Background
This Cycling Framework and Delivery Plan for Active Travel in Scotland builds on the progress made through three iterations of the Cycling Action Plan for Scotland (CAPS) between 2010 and 2020. It reflects our aim to progress from CAPS and to develop an ambitious plan for Scotland for the next 5-10 years.
It takes account of the recommendations of the Independent Review of CAPS in 2020, which was carried out by Professor Tom Rye. The CAPS review made recommendations for the future priorities for cycling for active travel in Scotland. These recommendations are reflected in this Framework.
The overall recommendation was that the next version of CAPS should be a strategic level plan that placed emphasis on the delivery of key actions that international evidence shows are required to increase levels of everyday cycling.
The review noted that the main problematic area was the relatively slow progress in implementing high quality safe cycling infrastructure at the local level, and in improving road safety for vulnerable users. It acknowledged that these are local authority responsibilities primarily and that there are multiple barriers to progress at local level, including funding and staffing. And it noted that a key barrier is the political challenges of implementing new cycling infrastructure where this involves allocating road space away from parked or moving private motor vehicles.
It also noted that the relatively slow progress may also be because CAPS was not completely clear that high quality safe segregated cycling infrastructure is the key measure that must be implemented if Scotland’s cycling mode share is to increase. These points are addressed in the Framework.