http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Tag: smoke mirrors shenanigans - Recent Topics en Sun, 17 May 2026 20:28:19 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=20807#post-357484 Thu, 09 Dec 2021 19:47:23 +0000 Morningsider 357484@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>It's that time of year again. The Scottish Government trumpets a £150m <a href="https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-budget-2022-23/documents/">budget for active travel</a> in 2022-23. A dig into the figures shows:</p> <p>£113.75m for active travel infrastructure<br /> £12.3m for revenue spend - promotion, cycle training etc.<br /> £23.9m Cycling, Walking and Safer Routes - cash paid directly to local authorities for cycling and walking (and other things - always a bit of a mystery this one).</p> <p>This is a record annual budget for active travel.</p> <p>The thing is, the last two budgets have also been annual records. Apart from a couple of high profile projects (South City Way in Glasgow and the like), I'm beginning to doubt that the full allocation is actually being spent. If it is, I have no idea what it is being spent on. Is it all being hosed away on upgrading paths in the middle of nowhere, so as not to upset any drivers?</p> <p>Also, should the Scottish Government really be channelling over a £100m a year through a third party (Sustrans)? I think the time for that is over. </p>