Wendy Chamberlain

“Transport accounts for around a quarter of our carbon emissions. It will be almost impossible to meet key targets unless there is a shift towards low-carbon and active travel. The Scottish Liberal Democrats believe that there is a need to build a low-carbon transport system for Scotland through a commitment to public transport, expansion of provision for electric vehicles and active travel.

I commend Stirling Council for their final shortlisting in the Sustrans Community Links Plus competition. The potential funding from this would be used to develop active travel options.

We believe the case for increasing uptake of cycling and walking is compelling. It has huge potential to benefit people’s health, tackle obesity, ease congestion on roads, and contribute to the attainment of Scotland’s ambitious climate change targets and air pollution limits – both of which have been missed in recent years. The River and Enabling Environment proposals within the Stirling City Deal masterplan detail a number of active travel proposals, including a variety of routes between Castleview, Forth Valley College and the university.

There are more cars on the road than ever before and they account for half of all journeys under five kilometres. Although the City Deal proposes new road links, there is an urgent need to reduce city centre congestion and develop priority bus corridors. In the interim, current rail electrification projects in both Stirling and Dunblane impact on local transport routes and businesses.

It was the Liberal Democrat/Labour Scottish Executive which introduced the free bus pass in 2006. Contactless payment system for travel across Scotland would make all forms of public transport easier to use. The Scottish Government could achieve this through through its contract payments to bus companies and others to force the pace on development of integrated transport. Current developments give Stirling the opportunity to make this a reality.”