Thanks to a significant increase in Scottish Government funding for cycling, walking and safer routes schemes last year, East Lothian Council has embarked on an ambitious programme of works.
A notable construction project in 2022 was the surfacing of over 1km of track through Musselburgh Lagoons, but local residents across East Lothian may also have noticed the installation of new cycle parking in town centres and at schools, and a new section of pavement linking to a bus stop at Prestongrange Museum. Part of the promenade at Fisherrow was also re-surfaced.
More significantly, the first steps have been taken in the following major projects below with further information is available via the links:
- new pedestrian access to Dunbar Station from the south
- re-design of Wallyford Toll roundabout to better connect Tranent, Musselburgh, Prestonpans and Wallyford for people on foot or cycling
- the design of new routes to the new schools in Wallyford
- Detailed design of the first three phases of East Lothian’s first Active Freeway, where a high quality walking and cycling route is being developed to run alongside the A199 between Dunbar and Wallyford
These activities sit alongside ongoing work to develop a network of cycle routes through Musselburgh Active Toun, and projects being taken forward by housing developers such as Hargreaves’ plans to build a path connecting Blindwells to Prestonpans railway station.
East Lothian Council has also undertaken some high-level studies of route networks including at Belhaven in Dunbar, and the Prestonpans/Tranent area, and these will be published over the summer.
In 2023, a similar level of central government funding has allowed the council to keep up the momentum, although there is now a growing ‘long-list’ of projects that communities would like to see delivered. It was therefore necessary to create a sifting process and prioritise links to schools and towns where route quality and deliverability were balanced against the number of people who will benefit.
