Context

Strategic Policy Links

The table below highlights the key wider policies which impact the Cycling Framework through their strategies and plans. The Cycling Framework also sits within a hierarchy of active travel documents including the Active Travel Outcomes Framework and Active Travel Vision for Scotland.

Cycling Framework for Active Travel

  • Infrastructure Investment Plan
  • Place Based Investment
  • National Planning Framework 4
  • National Walking Strategy
  • Climate Change Plan
  • Rail Holdings Strategy
  • Active Scotland Delivery Plan/Public Health Outcomes
  • Road Safety Framework
  • Strategic Transport Projects Review 2
  • Local Authority Transport Strategies
  • National Transport Strategy 2
  • Accessible Travel Framework

There is more detail on the key strategic linkages in Annex A. It helps illustrate, however, the wide range of policy areas which impact, or are impacted by, active travel. 

Sustainable Travel Hierarchy

In addition, the Sustainable Travel Hierarchy, embedded in the National Transport Strategy is fundamental to the Cycling Framework, and illustrates how we will prioritise walking, wheeling, cycling, public transport and shared transport over single occupancy car use.

The diagram shows the sustainable travel hierarchy, namely that walking and wheeling is the highest priority, then cycling, then public transport, then taxis and shared transport, and finally private cars.

Funnel diagram showing the sustainable travel hierarchy, namely that walking and wheeling is the highest priority, then cycling, then public transport, then taxis and shared transport, and finally private cars
Sustainable travel hierarchy

The Case for More Every Day Cycling

Cycling is good for your health. It is a low-impact, aerobic exercise, great for your heart and lungs as well as for maintaining a healthy weight. Regular cycling can help reduce anxiety, stress and depression. Increased rates of cycle use as an alternative to the car brings wider health benefits from improved air quality, reduced road danger and increased community cohesion.

People cycle for various purposes – for sport, leisure, tourism, commuting and other everyday journeys. All types of cycling journeys make people more active and can contribute to improving their health and wellbeing.

According to the UK’s biggest every study of walking, wheeling and cycling in urban areas, the Sustrans Walking and Cycling Index 2021, cycling in the Scottish index cities prevents 688 serious long term health conditions each year. This saves NHS Scotland £4.6 million per year. In the Scottish index cities the health benefits of cycling prevent 93 early deaths annually, equivalent to £307.5 million.

Sustrans Walking and Cycling Index 2021 as described in text above
Source - Sustrans Walking and Cycling Index 2021 - UK Report (sustrans.org.uk)

Cycling is an efficient, green and generally affordable mode of transport. It supports local retailers and is a multi-billion pound industry. Cycling brings wider opportunities too, including major sporting and leisure events which create economic benefits and inspire more people to participate in cycle-sport and recreational cycling. Increased demand for bikes and bike maintenance creates opportunities for innovation and job creation, and reuse and recycling contributing to the green recovery.

The increasingly urgent need to address both the impacts of climate change and physical inactivity make it essential that this Framework establishes ambitious strategic actions that will contribute to giving people opportunities to reduce car use and the resultant health costs and climate impacts.

The net annual economic benefit of cycling in the index cities is £1 billion. £537 million of which is from people with a car choosing to cycle as an alternative for certain journeys.

£1 billion net annual economic benefit of cycling in index cities as described in text above
Source - Sustrans Walking and Cycling Index 2021 - UK Report (sustrans.org.uk)

Engagement with the fullest range of people can therefore support more cycling for everyday journeys. This Framework will set out how the Scottish Government and our partners will engage with the widest range of people, making cycling for travel truly accessible for all.

Enabling inclusive access to cycling is fundamental to the success of the Cycling Framework, especially to protect communities and groups whose incomes limit access to cars and to enable everyone to take advantage of better access to employment, education, leisure and healthcare. It is however important to recognise that not everyone can cycle and ensure that measures taken to increase access don’t create unintended conflict, particularly for those with reduced mobility or visual impairment.

Cyclists on a cycle path approaching Queens Park in Glasgow
The South City Way in Glasgow is a good example of what can be achieved in traffic heavy, city centre environments. It dellivers 3km of segregated cycling between Queens Park and the River Clyde, linking parks, hospitals, local businesses, public transport links and other key amenities.
A mixed ages group walking along a countryside path
Meanwhile the The Rannoch Riverside All Abilities Path demonstrates the often very different requirements of rural and island communities. Opened in Highland Perthshire during June 2022, this rural connection now allows local residents and visitors to make healthier and more sustainable journeys to and around Kinloch Rannoch village year-round.

It is acknowledged that there is a need for both direct on-road infrastructure and off-road quiet routes to take account of concerns about personal safety and to account for local need. Providing supportive infrastructure, such as parking and secure cycle storage is vital to maximise uptake. We also need to consider the role played by placemaking. The ability to cycle safely in our local areas is crucial to the success of 20 minute neighbourhoods, and the growth of more liveable neighbourhoods will in turn drive demand for more everyday cycling.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, we witnessed the impact on travel behaviour of the introduction of “Spaces for People”, temporary protected cycling infrastructure across Scotland. This illustrated the potential for more people to cycle for their everyday journeys, making them more active and able to take advantage of local amenities.

A road with a sign explaining it's a pedestrian and cycle zone during school pick up and drop off times
An example of a Spaces for People School Street in East Ayrshire: Traffic volumes reduced by up to 78% after implementation and over 80% of respondents to a post implementation survey were in favour of the scheme remaining in place permanently.
A city street in Dundee, without traffic - instead having seating and outdoor restaurant areas, with pedestrians able to walk in the road in safety
One successful Spaces for People scheme transformed Union Street in Dundee into a fully pedestrianised street that became a destination with traffic free space for shopping and socialising, or for people to walk, wheel or cycle through

Although the Spaces for People programme was largely successful, it didn’t work for everyone, particularly those with accessibility requirements. This Framework seeks to acknowledge the successes of Spaces for People, but also demonstrate that lessons have been learned.

According to the Cycling Scotland Annual Cycling Monitoring Report, 4% of people usually or regularly cycled to work in 2020 and 13% participated in at least 30 minutes of cycling in the previous four weeks. And according to Transport Scotland’s Transport and Travel in Scotland (TATIS) 2019, 33% of Scottish households have access to at least one bike (includes 51% of all small family households and 59% of all large family households).

Cycling statistics, as described in text above.
Cycling statistics. Sources - Cycling Scotland Annual Monitoring Report 2021, and Transport and Travel in Scotland 2019

Cycling in Different Settings

In developing this Framework, we have attempted to strike a balance between providing clear strategic direction on, for example, the importance of safe cycling infrastructure suitable for all, and allowing partners the freedom to decide which interventions work best for their local communities, taking into account local issues of demography, geography and so on. However we recognise that the discussion of topics such as protected cycling infrastructure and route density can be alienating for those who don’t live or work in towns and cities and may imply misleading expectations of route specifications.

To ensure all communities are included in opportunities to develop cycle networks that link to services, consideration should be given to the types of infrastructure most appropriate to different settings. This may be through creating new off-road paths, or through linking existing core paths or rights of way that may need upgrading to support functional cycle journeys. In this respect, flexibility will be required in the application and interpretation of design standards in order to accommodate rural character and topography, always accepting that safety is key.

Footpath along former railway line, passing under a bridge
The Lochearn Railway Path is a good example of an upgrade to an existing off road facility to improve usability for cycling and wheeling. The project was funded by NatureScot and Sustrans.
Cyclists on a tarmac path in the countryside
The path uses the trackbed of a disused railway line and has been a popular informal walking route. The path provides 13km of shared surface linking St Fillans to Lochearnhead

This Framework recognises that ensuring fair access is vital to successful delivery and uptake and that whilst fair access is usually understood to be about providing for all ages and abilities it must also embrace the needs of different locations and communities.

Central to the development of this Framework is the recognition that investment must be prioritised strategically and the mechanism for ensuring this is through local authority active travel strategies. However, we recognise that active travel strategies will not be the most relevant plan in certain circumstances, and all proposals should be considered, provided they are set within a coherent strategic context.