Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

1. What does Active Travel mean? Active travel means making journeys by physically active means, like walking or cycling or wheeling. These are usually short journeys, like walking to the shops, walking the kids to school, cycling to work, or cycling to the station to catch a commuter train.
2. What does Wheeling mean – in terms of Walking Cycling and Wheeling? Wheeling includes wheelchairs, mobility scooters, scooters.
3. What is the distance for the first phase of the new active travel route from Bridge of Earn to the Aberargie Roundabout? 3.3 km /2 miles.
4. What will the surface be constructed of? The surface shall be a sealed surface similar to tarmac footways.
5. What will the design and the widths of the active travel route be? The widths of the active travel lane shall be between 3.5 metres for the majority of the distance, with the exception of a shorter section on the Baiglie Straight where it will be 3 metres wide, as the available space reduces.  The adjacent buffer strip shall be 1.5 metre, reducing to 1 metre, again where the available width reduces.
6. Why is the active travel lane going to be so wide? There is a quality standard for the creation of active travel lanes, to provide maximum safety and ease of dual use.  Potentially two users could pass each other easily.  Primary funder Sustrans requires this best practice in all their design projects.
7. Will there be a barrier? If not, why not? In line with the best practice design guidelines, the design does not currently include a barrier but does include a kerbed upstand at the edge of the carriageway then a (mainly) 1.5m buffer zone with grass, creating distance for comfort and safety between the path users and the carriageway. 

   Further to the public response the Road Safety perspective has reviewed the accident statistics and taking all elements into consideration concludes that the risk of a vehicle leaving the carriageway is of low likelihood and therefore a barrier is not seen as necessary or desirable at this location. Barriers have the impact of increasing vehicle speeds as drivers deem, they are totally removed from the risk of footway users and so adjust their speed accordingly.

8. Will there be lighting? Solar studs are to be incorporated into the design to delineate the edge of the facility along the Baiglie Straight section.  Street lighting underneath the M90 flyover is being considered as part of the overall development changes in the area and so the responses we have received from the consultation have been passed on as part of these considerations.
9. Is the hedge going to be taken out? No, the hedge is not going to be removed.
10. Why has the northern side of the A912 been chosen over other routes? During the initial stages of the study, five route options were surveyed and appraised which included remote paths on the other side of the hedge from the carriageway and the existing route along the Dron Road.  The options appraisal of the routes considered accessibility, maintainability and deliverability amongst many other factors.  The outcome of the options appraisal identified the route on the north verge to be the most advantageous in delivering the aims of the project. 

    1.    Public consultation feedback is positive with regards to the proposed new active travel route which will compliment and link into existing cyclist friendly routes in the area. This new proposal provides a traffic free route accommodating the 5 core principles of route design for walking and cycling. In brief they are:

    §  Direct – Time & distance: this is the most direct route in the area, therefore, will encourage road cyclists off the A912 for commuting and amenity travel.
    §  Comfortable – stress free: smooth, wide, level, flat gradients, clear sightlines and no motorised traffic.
    §  Safe – Traffic, Actual and Perceived: visible, open and accessible for all abilities and disabilities plus traffic free enabling older children and youth trained up to Bikeability Levels 2 and 3 to use the facility if they choose.
    §  Attractive – Enjoyable and secure: shortest route between local village areas therefore a good commuter route, route to school and leisure facility.
    §   Coherent – Easy to navigate: no ambiguity of the route direction offering a consistent quality standard construction throughout.

11. Why don’t we use the space in the field, behind the hedge? The local authority has the power to create an active travel route adjacent to the carriageway along the Baiglie Straight.  The new facility in this location will be maintained by PKC Roads Maintenance Partnership. Landowners of the fields behind the hedge were approached at the start of the process, however they are not all in agreement that the active travel lane could be built on their land.
12. What will the speed of vehicles be on the road? There is no plan to alter the speed for vehicles on the road, apart from the areas at either end: on the approach to Bridge of Earn, west of the M90 slip road, and on the approach to the Aberargie Roundabout, the new crossing and the junction.
13. Does the new active travel lane need planning permission? No, planning permission is not required though Road Construction Consent will be required as the route will be adopted by Perth & Kinross Council.
14. How much is it going to cost?  And how is it going to be funded? Phase 1, including the urban section west of the M90 flyover and the rest, up to the Aberargie roundabout, is estimated to cost in the region of £1.6 million. 
15. How many cyclists or walkers will use it, has a survey been carried out? Estimation of usage is difficult, however as this project will be providing new infrastructure where before there has been none the opportunities to actively move around the area in ways to benefit health and the environment will be transformed. This is supported through an initial survey which has been carried out to establish that the long-awaited lane separation for cyclists and pedestrians is still much desired amongst the local communities. 
16. When will the work begin and how long will it take to complete? A construction date is still unknown, particularly as drainage designs for the Baiglie Straight section are still being refined.  With this some key agreements with Traffic Scotland and Perth & Kinross Council are still to be completed.  Currently the assembly of funding is in the process of being secured.  Phase 1, Section 1, from the eastern end of Bridge of Earn to the M90 slip roads could however begin in the Spring 2021.    This section is estimated to take 12 weeks to construct. 
17. Who is in charge of this project? Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust (PKCT), in partnership with Transport Planning & Engineering (TP&E) and in consultation with a steering group comprised of local authority officers representing planning, estates, transport planning, roads maintenance, community greenspace and road safety. 
18. Will the new active travel route be a National Cycle Network? Sustrans have intimated that the route, if constructed and to their required standards, shall become part of the National Cycle Network linking NCN 775 (Kinross to Perth) to NCN 777 in Fife (Newburgh to Newport on Tay). 
19. Will it feel safe, cycling so close to the traffic? A sense of user safety is an emotive, personal one.  There have been footways and active travel lanes beside busy roads for many years and the numbers of these are increasing.  By taking the pedestrians, wheelers and cyclists away from the traffic, an unacceptable risk will be mitigated.
20. How long will it take to cycle from Aberargie to the Wicks o Baiglie Road? From Aberargie Roundabout to east Bridge of Earn, and the junction with Wicks O’Baiglie road, a distance of 3.3km, speeds vary but somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes might be reasonable to expect. 
21. What about the crossings at the two roundabouts and the slip roads for the M90? Will there be any traffic lights? The two roundabouts (one is not as yet constructed, but shall be in time, as part of the Oudenarde development) will not have traffic lights, as it has been agreed that Active Travel traffic shall have the priority, denoted by signs and a raised section in the junction to the development. The slip roads shall have “tactile crossings” with dropped curbs installed as part of the delivery of the active travel facility.  When a defined milestone is reached upon a set amount of houses being built, the developers shall fit Toucan crossings at the slip roads, and redesign the position of these lanes.  It was hoped that this could all take place at the same time, however, to include the cost of the Toucan crossings, the landscaping and the connections to the active travel lane, in the overall cost of the construction would be an enormous additional cost which it was decided that this project should not take on.  Nor would the primary funder Sustrans be able to fund, as this is beyond their scope of support.  The tactile crossings are being designed however with minimal future modification costs in mind. 
22. How wide will the road be? The survey of road widths shows that most of the current road has an operational width of less than 6.0m ~ 69%. The initial survey shows that nearly half of this length at 31% show the road width to be at 5.6m. Therefore, the road corridor is already accommodating an operational width of less than 6.0m with sections operating at 5.6m. A further width survey as part of detailed design will be carried out to determine the true impact and opportunities the design can offer.
23. How will the road and active travel lane be drained when it rains? Currently, when it rains, the water drains to the sides of the carriageway, towards offlets cut into the turf and soaks away through the grass verge into the hedges and the fields, ultimately into the three burns/drainage channels.  The final design for the formal drainage system, is still in progress and is looking to emulate the current informal drainage system. 
24. Who will look after the path when the grass or the hedge needs cutting? The landowners maintain the hedge as part of their responsibilities. Perth & Kinross Council currently arrange the grass verge to be cut once a year. Further maintenance of the grass verge shall need to be finalised, but it is hoped that local landowners, supportive of the project could help with this future need, as the local authority continues to be challenged by its financial constraints.
25. Will the active travel route be gritted when it is icy? In regard to a commitment to future winter maintenance treatment on the A912 / A913 Active Travel Route by PKC Road Maintenance Partnership (RMP), it may be possible to commit to treating the A912 of the active travel route as a Priority One winter footway route. Priority One footway routes are treated seven days per week: 06:30 – 18:00 Monday to Saturday and 08:00 – 16:00 on Sundays. Priority Two footway routes are treated Monday to Friday between 08:00 and 15:00 but only after the treatment of Priority One footway routes has been completed. PKC RPM will carry out maintenance to active travel routes as required including winter maintenance. PKC RPM would not plan to clear snow from the full width of the active travel route, just a 1.4m wide strip with snow pushed to the side to sit on the verge/ buffer strip or outside strips of the active travel route. This is the same method employed to clear snow from the existing network of footways and active travel routes in other areas. 
26. What provision will there be for cyclists or walkers passing each other on the active travel route? The design of the active travel route is as a Shared Use facility.  Minimal signs and painted ground markings shall remind of this setup which is increasingly visible elsewhere.  The Baiglie Straight has clear sight lines and the etiquette of notifying users up ahead with a bell is to be encouraged. 

 

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