Why I have stopped trying to make Perth city centre more pedestrian and bike friendly

This post is an expansion upon part of the PALS April 2021 newsletter.

Last year much of PALS' focus was on the city centre through the implementation of the Spaces for people initiatives.  My reasons for refocus are personal. Since Roger has stepped back, while we have a growing number of people on our mailing list, I currently do all the work for PALS. It makes sense that those pushing for change do so in the areas that matter to them. I personally no longer want to run projects focused on the city centre even though I live here.  Why?

It is not because there is massive opposition to change in the city centre.  There is some opposition but it is more that last year showed there is little appetite among councillors to support the council's Spaces for People initiatives. Possibly due to resourcing the council has not investigated to see who supports pedestrianisation and modal filters in the city centre. Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust (PKCT) in contrast run surveys for their proposed active travel routes. Community support and funding meant they had a good basis on which to proceed.

Based on last year, the city is not looking receptive to change just now. Read how the Batttle of Balhousie and the Spaces for People initiatives in Perth played out  and the saga of the touch free pedestrian crossings.  

PKC and councillors seem to think the Cross Tay Link Road (CTLR) will transform traffic in the city centre and that will be the time for "Stage 4" - pedestrian and active travel initiatives in the city.  But traffic comes from 6 arterial routes, not just to and from Scone, the route the CTLR will relieve (to some extent).  PKC is still building houses in and near Perth (700 north of Scone). These households (not just individuals) will want to come in to their nearest city, Perth, for services. There is no segregated bike infrastructure & sustainable transport is not finding large numbers of customers for various reasons. So I am in quite some doubt as to the effect of the CTLR on reducing city traffic, especially longer term.

I live on the edge of the city centre and the reason I don't want to run projects here is because I have stopped going into town and not just because of covid. My motivation for trying to improve the area where I live has dropped significantly in the face of entrenched resistance to change in the city and a lack of investigation into those in support of change. My response to that has been to drive out of town to go for walks & to buy shopping, coffee, meals, online or in environments more agreeable to people on foot. That is a simply of consequence of an urban environment that is increasingly traffic-bound, polluted, noisy and hostile to pedestrians and city residents. 

I said on the PALS newsletter, I cannot take on any more projects just now, and for the reasons I have given projects in the near future are very unlikely to be on the city centre.  One I might do in the future is to try and reduce speed on my own street on the city ring road.  If anyone else wants to try to campaign for change in the city centre  I will give what support I can based on our past experience and contacts but I will not lead these projects.  I suggest anyone wanting to do so reads those blog posts about last year first.  You can remain a blind optimist or you can read the writing on the wall.  You can sow on obviously stony ground or you can redirect your energy elewhere.

 Meanwhile, if not Perth city, then where?

My own children are still pedestrians in Perth. The choice is the risks of pollution and accidents of them walking in Perth traffic versus the potential health benefits of regular aerobic exercise. Both Roger's children and mine go to the High School or are about to. Mine walk there from town. PKC is now implementing traffic exclusion zones around primary schools. I expect some displaced traffic (an increase) around the High School because of this & have asked for traffic monitoring. The junctions on Oakbank Road are particularly dangerous for the pupils on foot. So I want to do what I can there to make that area safer not just for my own kids but for the large numbers walking up Oakbank Road.

I still walk every day but on paths around Perth, many of which are threatened by development or so-called "upgrades" to bike lanes / multi-user paths or they are illegally obstructed, hence my more recent work in that respect. 

Living Streets supports every day walking.  There are still improvements that can be made in that respect outwith the city centre.  That explains my refocus away from the city centre towards the High school (Oakbank Road) and paths.

Reallocation of road space

Until recently when he stepped back due to other commitments, I co-convened Perth Area Living Streets', a charity that campaigns for everyday walking with  Roger Humphry.   This post came about from our April 2021 newsletter explaining why reallocation of road space has been for key us.

Our focus was initially to try and reduce through traffic in parts of the city centre.  We had always agreed on a cornerstone of PALS’ philosophy: the reallocation of road space to people, community, commerce. The Bruntlett’s make the point that the Dutch bike culture is a byproduct of that process. Bikes then become just a quick, cheap and efficient way to get around.

Everything else becomes easier with the reallocation of space - less traffic, less noise, less pollution. Pavement clutter becomes less of an issue because there is more pavement space. There is more money to fix pavements because when there is less road space and fewer cars, less money is spent on damage to roads (and pavements) from cars. As soon as there is more space for people and non-motorised traffic, streetscapes look different, priorities and people’s expectations change. The city becomes a pleasant place to be, to walk around, to spend. A city for people, not traffic lets creative projects thrive and lets us better preserve and enjoy our local heritage which in turn contribute to the local economy. A healthy economy is also a byproduct of a sustainable city for people. The Living Streets report ‘The Pedestrian Pound’ makes this point.

Reallocation of road space remains key to Spaces for People, and a better environment for pedestrians and cyclists especially children. Children are particularly at risk of pollution. They are also the victims of traffic accidents while causing none of these problems.

There is currently huge social inequity in our streets. They do not in any way favour pedestrians and cyclists: in design, use and maintenance. I sometimes feel people are so used to this they do not see alternatives. I have tried to raise the issue of inequity with city councillors Peter Barrett and Andrew Parrott, most recently on the subject of winter gritting:

Cllr Barrettt said he did not think there was an issue of fairness. On gritting both councillors pushed the self-help option. Not easy if you're in your eighties and housebound & can't set foot out of the door without falling on ice.

Hope

I don't often feel moved to write a poem & was going to write a piece, but a poem was shorter & just came about! 

*

On the grimmer of my town's streets 

One clipped hedge.

In the garden that became a car park, 

One blossoming tree.

A bush blooms, tumbling from the railway.  

Between the stalwarts standing by the bins 

And their maimed comrades,

Stumps mark arboreal graves.

Amid chemicals, control and concrete

They sing silently of spring