Community bike ride to show the smarter way to travel.
On Saturday 30th January, Dumfries residents will be getting on their bikes with two cycle rides through the town to show how easy it is for local people to leave their cars at home and travel in more sustainable ways for their everyday journeys.
National sustainable transport charity - Sustrans - is working alongside GoSMART -a South West of Scotland Partnership and Dumfries and Galloway Council initiative - and the CTC - the UK's National Cycling Organisation - to show local people how easy it is to get around without a car by doing a cycle ride out to the newly created pedestrian and cycle route on the Queen of the South Connect2 Viaduct which launched in 2008. The route will take in the picturesque former railway viaduct spanning 170 metres across the River Nith which has created a direct link between communities in the east and north-west of the town.
These cycle rides are part of a wider Go SMART event being held in the town centre to encourage both residents and visitors to Dumfries to reduce their car use in favour of more sustainable modes of travel. The town centre will be divided into four areas for the big day - GoBike, GoWalk, GoShare and GoBus - to help give local people the information they want to travel in smarter ways. Sustrans will also have a stall at the Go Smart event with information about local and national pedestrian and cycling routes.
John Lauder, Sustrans National Director for Scotland, said "These cycle rides are a great way for anyone with any level of cycling experience to see how easy it now is to get around Dumfries by bike or by foot. Hopefully this event will help local people learn more about their travel options within Dumfries and how they can do their bit for the environment."
The Sustrans Connect2 scheme which includes the viaduct in Dumfries was the first of 79 walking and cycling routes to be completed using £50million from the Big Lottery Fund to create networks for people to travel everyday journeys by foot and by bike. Sustrans won the public TV vote in 2007 to bring the £50million from the Big Lottery Fund to local communities across the UK . More than 25,000 people live within a mile of the Dumfries scheme and are now able to walk or cycle to school, to work or the town centre - to the benefit of both their health and the environment.
GoSMART is the Dumfries Sustainable Travel Demonstration Town project funded by the Scottish Government Smarter Choices Smarter Places Programmes, SWestrans, Dumfries and Galloway Council and the European Structural Funds of the Lowlands and Uplands 2007-2013 programme.
A Spokesperson for GoSMART said, "The support provided by all our funding partners to create excellent cycling infrastructure in and around Dumfries will make it easier for residents to begin cycling and challenge themselves to GoBike. We look forward to Sustrans and CTC participation in the GoSmart Dumfries Programme. ".
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