Cyclists will be taking a cue from local traditions next week with a demonstration planned on Friday 13th September to ride the ‘Missing Links’ in Dumfries’s active travel network.
Gathering at 5 pm at the train station, the group will ride a symbolic circuit of the gaps in provision, ranging from cycle paths that end without warning to inconvenient crossings and unnecessary restrictions.
Councillors and officials have been invited to join those braving the worst examples on their bikes – or at least to come and hear about concerns from existing cyclists and those who’d like to cycle more Cycling Dumfries’s inaugural ‘Riding of the Missing Links’ is intended to highlight the Missing Links report, distributed to councillors and officials this summer, outlining dozens of barriers to cycling and walking in and around the town.
Over two dozen areas have been highlighted in the report, stretching from Collin and Lockerbie to New Abbey (and even one in Stranraer) but the ride will focus on a symbolic selection of missing links in a circumnavigation of the town centre. At each selected point the Missing Links standard will be displayed, and the group will also stop off at the Council Headquarters on English Street. From there, riders who prefer to avoid the worst roads can cut straight to the station, while a group will go on to tackle Brooms Road, the Annan Road and Cornwall Mount – all examples of the sort of hostile roads that put most people off cycling for many journeys – before joining the others at the station.
Sally Hinchcliffe, Convenor of Cycling Dumfries says, “After successfully crowd funding the publication of our missing links report, we hope that this will encourage the council to act quickly in closing the gaps we’ve identified. While some of them would involve major work, many of them are physically quite small but present a huge barrier to people who would otherwise cycle more for everyday journeys. Given the clear health, financial and climate benefits to encouraging people to get out of their cars for short journeys, we think this will make Dumfries a healthier, wealthier and happier place. We’re hoping to make this an annual event and that we’ll start to see progress with tackling these issues soon.”
