With a need to drastically cut carbon emissions and a desire to help people live greener, healthier and more actives lives, Falkirk council has launched a survey to understand your views on walking, cycling, wheeling, public transport, and electric vehicles.

Survey results will help the local authority update its Local Transport Strategy (LTS) and create its first area-wide Active Travel Strategy.

Together the plans will not only set out the Council's roads and transport plans for the next 10 years but also highlight how it will create a safe, reliable, convenient, accessible, and sustainable transport system for those living in, working in, and visiting the Falkirk Council area.

Mission Zero

Pictured: Keen cyclist, Cllr Paul Garner (right) with Transport Planning Officer, Lynn Slavin (left), at Denny Cycleway.

Since the Council published its current LTS in 2014 a lot has changed - not least a pandemic, which continues to impact everyday life. A global climate emergency has been declared, and the Council has committed to transition to net-zero by 2030. By that date, the Scottish Government also wants to have reduced the number of kilometres travelled by car by 20%.

Cllr Paul Garner, spokesperson for The Environment, said: "To deliver a green recovery from COVID-19 and meet national and local targets, we must make it easier for people to travel in more sustainable ways and transform how we all get around in the future.

“The LTS and Active Travel Strategy need to be built around the needs and wants of communities as well as national policy. They also must consider the lessons learned from lockdown, when emissions drastically reduced because there was less traffic on our roads and people became more physically active.

“We cannot lose that momentum and must work with communities to create plans that motivate and encourage people to travel in more active and sustainable ways. This survey is a crucial step in that journey."