in Perth itself are an absolute disgrace!

In 2023 the Scottish Government actually allocated £20 million towards cycling infrastructure, but it appears that Perth Council (PKC) never applied? - Why?

Or does this funding end up getting spent on 'consultancy fees' instead of the infrastructure? - From their website: Developed in partnership with Cycling Scotland, Sustrans, local authorities and following extensive public consultation, the shared actions will remove barriers to cycling across the country and transform our communities into healthier and happier places to live, work in and visit.. but then they are able to use their ‘get out clause not to deliver (again)’, by simply adding the words: supports the 2030 Active Travel Vision… So this way they then get to spin that particular PR stunt till at least 2030!

Photos; taken from a functional infrastructure in a modern European country - Cycling, trams and vehicles sharing the same infrastructure in Holland (main blog page photo), and banner photo: Bicycle parking outside Dutch rail station in Utrecht.. the YouTube video for their new additional underground bicycle parking garage in Utrecht city centre is below.

To follow; wheeling ramps or biker stair ramps in Poland, bicycle bridges built in the more wealthier European countries exclusively for cyclists to cross busy motorways or rivers, roads without potholes or crumbling infrastructure.. Across Europe millions are being spent annually for bicycle infrastructure, while Perth or their council PKC have not delivered any new cycle lanes or infrastructure since way before the Covid pandemic!

The previous article about an acceptable cycling infrastructure can be found at:

https://www.highlandbiketours....

Back in 2019/20, the city of Utrecht spent 30 million euros to build a bicycle parking garage in the city centre with 12500 bike spaces.. in total they now have 32,000 bicycle parking spaces within the city centre, but already realize that they will have to expand again from around 2025 onwards.. the comments from across the globe say it all really.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...