Fife Provost Jim Leishman tested out the new £75,000 cycling village in Townhill.
For many it was a case of turning the clock back to a bygone era in the nearby Pittencrieff Park.
Generations of youngsters remember heading to the Glen and its miniature village for cycling lessons.
Sadly the area, with its little roads and crossings, is long gone.
But now Townhill Community Council has created its own much larger and very modern cycling centre in an unkempt area of Townhill Park.
Its Cycle Safely for Fun project received backing from Fife Council, Fife Environment Trust and the Carnegie Trust – whose headquarters now stand on the former cycling centre in the park.
It is an updated version of the popular model traffic area created in 1950 and features wide pathways which form a one way mini road network, compete with signs to give young cyclists and authentic taste of the current rule of the road and Highway Code in complete safety.
The area is available to use free of charge by the public and by the local primary school for cycle training like Bikeability courses.
Once proficient on two wheels, children can then make use of the Fife cycle track network which circles the perimeter of the park.
As youngsters hurtled round the roads, community council chairman Ronnie Cowan was delighted to see the culmination of two years of planning.
Although newly opened, the Townhill project has also attracted interest from far and wide.
“People from all over have been asking about bringing youngsters up here and we tell them yes, it is fine, it is free, just respect it,” Ronnie said.
“We did not reinvent the wheel, but we’ve delivered an area of safety for children.”
The original model traffic area, made so children could learn to ride bikes in safety away from cars, was a massive hit from day one.
In the first six days of it opening 1,220 children had enjoyed the facility. However, it closed in 1999.
