Thank you very much to everyone who took the time to fill in our Active Travel survey. We have a lot to think about, based on the results.

Overall, there was really strong support for more pathways on the farm.

From the responses, the biggest Active Travel concern is with Barnton Gardens/Cramond Road South/North. This street feels dangerous and hostile to anyone walking, wheeling or cycling. Although there was a little bit of interest in other Active Travel routes across the farm, the vast majority of the demand is for something up the south west side, to get away from that road.

We wouldn’t be able to get funding from Paths for All to provide a solution for that stretch alone – we would need more evidence of interest in other routes as well. As a result, we have not gone ahead with a funding bid at the moment. However, we totally agree with the community concern about people walking, wheeling and cycling on this road, and are now discussing what to do next with this feedback.

We are also reflecting on whether full-scale Active Travel paths across the farm might be a bit too much for this piece of land and its resident wildlife. The Active Travel paths with segregated cycle lanes are wide, and are lit 24 hours a day. Some respondents expressed valid concerns about the impact of this. People tend to want well-lit paths because it feels safer, but constant light is a big problem for a lot of animals – it would affect our resident owls, moths and all the other species that come out in the twilight and night-time hours.

We share this concern and want to find the right type of path for the farm. We are going to take some more time to consider this. We are still committed to developing accessible paths on the farm, particularly for disabled visitors, and will be looking at alternative funding sources for these. We will keep you posted, and we continue to welcome feedback – we’ve closed the survey now, but you can always contact us.