Carnegie`s Way Update. December 2024

It has been a while since we issued an update but the project has suffered from some unavoidable delays.  Places for Everyone (Sustrans) is going through a restructuring process that will end its involvement with active travel projects.   From the beginning of 2025, Fife Council will apply directly to Transport Scotland for active travel funding.  Places for Everyone’s involvement in our project will end once Stage 2 of their assessment process is complete. To all intents and purposes, Stage 2 (the business case and concept) is now complete apart from some minor technical issues.

In order to ensure that every possible avenue has been explored, Fife Council instructed their consultants to include a study of routes alongside the main road between the village and the city, a route that the landowner had indicated might be their preference. This was done by the consultants over the Summer and their findings were included in their final report. This work contributed to the delays but was worthwhile in order to filter the options down to two viable routes out of the eleven routes or combination of routes examined.

The two routes that came out best in the report were, a cross-country route to the West Gate of Pittencrieff Park and a route that hugs the South side of the main road (A994).  Both options follow the same line between Crossford and Urquhart Farm. The former is technically the best route and best meets the criteria set down by Transport Scotland while the latter has its drawbacks but it is more intuitive. It will also cost considerably more than the cross-country route and use slightly more land but is much less intrusive to farming operations.  Crossford CC is comfortable with either of the final options.  A route alongside the North side of the A994 was found not to be practical for multiple reasons.

At the time of writing, the consultant’s report is with the landowner and the farmer for their observations.  Their response is expected early in the New Year when we hope an acceptable way forward will be found to deliver a new shared-use path that will be used by generations to come and for the common good.

Connectivity to the National Cycle Network routes NCN76 & NCN764: