The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Cycle route work set for spring start
A£1.6 million safety upgrade along a Perthshire road where a cyclist was killed last year could start this spring.
Pe r t h and Kinross Countryside Trust (PKCT) has suggested that construction crews could begin working on the proposed ac tive travel route along the A912 between Bridge of Earn and Aberargie in the coming weeks.
Proposals have been progressing rapidly following the death of Perth school teacher and rugby player Adam Pattinson and the trust says it is closer to mitigating an “unacceptable risk”.
Thirty- six- year- old Mr Pattinson, who captained Pe r t h s h i r e Ru g b y and taught at Craigclowan School, was killed in a collision on the road while cycling to work on February 28 last year.
A man has since appeared in court accused of causing his death.
The project, which some say is “too late,” will see a segregated pathway for active t rav e l , such as walking and cycling, installed along the banking on the northern fringe of the Baiglie Straight.
This option was selected after five potential routes, which will eventually extend all the way to Newburgh, were scrutinised by PKCT bosses.
The trust says further stakeholder engagement will take place soon.
The hedge will not be
removed and keeping the cycle path on its roadside was forced as landowners were not all in agreement about building on their fields.
The edges of the path will be illuminated with solar studs, and street lighting underneath the M90 flyover is being considered.
Primary funder Sustrans
has indicated that once completed the route will be added to NCN 775 (Kinross to Perth) to NCN 777 in Fife (Newburgh to Newport).
A PKCT spokesperson said: “Phase 1, including the urban section west of the M90 flyover and the rest, up to the Aberargie roundabout, is estimated to cost in the region of £1.6m.
“A construction date is still unknown, particularly as drainage designs for the Baiglie Straight section are still being refined.
“Phase 1, Section 1, from the eastern end of Bridge of Earn to the M90 slip roads, could however begin in the spring 2021.
“This section is estimated to take 12 weeks to construct.”