We must help bike projects step up a gear

Volunteers need more funding from government, says Alastair Tibbitt

I'M delighted to see that people are finally embracing the "go green" message and seriously considering the impact that their lives have on the environment.

Among the things we are being asked to do by our new Government is to try to leave the car at home – after all, a large proportion of journeys we undertake are less than a few miles, so why not cycle or walk the kids to school, at least when it isn't raining?

In North Edinburgh, the decline of the railways has been the pedestrian's gain. We have a fantastic network of green paths connecting Leith with Bonnington, Canonmills, Pilton, Granton and even Fife if you're feeling keen.

Take a walk on any sunny Sunday afternoon and the paths are teeming with kids learning to ride their bikes, dog walkers and joggers, co-existing, for the most part, fairly well.

Yet the story is not the same for everyone. Between Leith and Portobello, there lies a neglected bit of path that could provide a valuable eastward extension to this network. Raised up above the pedestrian nightmare of Seafield Road, there is another disused railway line with a path running along it. Except this path is overgrown, hard to access for those of us on wheels and unlit.

By day, it is inhabited by keen joggers and determined bike commuters. At night, I just wouldn't go there.

Three years ago a small group of volunteers from the campaign group Spokes cut a ramp into the embankment at Seafield Street and since then they've worked to improve the path surface and keep the vegetation back.

Is it really the case that a route with such potential is open only because of the goodwill of a few volunteers? Sadly, yes it is.

Last September, we at Greener Leith organised a cycle ride along the route to highlight how near, and yet so frustratingly far, we are from having a usable path. Since then, our campaign has made real headway and garnered the support of local councillors and campaign groups.

But the council has told us that it will cost at least £500,000 to make the route accessible for wheelchair users and much more to upgrade it to the same standards as the rest of the path network.

This sum is certainly beyond the means of Greener Leith, but we will keep to trying to get funds and support for improvements to this route.

At a time when England has massively increased spending on cycle projects, it is unfortunate that the Scottish Government seems set on reducing the already paltry amount available to bodies like Sustrans which would normally work with local authorities to fund these projects. In the meantime, we should all thank those volunteers.

• Alastair Tibbitt is the chairman of the Greener Leith campaign group. More information is available at www.greenerleith.org