Making Aviemore walking, cycling and wheelchair friendly

Mak­ing Aviemore walk­ing, cyc­ling and wheel­chair friendly

As part of Her­it­age Hori­zons: Cairngorms 2030, an ambi­tious pro­gramme is under­way to put act­ive and sus­tain­able travel at the heart of a green­er future for the Nation­al Park.

This pro­ject is aim­ing to make it easy and safe for res­id­ents and vis­it­ors to get around in Aviemore without a vehicle.

By improv­ing infra­struc­ture and pub­lic spaces, we want to make it more enjoy­able for every­one to walk, cycle or get around using a wheelchair.

Listen­ing to loc­al thoughts and ideas is very import­ant to us and will help us deliv­er changes which bene­fit everyone.

Thank you for tak­ing the time to get involved!

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Com­munity input

Last year we received more than 600 ideas and com­ments from loc­al residents.

Thank you to every­one that got involved!

Your feed­back helped us under­stand key prob­lems and oppor­tun­it­ies for walk­ing, cyc­ling and using a wheel­chair in Aviemore.

We heard from people through:

• School les­sons
• Drop-in ses­sions for loc­al res­id­ents and businesses
• Meet­ings with loc­al groups
• Site vis­its with loc­al people
• Online engage­ment
• Emails and phone calls

We mapped all the com­ments along­side a tech­nic­al audit to help us devel­op proposals.

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Town-wide approach

So the pro­ject bene­fits res­id­ents and vis­it­ors alike, we are con­sid­er­ing the whole town holistically.

There is a need for improve­ments through­out the town. The pho­tos show some of the issues identified.

The sec­tion of Grampi­an Road between the train sta­tion and the Santa Claus drive round­about is com­plex. We are devel­op­ing ideas but it requires more con­sid­er­a­tion and con­ver­sa­tions with busi­nesses and stake­hold­ers. Concept designs for this sec­tion will fol­low in due course.

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Neigh­bour­hoods

Hav­ing heard from loc­al people, it is clear there is a need for small improve­ments to res­id­en­tial areas across Aviemore. Con­nect­ing where people live to green­spaces and ser­vices, these areas are very import­ant for loc­al daily journeys.

As examples, poor pave­ment sur­fa­cing and miss­ing dropped kerbs make get­ting about by wheel­chair or mobil­ity scoot­ers very dif­fi­cult; over­grown veget­a­tion and miss­ing pave­ments make it less appeal­ing to walk; and a lack of cycle park­ing puts people off cyc­ling for short jour­neys. School pupils would like to see green­spaces improved to enhance Aviemore’s sense of place.

The con­cepts include:

• Pave­ment improvements
• New dropped kerbs
• Improved under­passes
• Access­ible ramps
• Improved green­spaces
• New benches and cycle parking
• Car park­ing reviews
• Remov­ing bar­ri­ers to paths
• Improved sig­nage and wayfinding

Click here for more details.

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Grampi­an Road

As the main north-south route through the town and with shops, loc­al amen­it­ies and pub­lic trans­port facil­it­ies, Grampi­an Road is very import­ant for loc­al journeys.

People told us that it is cur­rently dif­fi­cult to cross the road and junc­tions and unpleas­ant and unsafe for cyc­ling along.

The concept designs include improved foot­ways and cross­ings, a sep­ar­ate cycle track and bet­ter pub­lic spaces with benches and cycle parking.

The sec­tion between the train sta­tion and the Santa Claus drive round­about is com­plex so it requires more con­sid­er­a­tion. Concept designs for this sec­tion will fol­low in due course. We think there is oppor­tun­ity to make the town centre work bet­ter for loc­al res­id­ents, busi­nesses and vis­it­ors alike.

Click here for more details.

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Dal­faber Drive

Provid­ing a key route to shops and ser­vices, res­id­en­tial areas, the golf course, loc­al walk­ing as well as long dis­tance routes — the Spey­side Way and the Nation­al Cycle Net­work, Dal­faber Drive is import­ant for loc­al people and vis­it­ors alike.

The concept design con­tin­ues the cycle track and makes it easi­er and safer for people walk­ing or using a wheel­chair to cross the road and the junctions.

Dal­faber Drive has spe­cif­ic con­straints like the rail­way bridge. As the only road to the hos­pit­al and indus­tri­al estate, we need to make sure the pro­pos­als work for every­one. We are speak­ing with part­ners about the options for this section.

We are in con­ver­sa­tions with The High­land Coun­cil and will ensure that the concept design com­ple­ments their recent work on Dal­faber junc­tion and the level cross­ing upgrades.

Click here for more details.

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What hap­pens next?

There are a lot of vari­ables mak­ing it dif­fi­cult to give exact timeline but if there is sup­port for the pro­ject loc­ally, here is an indic­at­ive timeline:

Loc­als and stake­hold­ers give feed­back on concepts

Con­cepts are adjus­ted to take account of feedback

Fund­ing applic­a­tions submitted

Design devel­op­ment will con­tin­ue (when fund­ing is secured)

Feed­back will be sought on devel­op­ing designs

Some simple pro­pos­als could be con­struc­ted eg dropped kerbs

Design devel­op­ment and secur­ing fund­ing continues

Con­struc­tion could begin

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We’re keen to hear your thoughts!

• Fill in the feed­back form
• Vis­it cairngorm​s2030​.com​mon​place​.is
• Email transport@​cairngorms.​co.​uk
• Phone 01479 873 535

Thank you for tak­ing the time to get involved.