Scottish Government plans Sustainable Travel Towns
17/03/2008
Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson today unveiled plans to encourage green transport in Scottish Communities:
From the Herald:
£15m to point the way for greener travel
For the harassed commuter at a standstill on the M8, it is a utopian vision, where dreaming spires nestle at the end of tree-lined streets and the only traffic noise is the ring of a cyclist's bell.
But now the Scottish Government and local authorities could have teams of advisers knocking on doors offering information and asking for views about how to turn the congestion-free dream into a reality.
In a scheme to be unveiled today, Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson is making up to £15m available over the next three years and calling for expressions of interest on a matched-funding basis from Scotland's councils to help create a series of "sustainable travel demonstration communities" across the country.
The communities would be a role model for others to follow, showcasing the very best methods available to encourage people to use more environmentally friendly forms of transport.
Several similar schemes have operated south of the border - in Darlington, Peterborough and Worcester - with some positive results. One area recorded a 14% increase in public transport trips, a 29% increase in walking, a 79% increase in cycling and an 11% drop in car journeys.
According to the government, all the results have been achieved through straightforward measures such as improving cycle and walking routes, better public transport links, more pedestrian-only areas, car-sharing schemes and discounts on bus and train tickets.
In Darlington, teams of advisers visited homes offering travel information tailored to individual needs, while collecting comments from residents about how their experience of local travel could be improved. The local council also found that simply giving residents free copies of the most up-to-date bus timetables led to increases in people switching from car to bus.
Peterborough witnessed a significant rise in cycling and pedestrian journeys after new paths linking in with rail stations, schools, hospitals and other public services as well as key town landmarks were created and illuminated by lights powered by solar energy.
The Scottish Government will fund local projects for all of year one, with matched funding from local authorities coming in years two and three of the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places project.
Mr Stevenson said: "This is an opportunity for forward-thinking towns to deliver lifelong changes in how its citizens go about their daily business.
"The effects of this policy could be felt across all walks of life, delivering a more vibrant Scottish economy, a less- congested roads network, a cleaner environment and a much healthier nation."
To read the article in full, click here.
From the Scotsman:
Drivers to be offered incentives in £15m move to limit car use
FREE bus and train tickets and cut-price bicycles could be offered to drivers to slash car use under radical plans being launched today.
Ministers want to encourage showcase projects to develop greener transport in communities across Scotland. They hope to repeat the success of similar schemes in England which have seen cycling increase by up to 80 per cent in some towns.
Transport campaigners welcomed the £15 million move, which they said was more than had been provided south of the Border.
Stewart Stevenson,the transport minister, said: "I want to see Scotland do even better."
Reducing car use is part of the ten-point Let's Go Green Together campaign launched by The Scotsman and the Scottish Government in January.
Cars and other vehicles are responsible for nearly one-fifth of Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions and other gases that affect air quality and health.
The Scottish Government has teamed up with Cosla, the local authorities umbrella body, for a three-year project to create "sustainable travel demonstration communities".
To read the article in full click here.
