Falkirk Council has been awarded funding to develop an active travel hub in the town centre and a low-carbon vehicle hub at the town’s football stadium.
The Healthier Greener Falkirk project is one of five successful bids across Scotland that will receive a total of £3.25million from the European Regional Development Fund’s Low Carbon Travel and Transport Challenge Fund. It will be delivered in conjunction with Forth Environment Link.
The active travel hub will provide public access to bikes, e-bikes and maintenance facilities. It will also serve as an educational space to encourage people to make healthier and greener travel choices.
Meanwhile, 20 electric vehicle charging bays will be provided at Falkirk Community Stadium, along with a solar panel array to power the charging points.
Welcoming the announcement, Falkirk West MSP Michael Matheson said: “I’d like to congratulate Falkirk Council and Forth Environment Link on their successful bid.
“Local projects such as this one will play an important part in helping Scotland to meet our ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gases. By encouraging residents and visitors to Falkirk to make more short journeys by bike and by promoting the uptake of electric vehicles, it will also contribute to making our community a healthier one – both by raising activity levels and by cutting damaging air pollution.”
The Low Carbon Travel and Transport Challenge Fund is aimed at delivering Transport Scotland’s objectives of increasing the number of everyday journeys made on foot, by bike or using public transport and to raise the proportion of ultra-low emission vehicles on Scotland’s roads.
