Scottish Gov appoints Ambassador for Active Travel, details funding

The Scottish Government has today announced the appointment of Lee Craigie as the new Ambassador for Active Travel.

Building upon her prior position as Active Nation Commissioner, Lee will spend the next 15 months bolstering public engagement, promoting access to bikes and delivering an independent perspective on progress in Scotland.

Lee Craigie said: “In my final report as Active Nation Commissioner, I emphasised the unique opportunity ahead of us to build back our communities and our economy in ways that benefit everyone and our planet.

“I’m excited to have been tasked with helping change the way we talk about active travel, and with exploring the ways we all might work together to make it possible for more people.

“It will take a coordinated, collective effort to achieve a whole systems change in favour of active travel, but the potential rewards for us as individuals, for society, and for the planet, make this change absolutely essential.”

The appointment is set to be formally announced during the Walk Wheel Cycle Connect Conference in Perth where Minister for Active Travel, Patrick Harvie will outline the financial support schemes in Scotland may enjoy in the year ahead.

Highlights of the speech are set to include:

• A doubling of the funding for the National Cycle Network in 2022 to a total of £10.6 million.
• An investment of over £52 million to the Places for Everyone active travel infrastructure Programme. This will provide greater guidance and support for Safe to School initiatives when it re-opens to local authorities on 25 July.
• Providing a further £900,000 in funding for community groups and public sector organisations to deliver eBike schemes – to be delivered through the Energy Saving Trust’s grant fund.

Minister Patrick Harvie said: “I’m pleased that we’ve been able to appoint Lee Craigie as our Ambassador for Active Travel. Our ambitions to revolutionise active travel in Scotland have never been greater, and retaining Lee’s experience and approach will help us deliver great results in the years ahead.

“We’ve committed to investing over £320 million, equating to 10% of the transport budget, on active travel by 2024/25. That sustained investment is important, but how we invest is crucial. Scotland’s new Ambassador for Active Travel will help us in this journey.

“Even with one eye on how we transform our wider delivery, we cannot slow down in what we know can work to transform our communities. I’m pleased that we’re offering fresh funding for our popular e-bike grant fund programme, in addition to supporting local authorities develop safer routes to school. All of this will help build a more active nation, where more people can choose to walk, wheel and cycle for those shorter everyday journeys.”

Active travel aside, Scotland’s efforts to bolster its cycle tourism are building yet more steam with a tender to deliver a bike park in Innerleithen now live.