Cycling by Design

Cycling by Design provides guidance for permanent cycling infrastructure design on all roads, streets and paths in Scotland. It aims to ensure that cycling is a practical and attractive choice for the everyday and occasional journeys of all people, particularly new, returning or less confident users. Key recommendations of the Active Travel Task Force in 2018 highlighted the need for consistent, high quality infrastructure to drive behavioural change and remove barriers to cycling, and this design guidance provides the tools needed to achieve these aims. Cycling by Design is intended to enable experienced designers to integrate cycling into a holistic and attractive built environment, and should be applied on all schemes delivering:

  • Cycling infrastructure
  • New and improved roads
  • New developments
  • Any other built environment feature where cycling should be considered

Cycling by Design will be updated regularly to take account of project experience and changes to the legal or design environment. These updates will be overseen by a Steering Group comprising SCOTS, Sustrans and Transport Scotland. Any feedback on the content of the document should be directed to us via e-mail (cyclingbydesign@transport.gov.scot).

Cycling by Design - Training Module

A suite of short training videos has been developed support designers to apply the Cycling by Design guidance and principles. Each of these last approximately 15 minutes on average and cover specific themes within the guidance to help designers identify the core design principles and appropriate levels of service to deliver high-quality cycling infrastructure.

View the training videos.


Published Date 24 Aug 2020 Updated Date 19 Jul 2024 Type Mode of transport Topic