Highland tourist mecca launches colour-coded bike network to boost cycling
New signs and markers to direct nervous riders to safest routes
Innovative colour-coded bike route signs are to be trialled in a Highland tourist mecca to encourage more people to use its cycle network by making navigation easier.
The system to be launched next month in Fort William is being developed by a company based at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow which directs riders to the safest route for their journey.
The Lochaber town attracts large numbers of visitors including mountain bike fans heading for trails at the Nevis Range mountain resort beside Britain’s highest mountain.
The newly marked network also links to the University of the Highlands and Islands campus and retail parks.
READ MORE: The new Scotland bike navigation system to help nervous cyclists find safe routes to ride
The pilot wayfinding scheme involves cyclists being guided by reflective coloured vinyl markers attached to lamp posts.
There are also direction signs at numbered intersections between the six routes on the 20-mile network.
Each route has a colour, and prioritises safety and attractiveness rather than speed.
The Highlands and Islands Transport (Hitrans) partnership co-ordinating body, which commissioned the project, hailed the “simplicity and intuitiveness” of the system.
It said that meant “you can easily see which route you’re on and where it connects with other routes to get you to your destination”.
Hitrans said the scheme was identified as a priority in its 2019 active travel masterplan to increase the number of people walking, wheeling and cycling in the town and surrounding area.
Active travel team leader Vikki Trelfer said: “The report noted there is a reasonable provision of routes in Fort William, but signage is sporadic and not comprehensive.
“A wayfinding system could have a big impact both for new and regular users of the routes without large financial cost.
“The intention of the scheme is to make the network more obvious and easier to follow, giving confidence to people who want to incorporate physical activity into their everyday lives through their regular journeys, or who are thinking about making the switch to using the car less and walking or cycling more often.
“The Black Parks section in particular is a lovely route, bypassing the A82 which gets busy and congested in the summer, and connecting the town centre with Old Inverlochy Castle, the canal paths, and out to Torlundy.
“However it can be difficult to find your way through the residential streets of Inverlochy and the colour-coded wayfinding system will improve that.
“Once we’ve reviewed the project and taken feedback from people using it, we can think about other towns across the region which would benefit from improved wayfinding.”
Mark Smith, chief executive of Orchy MG, the firm developing the Marked wayfinding system, said it was speaking to many other councils about introducing it in other towns and cities.
He said: “It is all about how you make people feel safe when they are cycling, and if there are safe options, how you make that process as simple as possible.
“So if someone wants to pick up cycling for the first time, it’s really easy.”
Mr Smith said he often had to try several options before finding a good route for a specific journey - but other people just starting out on a bike might not have such perseverance.
He said: “They are going to go out on a bike once, see a busy road and go back in the house.”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.