A £1.6m safety upgrade along a Perthshire road where a cyclist was killed last year could start this spring.
Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust (PKCT) have suggested that construction crews could begin working on the proposed active travel route on along the A912 between Bridge of Earn and Aberargie in the coming weeks.
Proposals have been progressing rapidly following the death of Perth schoolteacher and rugby player Adam Pattinson and the trust say they are closer to mitigating an “unacceptable risk”.
36-year-0ld Adam, who captained Perthshire Rugby and taught at Craigclowan School, was killed in a collision on the road while cycling to work on February 28, 2020.
A man has since appeared in court accused of causing his death.
The project, which some say is “too late,” will see a segregated pathway for active travel, such as walking and cycling, installed along the banking on the northern fringe of the notorious Baiglie Straight.
This option was selected after five potential routes, which will eventually extend all the way to Newburgh, were scrutinised by trust bosses. PKCT say further stakeholder engagement will take place soon.
The existing hedge will not be removed and keeping the cyclepath on its road-side was forced as landowners were not all in agreement about building on their fields.
With a sealed surface similar to tarmac footways and, the path will be 3.5m wide for the majority of the section, allowing two cyclists to pass each other with ease.
Current designs do not include a barrier, but instead a kerbed upstand at the edge of the carriageway then a grassy buffer zone of 1.5m at most parts.
The edges of the path will be illuminated with solar studs and street lighting underneath the M90 flyover is being considered.
Primary funders Sustrans have indicated that once completed, the route will be added to NCN 775 (Kinross to Perth) to NCN 777 in Fife (Newburgh to Newport on Tay).
A PKCT spokesperson said: “Phase 1, including the urban section west of the M90 flyover and the rest, up to the Aberargie roundabout, is estimated to cost in the region of £1.6 million.
“A construction date is still unknown, particularly as drainage designs for the Baiglie Straight section are still being refined.
“Phase 1, Section 1, from the eastern end of Bridge of Earn to the M90 slip roads could however begin in the spring 2021. This section is estimated to take 12 weeks to construct.
“A sense of user safety is an emotive, personal one. There have been footways and active travel lanes beside busy roads for many years and the numbers of these are increasing.
“By taking the pedestrians, wheelers and cyclists away from the traffic, an unacceptable risk will be mitigated.”
