Almost £1.5 million is being spent on the construction of three major multi-use paths in Fife.
New routes are being forged linking Crossgates and Fordell Firs then on to Dalgety Bay, Kinghorn and Burntisland, and Thornton to Glenrothes at a cost of between £292,000 and £535,000 each.
The building of the pathways is designed to keep pedestrians and other path users well away from fast moving traffic, allowing safer passage between communities.
All three paths should be finished by late spring this year, and their creation has been warmly welcomed by Councillor Altany Craik, Fife Council’s economy, tourism, strategic planning and transportation convener.
“These are popular routes that will improve access for commuters and visitors,” he said.
“Linking up more of the National Network Routes across Fife will help active travel between communities, improve access to rural roads and lanes, and link up the core path network.”
Most of the money will be spent between Crossgates and Fordell Firs, where a three-metre wide pedestrian/cyclist/equestrian path will follow the line of the B981, a distance of approximately 3km.
The new path will link up to the existing multi-use track from Hillend and Dalgety Bay, which is 2km away.
From Dalgety Bay there are links to the National Cycle Network at the shoreline, and west to Inverkeithing, while the route also links to Dunfermline via the Aberdour Road cycle track across the M90.
Between Burntisland and Kinghorn, cyclists who follow National Cycle Route 76 currently have to use the road which has a 40mph speed limit.
However, the new 2.5km-long path will follow the line of the A921 and will allow the two communities, and users of the Pettycur Bay caravan site, to walk or cycle without traffic concerns.
The first phase of work will be Kinghorn to Pettycur Bay Caravan Site and cost £292,000, with the remainder of the work from Pettycur Bay to Burntisland to then follow on.
A further £350,000 will be spent upgrading the National Cycle Route 766 between Thornton and Glenrothes, where users currently have to navigate a narrow footway along Blackwood Road.
This will be widened to 1.5m and extended to the Eastfield Industrial Estate, giving pedestrians and cyclists more space to pass each other.
