Spaces For People Progress

Measures to make it easier to walk or cycle for commuting, essential trips and exercise will be complete in Dundee within days.

The city’s Spaces for People projects, part of the programme’s second phase has improved footpath and cycleway connections creating safer routes to schools and communities in Downfield, Kirkton, Fintry and Broughty Ferry.

Mark Flynn convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee has been to (one of the projects) to see progress for himself.

He said: “With the improvements mostly complete I am pleased to see work on connecting schools and communities in place for the start of the new term.

“The safer route to St Pauls Academy in Gilburn Road is just finished as is similar work in West Grange Road, with Longhaugh Road’s safer route to Longhaugh PS, St Francis PS and North East Campus and St Leonards Road’s safer route to St Andrews PS both also completed.

“With £2m of funding from Sustrans and the backing of local communities we are continuing to encourage safe active travel for pedestrians, wheelers and cyclists as the easing of lockdown restrictions comes in across the city.

“Improvements to the infrastructure encourages people to get out and use cleaner, greener and healthier ways of making essential journeys, not just in the current circumstances but also in the future.”

Pop up cycle lanes in Ninewells Avenue and Perth Road have been operating successfully for a number of weeks.

Meanwhile a pair of “pocket parks” designed in conjunction with the community that will transform Eliza Street and Craigie Street in Stobswell into pedestrian and people-friendly spaces will be completed later this month.

In addition work to temporarily widen the west footway on Hilltown by around a metre, removing one lane of southbound (downhill) traffic started in May and is almost complete. Access will be maintained to the shops and premises on the west side of the road and the traffic has continued to flow while work progressed.

Funded by Scottish Government and managed by Sustrans Scotland, Spaces for People is a temporary infrastructure programme in Scotland offering funding and support to make it safer for people who choose to walk, cycle or wheel for permitted journeys and exercise, while physical distancing is in place during Covid-19 and as we transition out of lockdown.

Dundee City Council

Dundee draws skilled workers from a 60-minute catchment population of 640,000 and has a local population of over 140,000. The availability of a large pool of highly skilled labour is a key feature in the Dundee economy. Flexibility in the labour force is currently more prevalent in Dundee than in Scotland as a whole. All forms of labour market flexibility - part-time, temporary employment, self-employment and shift work - are widely operational within the city. Labour force stability in the city is excellent, enabling companies to plan with confidence. Labour turnover levels are less than 5% and absenteeism averages 2%.

Back to news