Lecture on rural transport
A public lecture is to be held this spring to look at the issue of sustainable transport for rural communities inside a national park.
‘Sustainable transport - where next for our rural communities’will take place on Wednesday, April 29 and will look at active and sustainable travel within Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, which covers some areas of western Perthshire.
Derek Halden, a sustainable transport expert in the national park, will outline the vision for the future and answer questions from residents at the event.
Tim Tindle, chair of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park community partnership, said: “We are very much looking forward to hearing what Derek Halden has to offer on the topic of sustainable transport in rural areas.
“Derek has over 35 years of experience in designing and delivering transport improvements in Scotland, and we are particularly interested in his strong background in working with communities to make connections between people and places.”
Derek is also a fellow of the Institute of Civil Engineers, former chair of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Scotland, and a leading contributor to international think tanks and debates on the future of transport.
The lecture will be the starting point for the community partnership’s plans to work with communities to help improve people’s lifestyles and their environment by increasing their sustainable travel options.
It has been given £39,000 by the ‘Smarter Choices, Smarter Places’ programme to develop this, and is being used to fund projects to promote walking and cycling, car shares, community carpools, e-bikes, community transport, improvements to public transport and the development of walking and cycling paths.
Anne Sobey, development manager of the community partnership, also said:“Many of us are committed to reducing our own individual carbon footprints and we know from some great examples of community-led initiatives that when people get together, the impact can be even greater.
“There are some common challenges in rural areas and we are very pleased that, due to this new funding, we have the chance to share experience about what works in our areas and make sure that people have the best information and skills to take forward their ideas.”
The lecture will be held at the national park authority’s headquarters in Balloch and all Perthshire residents who live within the national park boundaries are able to attend.
To book a place, contact Fiona Paul on 01389 727762 or email info@ thecommunitypartnership.org.uk