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Plans to revamp the layout of Stirling city centre could be coming to fruition.
Stirling Council has progressed to the final stage of the multi-million pound active travel competition, Community Links PLUS.
The authority’s City Boulevard and Cowane Street active travel design has impressed the competition panel with their plans to deliver world class infrastructure across Stirling.
Now the bid will move to the final stage, after it received up to £40,000 of funding to develop the proposal, with the aim of securing multi-million pound funding to enable the project.
Hosted by Sustrans Scotland and funded by the Scottish Government, the competition delivers pioneering and game-changing projects which inspire public bodies in Scotland to design better places and spaces for people to live, walk and cycle.
Central to Stirling Council’s vision is the development of a safe and attractive active travel network that would link residential areas and the city centre with key destinations including Stirling University, the Wallace Monument and Castle Business Park.
The City Boulevard and Cowane Street project comprises two key active travel routes. The focal point of the first route, City Boulevard, is to improve the environment and streetscape along the A811 from Dumbarton Road, Albert Place and Upper Craigs. Included in this would be the introduction of more generously sized pedestrian routes, creating a boulevard feel and connecting the city centre to the proposed city park.
Route two proposes to improve the environment and streetscape along Goosecroft Road, Cowane Street and onward to Stirling University.
Currently the B8052 forms one of the key routes into Stirling City Centre. But ,if successful, the project aims to make the road accessible to all users and redesign road crossings in order to improve accessibility.
The integrated network would act as a direct link between Stirling City Centre and Stirling Bridge and continue onwards to the communities of Raploch, Cornton, Causewayhead and Bridge of Allan.
Stirling Council’s travel proposal is competing against four other bids from Glasgow City Council, The City of Edinburgh Council and The Highland Council.
Final proposals will be presented to a cross sector panel chaired by Transport Scotland chief executive, Roy Brannen, with the winning project announced in late summer.
Humza Yousaf, Minister for Transport said: “I would like to congratulate the five projects that have made it through to the final round of the Community Links PLUS design competition.
“I am pleased to see that local authorities have again put forward very ambitious projects which will help to create a step change in conditions for walking, cycling and place making that communities can all benefit from.”