"Ambitious plans to create cycling Kingdom revealed"
May be of interest to some from over the water... Dunfermline, and Glenrothes main beneficiaries.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure
£3.6M cycling investement for Fife
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Posted 10 years ago #
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The headline on that is "Ambitious plans to create cycling Kingdom revealed", which is obviously 'hype', but also slightly hides the fact that Fife has done a LOT over the past 20 years.
Not perfect or comprehensive, but puts most councils to shame.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Posted 10 years ago #
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I wonder if there has been any progress on Fife's plans for spending this money. The news article stated that work was expected to start in April. The only work I've noticed on my commute into Dunfermline is some pothole patching and a new chicane with no cycle bypass on one of the route their website shows as a cycle route.
They do appear to be working on their cycle minisite although I'm not sure how long that has been going on for.Posted 10 years ago # -
I'll ask my councillor who is in on this.
Dave C
ps, incidentally my local councillor (cyclist) says Fife aims to be the first council to spend 5% of its transport budget on cycling. The critical point here is SPEND. Apparently Edinburgh haven't been spending all their cycling allocation. Perhaps someone could confirm?
Posted 10 years ago # -
Sadly, the number of threads on here about how CEC is mis-spending seems to be growing.
Money for signage without joined-up-infrastructure is (IMO) a mistake!!
Posted 10 years ago # -
"
their cycle minisite
"Do you have a linkie for that? Or are you refering to the 'cycleways' website?
"
Fife aims to be the first council to spend 5% of its transport budget
"I'll help spread that rumour around, if we say it loud enough, and often enough maybe it will be real? Is there a timescale for that investment?
Posted 10 years ago # -
I may have mentioned elsewhere too, but I think Fife needs a 'Spokes Fife' type of organisation. Or expand 'Make Your Move kirkcaldy' to become Fife wide.
Its all very well throwing money at something, but if you don't know where to throw it you may as well burn it. I'm not sure if Fife is as well served by 'stakeholder' groups as perhaps Edinburgh and the Lothian's are... May give some focus as to *where* the money is needed.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Far too much "shared-pavement" garbage masquerading as infrastructure in South East Fife.
Posted 10 years ago # -
@baldycyclist
Yes I was referring to the cycleways site using council jargon.
My worry about their traffic free route from the South of Dunfermline is that it will just be the pavements adjacent to the dual carriageway with no easy way to cross the roundabouts.Posted 10 years ago # -
A bit of friendly rivalry between neighbouring councils on who can spend more on cycling? What's not to like?
I pass through Fife every week on the train. I have relatives living o'er the watter too. I cycle in the Kingdom frequently. If Fife Council want to spend money on cycling, I'm not going to argue.
Just one big ask: please, please Fife Council do something about the A985 near Limekilns. A pedestrian/cyclist footbridge, maybe. A signalled junction. Extend the shared use path alongside the road on the southern side. SOMETHING. Because it's an intimidating, hazardous stretch of road just now with no decent alternative, and no easy way to get across the darn thing.
Posted 10 years ago # -
My understanding, through my own contact with them (which I've allowed to drift) and others is that Fife Council plan to do hee haw about the A985, it being a trunk road and therefore the responsibility of Transport Scotland.
I'd be very happy if they did something around Limekilns. That's where I live and there's no place to cross the road safely between the Kings Road roundabout in Rosyth and the Kindcardine Bridge. Because it's a trunk road and that would slow down all the cars. Even the little gritty, glassy margin between the white line and the pavement (all hail the Marathon Plus) disappears leading up to Limekilns so you're right in the traffic.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Do you mean this stretch?
It is lacking in cycling/pedestrian paths on the south side. But there is a path here:
which links the path to the east of A (on the map) and Hilton Road.
From my councillor freind (who is looking out any Fife Council Exec statements), there is to be a cycle path from Rosyth to Dunfermline, and a new path from Glenrothes to the Michesal Woods Sports centre I beleive? I have asked it they could extend to the rail halt at Glenrothes with Thornton.
On Topic:
Found this via a search on Fife Website:
Cycling in Fife gets a £5m boost
(I don't know if  is some secret multiplying factor less than one?)
Posted 10 years ago # -
Posted 10 years ago #
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Aye, DaveC I know that path, and have used it many times. It's great if you're pootling with the family and want the scenic views from Limekilns prom. A bit of a detour though if you're heading to points west.
Still doesn't resolve how to cross the damned A985 to get to Limekilns Road, or Waggon Road. So if you're geading to Crossford or Dunfermline you're in for a hard time.
Don't get me wrong, I've cycled on the A985 on a number of occasions. It's just a really fast road, and usually pretty busy too, with plenty of HGVs in the mix of traffic. Often I'll head up the road to Cairneyhill, thence to Oakley. After the Elgin railway bridge there is a path on the south side which is quite usable, but nowt before that. Trying to turn right onto Limekilns Road, or Waggon Road during peak traffic flow counts as some of the scarier bits of road cycling I've done, and on balance wouldn't really care to repeat. Each time in dry clear conditions too. Which is a pity because once you are on the other side of the A985, those two roads are not bad at all for cycling. Even the A985 itself can be sort of okay at weekends, and mid-morning once peak commute time has subsided.
It really needs a pedestrian crossing of some sort though, probably two. One each at Pattiesmuir and Limekilns Road would probably do the trick. Another at Waggon Road would be nice. Just think, local residents would be able to walk and cycle to neighbouring settlements, and get about without needing their cars or a bus.
Posted 10 years ago # -
a new path from Glenrothes to the Michesal Woods Sports centre I beleive? I have asked it they could extend to the rail halt at Glenrothes with Thornton.
Aye, that would be useful.
Posted 10 years ago # -
From DaveC's link...
Dunfermline plans:
Once additional funding is secured, we plan to invest nearly £1.5m on cycling infrastructure in the first 2 years, including the key improvements of:
A traffic free route from the south to the city centre, via Queensferry Road
Improvements to the Linburn corridor
Improved city centre routes, linking the parks and the city centre
An improved, traffic free, east – west route through Dunfermline, along Carnegie Drive
Establish a traffic free route adjacent to William StreetPresume the additional funding came from Sustrans. Rest of cash on free cycle training in schools and for grown ups too. Looks like Insto and I will be waiting at least another 2 years for A985 crossings...
Glenrothes:
Once additional funding is secured, we plan to invest nearly £1.5m on cycling infrastructure in the first 2 years, including the key improvements of:
Traffic free routes to the Michael Woods sport centre
Establish a traffic free route from Pitcairn to Balfarg
Upgrade traffic free routes through Riverside ParkPlus the free bike training etc.
Other infrastructure includes:
Lochgelly to Ballingry cycle route - £340k
Kirkcaldy cycleway link - £80k.Posted 10 years ago # -
traffic free route is Fife Council speak for "shared-pavement giving way to private driveways and junctions every few yards", more often than not.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Looking at the railway line which goes from Charlestown round to Dunfermline, its a shame we can't get NR to hand this over for a path. I see the old line used to go into Charlestown and I suspect all the way to Rosyth, but has been cut short in the new (1970's) housing development at West Harbour Road.
Posted 10 years ago # -
There's a separate bit of lobbying being done by the community council over the Limekilns junction - the speed and volume of traffic, the accidents as people try to make right turns out of the village etc.
Fife's emphasis seems to me to be very much on leisure and family cycling. Tootling on a Sunday afternoon at a ceremonial pace - certainly no faster than a child with stabilisers.
Posted 10 years ago # -
"Fife's emphasis seems to me to be very much on leisure and family cycling. Tootling on a Sunday afternoon at a ceremonial pace - certainly no faster than a child with stabilisers."
Thisn is very muich my take on things, but hopefully with the new route along Queensferry Road (however 'off road' it is classes as), its a move in the right direction towards commuter routes.
Posted 10 years ago # -
@DaveC
The railway line stopped at Charlestown harbour, servicing the harbour and the salt pans and lime kilns in that area. There would have been no room for it to get to Rosyth because of the houses along the front at Red Row and the old Rosyth churchyard further along.The route is described on Wikipedia as "the Elgin Railway that ran from the Colliery round Crossford and then down beside Waggon Road and on to Charlestown harbour" and sounds much like what you can still see on Google maps. Now that the coal freight to the power station doesn't come through Dunfermline there might be scope to free up that line between Dunfermline and Longannet. Certainly between Dunfermline and Charlestown it's already overgrown and abandoned.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Aye I was checking that line out, as the bridge crosses the A985 so could be used by pedestrians/cyclists. On Google maps the line appears to run along to the west as far as Ironmill Bay, which I think is a naval armaments depot.
So if it's anything like the Leuchars spur, the line is basically disused but kept "in reserve" in case of WW3. They might just need to move some nukes or depth charges on the sly via the railways. Or something like that.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Fife's emphasis seems to me to be very much on leisure and family cycling.
Well of course. Everybody knows if you want to get to work, go shopping, or take the kids somewhere, you need a car. I mean come on, are you one of these weirdo tree huggers, or a cycling "enthusiast" or something?
OTOH, according to the Fife Council 'Cycle Dunfermline' document:
"In Fife, we’ve estimated that around 58% of trips are less than 5
miles. These are trips that could be cycled easily by many people."Does that include commuting, shopping and going to the pictures/theatre/park? Possibly.
OTOOH, though:
"We need to exclude trips over 5 miles (42%) from our estimation of what the CAPS vision mean to us all. "
Aye, because I mean you can't expect anyone other than "keen cycling enthusiasts" to ride a bike further than 5 miles. That's a long way you know! We're not all Chris Hoy.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Chris Hoy wasn't well known for going more than 5 miles!
Posted 10 years ago # -
I should probably read that and spend some time mocking them. Five miles. My wee boy was complaining that we hadn't cycled from home for POP this year like we did last year. Mind you, he'd changed his tune by the time we were back at Ratho and his legs were sore.
Posted 10 years ago # -
@amir, aye but that's who most folk in Fife will have heard of. Mebbes they ken Wiggo too, but I doubt it.
There's more:
To reach our CAPS 10% target, every adult in Fife (16 – 60 yrs) would need to do about 6 cycle trips a week..….
National statistics (2009/10) reported that cycle trips per person was 9 per year!Well I'm sure a few off-road, mainly leisure routes will sort that out. Maybe by 2020 there'll be a dozen more across Fife on top of the half a dozen being built/improved in the next two years. That ought to deliver 35 times more cycle trips by 2020, no problem.
To be fair, I suppose we ought to applaud the fact that:
a - 10% is seen as a target not just a "shared vision" or "aspiration".
b - Fife Council are actually doing something.Posted 10 years ago # -
Fife Council plan to do hee haw about the A985, it being a trunk road and therefore the responsibility of Transport Scotland.
Get onto Transport Scotland? Make common cause with your (car driving) neighbours who can't turn right?
A signalled junction into Limekilns would be a start. Maybe a shared use on the north side as far as Limekilns Road? Already some kind of pavement on part of it, IIRC.
Posted 10 years ago # -
If you needed a lot of journeys you'd probably be wise to consider the sorts of short trips people make once or twice a day rather than once or twice a week. You know, things like commuting rather than leisure.
Posted 10 years ago # -
"traffic free route is Fife Council speak for "shared-pavement giving way to private driveways and junctions every few yards", more often than not."
Such as here:http://goo.gl/maps/AJ9xB - a section which sadly spoils what is otherwise a fairly excellent part of many Tour de Forths. Google seem to have found a couple of cyclist who agree and take the road instead. It also always seems to be the point where I meet other cyclists.
Posted 10 years ago #
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