Latest news

Stirling Council has a new engagement platform, https://engage.stirling.gov.uk/en-GB/ and all future WCLS consultations will be hosted here, https://engage.stirling.gov.uk/en-GB/folders/wlcs Do take a look at the 2 fun family Winter Walks accessible from this link. These are activity trails along each of the WCLS routes that help reconnect participants with some of Stirling’s history and encourages them to imagine what it might be like in the future. Each 1.5 hour walk consists of a number of stops with location history, puzzles and activities to complete for children and adults as well as targeted place quality questions. These will help us understand current perceptions of those places and allow people to share ideas and aspirations for how these places could be improved in the future. Completing the puzzles and questions also puts participants in line to win some fantastic prizes! Please ensure you have read the latest Government guidelines in advance of participating in our walks https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/

Moving to a new platform also means that we will change how we send out project updates. If you want to continue receiving Walk, Cycle, Live Stirling updates, please sign up to our newsletter after completing the one of the Winter Walks online surveys, or email jacksonmi@stirling.gov.uk to let me know you want to receive email updates. Thank you for all your support so far.

Hi All,

Hope everyone is keeping well and safe.

It has been some time since our last news post, and would like to use this opportunity to update you on the design phase for Walk, Cycle, Live Stirling.

During February, we held various design workshops and a public drop-in event to showcase the proposals for cycle routes in Stirling.

The Forth Valley College Route steering group design workshop focused on key sections including Upper Craigs, Albert Place and Dumbarton Road Roundabout.

The group collaboratively discussed their thoughts on the current proposals, such as opening Upper Craigs to one-way traffic, full segregated cycleway along Albert Place, and providing additional crossing points at Dumbarton Road Roundabout.

These comments have been collected and analysed, and now sit with the design team while we develop them further. You can read these comments in more detail here link to consultation feedback page .

A further workshop was held for the University route, and focused on problem areas such as Causewayhead Road, crossing points needed along Cowane Street, and changing Laurencecroft Roundabout to a signalised junction.

These comments can be read in more detail on this page.

We worked with other key groups on these concept designs, including the Business Improvement District (Go Forth Stirling) and the Stirling Area Access Panel.

As well as having the design proposals available on Commonplace for comment, we also held a public drop-in event at the Cowane Centre.

We are working hard to ensure consultation can still continue throughout the global pandemic, and hope to have many of you involved in the next stage of design.

Keep up to date by following our news posts.

Take care all!

Hi All,

Hope everyone is keeping well and safe.

It has been some time since our last news post, and would like to use this opportunity to update you on the design phase for Walk, Cycle, Live Stirling.

During February, we held various design workshops and a public drop-in event to showcase the proposals for cycle routes in Stirling.

The Forth Valley College Route steering group design workshop focused on key sections including Upper Craigs, Albert Place and Dumbarton Road Roundabout.

The group collaboratively discussed their thoughts on the current proposals, such as opening Upper Craigs to one-way traffic, full segregated cycleway along Albert Place, and providing additional crossing points at Dumbarton Road Roundabout.

These comments have been collected and analysed, and now sit with the design team while we develop them further. You can read these comments in more detail here link to consultation feedback page .

A further workshop was held for the University route, and focused on problem areas such as Causewayhead Road, crossing points needed along Cowane Street, and changing Laurencecroft Roundabout to a signalised junction.

These comments can be read in more detail on this page.

We worked with other key groups on these concept designs, including the Business Improvement District (Go Forth Stirling) and the Stirling Area Access Panel.

As well as having the design proposals available on Commonplace for comment, we also held a public drop-in event at the Cowane Centre.

We are working hard to ensure consultation can still continue throughout the global pandemic, and hope to have many of you involved in the next stage of design.

Keep up to date by following our news posts.

Take care all!

Hi All,

Hope everyone is keeping well and safe.

It has been some time since our last news post, and would like to use this opportunity to update you on the design phase for Walk, Cycle, Live Stirling.

During February, we held various design workshops and a public drop-in event to showcase the proposals for cycle routes in Stirling.

The Forth Valley College Route steering group design workshop focused on key sections including Upper Craigs, Albert Place and Dumbarton Road Roundabout.

The group collaboratively discussed their thoughts on the current proposals, such as opening Upper Craigs to one-way traffic, full segregated cycleway along Albert Place, and providing additional crossing points at Dumbarton Road Roundabout.

These comments have been collected and analysed, and now sit with the design team while we develop them further. You can read these comments in more detail here link to consultation feedback page .

A further workshop was held for the University route, and focused on problem areas such as Causewayhead Road, crossing points needed along Cowane Street, and changing Laurencecroft Roundabout to a signalised junction.

These comments can be read in more detail on this page.

We worked with other key groups on these concept designs, including the Business Improvement District (Go Forth Stirling) and the Stirling Area Access Panel.

As well as having the design proposals available on Commonplace for comment, we also held a public drop-in event at the Cowane Centre.

We are working hard to ensure consultation can still continue throughout the global pandemic, and hope to have many of you involved in the next stage of design.

Keep up to date by following our news posts.

Take care all!

Hi All,

Hope everyone is keeping well and safe.

It has been some time since our last news post, and would like to use this opportunity to update you on the design phase for Walk, Cycle, Live Stirling.

During February, we held various design workshops and a public drop-in event to showcase the proposals for cycle routes in Stirling.

The Forth Valley College Route steering group design workshop focused on key sections including Upper Craigs, Albert Place and Dumbarton Road Roundabout.

The group collaboratively discussed their thoughts on the current proposals, such as opening Upper Craigs to one-way traffic, full segregated cycleway along Albert Place, and providing additional crossing points at Dumbarton Road Roundabout.

These comments have been collected and analysed, and now sit with the design team while we develop them further. You can read these comments in more detail here link to consultation feedback page .

A further workshop was held for the University route, and focused on problem areas such as Causewayhead Road, crossing points needed along Cowane Street, and changing Laurencecroft Roundabout to a signalised junction.

These comments can be read in more detail on this page.

We worked with other key groups on these concept designs, including the Business Improvement District (Go Forth Stirling) and the Stirling Area Access Panel.

As well as having the design proposals available on Commonplace for comment, we also held a public drop-in event at the Cowane Centre.

We are working hard to ensure consultation can still continue throughout the global pandemic, and hope to have many of you involved in the next stage of design.

Keep up to date by following our news posts.

Take care all!

Happy New Year to you all!

Hope everyone had a very enjoyable time of the Christmas period.

It is going to be an incredibly exciting year, with a lot of work with developing the design for the two active travel routes! But what better way to start the year than the completion of the temporary intervention works at Huntly Crescent in Raploch!

As a part of Raploch Street Design Project, the team has identified an opportunity to trial a series of temporary interventions at the junction of Raploch Road and Huntly Crescent to address some of the issues raised during the community engagement process.

The project team shared the proposed design for the trial with the community at Raploch Street Design Session 3 on 15th March and Session 4 on 6 June 2019. There was an opportunity to get the community’s feedback, comments and support for the temporary interventions. The team has identified the following temporary interventions:

1. Rubber kerb line to reduce corner radii at Huntly Cres from 12m to 6m.

2. Highlighting crossing at Huntly Cres with paint on the road to prioritise pedestrians crossing the street and colourful art on the pavement.

3. Refresh existing small green space and relocate a bench.

4. Reducing speed on Raploch Road with cycle and bus friendly speed cushions.

Interventions have been installed on a non-permanent basis and will:

1. Reduce traffic speed and traffic volumes on a selected street/s

2. Improve local perceptions of safety and place quality

3. Make it easier and more attractive for people to walk and cycle on selected streets

4. Inspire communities and increase their sense of empowerment

We will be hosting a celebration of the works event in the coming weeks, on hopefully a slightly sunnier day! We will post the date of the event on this website and on our social media pages.

Let us know your thoughts on the rest of the routes on our heatmap - we will be closing this for comments at the end of January!

Happy New Year to you all!

Hope everyone had a very enjoyable time of the Christmas period.

It is going to be an incredibly exciting year, with a lot of work with developing the design for the two active travel routes! But what better way to start the year than the completion of the temporary intervention works at Huntly Crescent in Raploch!

As a part of Raploch Street Design Project, the team has identified an opportunity to trial a series of temporary interventions at the junction of Raploch Road and Huntly Crescent to address some of the issues raised during the community engagement process.

The project team shared the proposed design for the trial with the community at Raploch Street Design Session 3 on 15th March and Session 4 on 6 June 2019. There was an opportunity to get the community’s feedback, comments and support for the temporary interventions. The team has identified the following temporary interventions:

1. Rubber kerb line to reduce corner radii at Huntly Cres from 12m to 6m.

2. Highlighting crossing at Huntly Cres with paint on the road to prioritise pedestrians crossing the street and colourful art on the pavement.

3. Refresh existing small green space and relocate a bench.

4. Reducing speed on Raploch Road with cycle and bus friendly speed cushions.

Interventions have been installed on a non-permanent basis and will:

1. Reduce traffic speed and traffic volumes on a selected street/s

2. Improve local perceptions of safety and place quality

3. Make it easier and more attractive for people to walk and cycle on selected streets

4. Inspire communities and increase their sense of empowerment

We will be hosting a celebration of the works event in the coming weeks, on hopefully a slightly sunnier day! We will post the date of the event on this website and on our social media pages.

Let us know your thoughts on the rest of the routes on our heatmap - we will be closing this for comments at the end of January!

Happy New Year to you all!

Hope everyone had a very enjoyable time of the Christmas period.

It is going to be an incredibly exciting year, with a lot of work with developing the design for the two active travel routes! But what better way to start the year than the completion of the temporary intervention works at Huntly Crescent in Raploch!

As a part of Raploch Street Design Project, the team has identified an opportunity to trial a series of temporary interventions at the junction of Raploch Road and Huntly Crescent to address some of the issues raised during the community engagement process.

The project team shared the proposed design for the trial with the community at Raploch Street Design Session 3 on 15th March and Session 4 on 6 June 2019. There was an opportunity to get the community’s feedback, comments and support for the temporary interventions. The team has identified the following temporary interventions:

1. Rubber kerb line to reduce corner radii at Huntly Cres from 12m to 6m.

2. Highlighting crossing at Huntly Cres with paint on the road to prioritise pedestrians crossing the street and colourful art on the pavement.

3. Refresh existing small green space and relocate a bench.

4. Reducing speed on Raploch Road with cycle and bus friendly speed cushions.

Interventions have been installed on a non-permanent basis and will:

1. Reduce traffic speed and traffic volumes on a selected street/s

2. Improve local perceptions of safety and place quality

3. Make it easier and more attractive for people to walk and cycle on selected streets

4. Inspire communities and increase their sense of empowerment

We will be hosting a celebration of the works event in the coming weeks, on hopefully a slightly sunnier day! We will post the date of the event on this website and on our social media pages.

Let us know your thoughts on the rest of the routes on our heatmap - we will be closing this for comments at the end of January!

Happy New Year to you all!

Hope everyone had a very enjoyable time of the Christmas period.

It is going to be an incredibly exciting year, with a lot of work with developing the design for the two active travel routes! But what better way to start the year than the completion of the temporary intervention works at Huntly Crescent in Raploch!

As a part of Raploch Street Design Project, the team has identified an opportunity to trial a series of temporary interventions at the junction of Raploch Road and Huntly Crescent to address some of the issues raised during the community engagement process.

The project team shared the proposed design for the trial with the community at Raploch Street Design Session 3 on 15th March and Session 4 on 6 June 2019. There was an opportunity to get the community’s feedback, comments and support for the temporary interventions. The team has identified the following temporary interventions:

1. Rubber kerb line to reduce corner radii at Huntly Cres from 12m to 6m.

2. Highlighting crossing at Huntly Cres with paint on the road to prioritise pedestrians crossing the street and colourful art on the pavement.

3. Refresh existing small green space and relocate a bench.

4. Reducing speed on Raploch Road with cycle and bus friendly speed cushions.

Interventions have been installed on a non-permanent basis and will:

1. Reduce traffic speed and traffic volumes on a selected street/s

2. Improve local perceptions of safety and place quality

3. Make it easier and more attractive for people to walk and cycle on selected streets

4. Inspire communities and increase their sense of empowerment

We will be hosting a celebration of the works event in the coming weeks, on hopefully a slightly sunnier day! We will post the date of the event on this website and on our social media pages.

Let us know your thoughts on the rest of the routes on our heatmap - we will be closing this for comments at the end of January!

We had an incredible turnout despite the dreich day. Thank you all so much for coming along and giving such valuable feedback.

We were particularly thankful for Allan Primary pupil's taking the time to get involved, and the rain certainly didn't put them off taking park in the street audit.

They were particularly enthusiastic with the phone-charging bike - I think it's safe to say we all left with a full charge!

Over 100 people dropped in to give their thoughts on our proposals, and how they would like to see the streets improved, including places where crossing points should be and where traffic junctions need to be made safe.

We will be working hard over the next few days collecting all the valuable comments and questionnaires everyone completed.

Thanks again for all your input! Remember, the heatmap will still be open until January, so keep adding comments!

We had an incredible turnout despite the dreich day. Thank you all so much for coming along and giving such valuable feedback.

We were particularly thankful for Allan Primary pupil's taking the time to get involved, and the rain certainly didn't put them off taking park in the street audit.

They were particularly enthusiastic with the phone-charging bike - I think it's safe to say we all left with a full charge!

Over 100 people dropped in to give their thoughts on our proposals, and how they would like to see the streets improved, including places where crossing points should be and where traffic junctions need to be made safe.

We will be working hard over the next few days collecting all the valuable comments and questionnaires everyone completed.

Thanks again for all your input! Remember, the heatmap will still be open until January, so keep adding comments!

We had an incredible turnout despite the dreich day. Thank you all so much for coming along and giving such valuable feedback.

We were particularly thankful for Allan Primary pupil's taking the time to get involved, and the rain certainly didn't put them off taking park in the street audit.

They were particularly enthusiastic with the phone-charging bike - I think it's safe to say we all left with a full charge!

Over 100 people dropped in to give their thoughts on our proposals, and how they would like to see the streets improved, including places where crossing points should be and where traffic junctions need to be made safe.

We will be working hard over the next few days collecting all the valuable comments and questionnaires everyone completed.

Thanks again for all your input! Remember, the heatmap will still be open until January, so keep adding comments!

We had an incredible turnout despite the dreich day. Thank you all so much for coming along and giving such valuable feedback.

We were particularly thankful for Allan Primary pupil's taking the time to get involved, and the rain certainly didn't put them off taking park in the street audit.

They were particularly enthusiastic with the phone-charging bike - I think it's safe to say we all left with a full charge!

Over 100 people dropped in to give their thoughts on our proposals, and how they would like to see the streets improved, including places where crossing points should be and where traffic junctions need to be made safe.

We will be working hard over the next few days collecting all the valuable comments and questionnaires everyone completed.

Thanks again for all your input! Remember, the heatmap will still be open until January, so keep adding comments!

The final designs have been handed over to the Walk, Cycle, Live Stirling for delivery as part of the wider project, but ahead of the final designs being implemented a number of temporary interventions have been developed. Based on hundreds of comments gathered from the community, the Street Design team have identified an opportunity to trial a series of temporary interventions at the junction of Raploch Road and Huntly Crescent. The changes could start to address some of the problems the community have told them about, such as speeding traffic turning into and out of Huntly Crescent. The interventions would improve the sense of safety now, in advance of later construction work to deliver the entire Raploch Street Design project. These temporary interventions will be funded by Sustrans who have lead this project, and will be installed by Stirling Council by the end of July.

These temporary interventions are intended to;

1. Slow down vehicles as they enter and exit Huntly Crescent onto Raploch Road. This is done by putting in a rubber kerb line to tighten the bend to encourage traffic to slow down as they turn into and out of the junction. This would reduce the radii of the corner from 12m to 6m.

2. Make it easier for pedestrian and people with restricted mobility to cross Huntly Crescent by installing drop kerbs and highlighting where people regularly cross at Huntly Crescent with contrasting paint. The colour will be extend on to the pavement as thermoplastic circles to brighten up the area .

3. Refresh an existing green space.

4. Slow down vehicles travelling on Raploch Road with bolt down cycle and bus friendly speed cushions.

JH Civil Engineering Ltd. have been awarded the contract and are due to start works at the start of December. For traffic and pedestrian safety, there will be temporary traffic lights, please expect some potential delays if travelling through during construction works.

The final designs have been handed over to the Walk, Cycle, Live Stirling for delivery as part of the wider project, but ahead of the final designs being implemented a number of temporary interventions have been developed. Based on hundreds of comments gathered from the community, the Street Design team have identified an opportunity to trial a series of temporary interventions at the junction of Raploch Road and Huntly Crescent. The changes could start to address some of the problems the community have told them about, such as speeding traffic turning into and out of Huntly Crescent. The interventions would improve the sense of safety now, in advance of later construction work to deliver the entire Raploch Street Design project. These temporary interventions will be funded by Sustrans who have lead this project, and will be installed by Stirling Council by the end of July.

These temporary interventions are intended to;

1. Slow downvehicles as they enter and exit Huntly Crescent onto Raploch Road. This is done by putting in a rubber kerb line to tighten the bend to encourage traffic to slow down as they turn into and out of the junction. This would reduce the radii of the corner from 12m to 6m.

2. Make it easier for pedestrian and people with restricted mobility to cross Huntly Crescent by installing drop kerbs and highlighting where people regularly cross at Huntly Crescent with contrasting paint. The colour will be extend on to the pavement as thermoplastic circles to brighten up the area .

3. Refresh an existing green space.

4. Slow down vehicles travelling on Raploch Road with bolt down cycle and bus friendly speed cushions.

JH Civil Engineering Ltd. have been awarded the contract and are due to start works at the start of December. For traffic and pedestrian safety, there will be temporary traffic lights, please expect some potential delays if travelling through during construction works.

The final designs have been handed over to the Walk, Cycle, Live Stirling for delivery as part of the wider project, but ahead of the final designs being implemented a number of temporary interventions have been developed. Based on hundreds of comments gathered from the community, the Street Design team have identified an opportunity to trial a series of temporary interventions at the junction of Raploch Road and Huntly Crescent. The changes could start to address some of the problems the community have told them about, such as speeding traffic turning into and out of Huntly Crescent. The interventions would improve the sense of safety now, in advance of later construction work to deliver the entire Raploch Street Design project. These temporary interventions will be funded by Sustrans who have lead this project, and will be installed by Stirling Council by the end of July.

These temporary interventions are intended to;

1. Slow downvehicles as they enter and exit Huntly Crescent onto Raploch Road. This is done by putting in a rubber kerb line to tighten the bend to encourage traffic to slow down as they turn into and out of the junction. This would reduce the radii of the corner from 12m to 6m.

2. Make it easier for pedestrian and people with restricted mobility to cross Huntly Crescent by installing drop kerbs and highlighting where people regularly cross at Huntly Crescent with contrasting paint. The colour will be extend on to the pavement as thermoplastic circles to brighten up the area .

3. Refresh an existing green space.

4. Slow down vehicles travelling on Raploch Road with bolt down cycle and bus friendly speed cushions.

JH Civil Engineering Ltd. have been awarded the contract and are due to start works at the start of December. For traffic and pedestrian safety, there will be temporary traffic lights, please expect some potential delays if travelling through during construction works.

The final designs have been handed over to the Walk, Cycle, Live Stirling for delivery as part of the wider project, but ahead of the final designs being implemented a number of temporary interventions have been developed. Based on hundreds of comments gathered from the community, the Street Design team have identified an opportunity to trial a series of temporary interventions at the junction of Raploch Road and Huntly Crescent. The changes could start to address some of the problems the community have told them about, such as speeding traffic turning into and out of Huntly Crescent. The interventions would improve the sense of safety now, in advance of later construction work to deliver the entire Raploch Street Design project. These temporary interventions will be funded by Sustrans who have lead this project, and will be installed by Stirling Council by the end of July.

These temporary interventions are intended to;

1. Slow down vehicles as they enter and exit Huntly Crescent onto Raploch Road. This is done by putting in a rubber kerb line to tighten the bend to encourage traffic to slow down as they turn into and out of the junction. This would reduce the radii of the corner from 12m to 6m.

2. Make it easier for pedestrian and people with restricted mobility to cross Huntly Crescent by installing drop kerbs and highlighting where people regularly cross at Huntly Crescent with contrasting paint. The colour will be extend on to the pavement as thermoplastic circles to brighten up the area .

3. Refresh an existing green space.

4. Slow down vehicles travelling on Raploch Road with bolt down cycle and bus friendly speed cushions.

JH Civil Engineering Ltd. have been awarded the contract and are due to start works at the start of December. For traffic and pedestrian safety, there will be temporary traffic lights, please expect some potential delays if travelling through during construction works.

We have had over 150 comments so far for the two proposed routes.

A common issue that has been raised is the unsafe feeling along busy roads when cycling, therefore another route is chosen.This project will look to improve the feeling of safety on these two routes, and we can achieve this by giving more dedicated space to cycle and footways, and less to vehicles.

Have a look at the images below and think about space:

Causewayhead Road - How much space do the cars actually need? More space for drivers increases traffic speed. What else could we do to create an exemplary cycle and walking route here?

Cowane Street - There's even space for parking either side! We seem to have forgotten about people when building this street. Let's think about taking some of that space back. What could we add or do to improve the feeling of safe cycling and walking? Where are the crossing points? Where is the greenery?

Dumbarton Road - Apparently a "residential" area. Certainly doesn't have that appeal at the moment, and yet leads directly into the city centre. What would you do to make it an attractive walk or cycle into the city? How much space do vehicles need here? The buildings are beautiful but the street not so much. How would you change it?

Airthrey Road - the direct route to the University. And yet, where are the people and cyclists? How can we make this route feel safe for walking, wheeling and cycling?

Please keep posting comments on the heatmap . But please remember that this project is focusing on the two highlighted routes, and will not be able to consider comments outside these routes.

We have had over 150 comments so far for the two proposed routes.

A common issue that has been raised is the unsafe feeling along busy roads when cycling, therefore another route is chosen.This project will look to improve the feeling of safety on these two routes, and we can achieve this by giving more dedicated space to cycle and footways, and less to vehicles.

Have a look at the images below and think about space:

Causewayhead Road - How much space do the cars actually need? More space for drivers increases traffic speed. What else could we do to create an exemplary cycle and walking route here?

Cowane Street - There's even space for parking either side! We seem to have forgotten about people when building this street. Let's think about taking some of that space back. What could we add or do to improve the feeling of safe cycling and walking? Where are the crossing points? Where is the greenery?

Dumbarton Road - Apparently a "residential" area. Certainly doesn't have that appeal at the moment, and yet leads directly into the city centre. What would you do to make it an attractive walk or cycle into the city? How much space do vehicles need here? The buildings are beautiful but the street not so much. How would you change it?

Airthrey Road - the direct route to the University. And yet, where are the people and cyclists? How can we make this route feel safe for walking, wheeling and cycling?

Please keep posting comments on the heatmap . But please remember that this project is focusing on the two highlighted routes, and will not be able to consider comments outside these routes.

We have had over 150 comments so far for the two proposed routes.

A common issue that has been raised is the unsafe feeling along busy roads when cycling, therefore another route is chosen.This project will look to improve the feeling of safety on these two routes, and we can achieve this by giving more dedicated space to cycle and footways, and less to vehicles.

Have a look at the images below and think about space:

Causewayhead Road - How much space do the cars actually need? More space for drivers increases traffic speed. What else could we do to create an exemplary cycle and walking route here?

Cowane Street - There's even space for parking either side! We seem to have forgotten about people when building this street. Let's think about taking some of that space back. What could we add or do to improve the feeling of safe cycling and walking? Where are the crossing points? Where is the greenery?

Dumbarton Road - Apparently a "residential" area. Certainly doesn't have that appeal at the moment, and yet leads directly into the city centre. What would you do to make it an attractive walk or cycle into the city? How much space do vehicles need here? The buildings are beautiful but the street not so much. How would you change it?

Airthrey Road - the direct route to the University. And yet, where are the people and cyclists? How can we make this route feel safe for walking, wheeling and cycling?

Please keep posting comments on the heatmap . But please remember that this project is focusing on the two highlighted routes, and will not be able to consider comments outwith these routes.

We have had over 150 comments so far for the two proposed routes.

A common issue that has been raised is the unsafe feeling along busy roads when cycling, therefore another route is chosen.This project will look to improve the feeling of safety on these two routes, and we can achieve this by giving more dedicated space to cycle and footways, and less to vehicles.

Have a look at the images below and think about space:

Causewayhead Road - How much space do the cars actually need? More space for drivers increases traffic speed. What else could we do to create an exemplary cycle and walking route here?

Cowane Street - There's even space for parking either side! We seem to have forgotten about people when building this street. Let's think about taking some of that space back. What could we add or do to improve the feeling of safe cycling and walking? Where are the crossing points? Where is the greenery?

Dumbarton Road - Apparently a "residential" area. Certainly doesn't have that appeal at the moment, and yet leads directly into the city centre. What would you do to make it an attractive walk or cycle into the city? How much space do vehicles need here? The buildings are beautiful but the street not so much. How would you change it?

Airthrey Road - the direct route to the University. And yet, where are the people and cyclists? How can we make this route feel safe for walking, wheeling and cycling?

Please keep posting comments on the heatmap . But please remember that this project is focusing on the two highlighted routes, and will not be able to consider comments outside these routes.

Dr Bike will give your bike a health check delivered in partnership with Recyke--bike .

No booking necessary, just bring your bike in to the launch event.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Dr Bike will give your bike a health check delivered in partnership with Recyke-a-bike .

No booking necessary, just bring your bike in to the launch event.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Dr Bike will give your bike a health check delivered in partnership with Recyke-a-bike .

No booking necessary, just bring your bike in to the launch event.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Dr Bike will give your bike a health check delivered in partnership with Recyke-a-bike .

No booking necessary, just bring your bike in to the launch event

We look forward to seeing you soon!

We have had some fantastic engagement so far with our heatmap , with over 100 comments so far!

Common problems noted so far include:

1. lack of segregated cycle routes

2. dangerous junctions

3. traffic.

Our project will endeavor to improve these routes to tackle these issues. We are keen to keep the comments coming in, even if you have already had a say, there is no limit to your input!

Don't forget to think about crossing points, rest areas and greenery . Is there enough? Could they be improved? Could there be more - if so, where?

We have had some fantastic engagement so far with our heatmap , with over 100 comments so far!

Common problems noted so far include:

1. lack of segregated cycle routes

2. dangerous junctions

3. traffic.

Our project will endeavor to improve these routes to tackle these issues. We are keen to keep the comments coming in, even if you have already had a say, there is no limit to your input!

Don't forget to think about crossing points, rest areas and greenery . Is there enough? Could they be improved? Could there be more - if so, where?

We have had some fantastic engagement so far with our heatmap , with over 100 comments so far!

Common problems noted so far include:

1. lack of segregated cycle routes

2. dangerous junctions

3. traffic.

Our project will endeavor to improve these routes to tackle these issues. We are keen to keep the comments coming in, even if you have already had a say, there is no limit to your input!

Don't forget to think about crossing points, rest areas and greenery . Is there enough? Could they be improved? Could there be more - if so, where?

We have had some fantastic engagement so far with our heatmap , with over 100 comments so far!

Common problems noted so far include:

1. lack of segregated cycle routes

2. dangerous junctions

3. traffic.

Our project will endeavor to improve these routes to tackle these issues. We are keen to keep the comments coming in, even if you have already had a say, there is no limit to your input!

Don't forget to think about crossing points, rest areas and greenery . Is there enough? Could they be improved? Could there be more - if so, where?

The two routes - Stirling train station to the University and Upper Craigs to Forth Valley College - will be live for comments via the heatmap tomorrow the 31st of October!

This will give you the chance to anonymously pin point and comment any issues or opportunities within the two routes.

How would you improve the streets? What would make you want to walk along the streets? Would you walk to the shops if the streets were better? Are there barriers we can remove to make cycling and walking more appealing? What do you think tourists see when they visit?

You may wish to highlight areas where crossing points could be improved, there may be poor lighting , you may wish to have pleasant seating areas, or maybe you think traffic speeds could be reduced. Anything that pops into your mind as you're travelling these routes by foot, bike, wheelchair, bus or other modes of vehicle. On a rainy day there may be areas that create puddles - let us know and we can work with you to make Stirling a more accessible, pleasant, and vibrant city for all!

Check out the comments, ideas and suggestions from Raploch Street Design heatmap and how we have developed these into the concept design drawings .

Watch this space for news about the upcoming Launch Event!

The two routes - Stirling train station to the University and Upper Craigs to Forth Valley College - will be live for comments via the heatmap tomorrow the 31st of October!

This will give you the chance to anonymously pin point and comment any issues or opportunities within the two routes.

How would you improve the streets? What would make you want to walk along the streets? Would you walk to the shops if the streets were better? Are there barriers we can remove to make cycling and walking more appealing? What do you think tourists see when they visit?

You may wish to highlight areas where crossing points could be improved, there may be poor lighting , you may wish to have pleasant seating areas, or maybe you think traffic speeds could be reduced. Anything that pops into your mind as you're travelling these routes by foot, bike, wheelchair, bus or other modes of vehicle. On a rainy day there may be areas that create puddles - let us know and we can work with you to make Stirling a more accessible, pleasant, and vibrant city for all!

Check out the comments, ideas and suggestions from Raploch Street Design heatmap and how we have developed these into the concept design drawings .

Watch this space for news about the upcoming Launch Event!

The two routes - Stirling train station to the University and Upper Craigs to Forth Valley College - will be live for comments via the heatmap tomorrow the 31st of October!

This will give you the chance to anonymously pin point and comment any issues or opportunities within the two routes.

How would you improve the streets? What would make you want to walk along the streets? Would you walk to the shops if the streets were better? Are there barriers we can remove to make cycling and walking more appealing? What do you think tourists see when they visit?

You may wish to highlight areas where crossing point s could be improved, there may be poor lighting , you may wish to have pleasant seating areas, or maybe you think traffic speeds could be reduced. Anything that pops into your mind as you're travelling these routes by foot, bike, wheelchair, bus or other modes of vehicle. On a rainy day there may be areas that create puddles - let us know and we can work with you to make Stirling a more accessible, pleasant, and vibrant city for all!

Check out the comments, ideas and suggestions from Raploch Street Design heatmap and how we have developed these into the concept design drawings .

Watch this space for news about the upcoming Launch Event!

The two routes - Stirling train station to the University and Upper Craigs to Forth Valley College - will be live for comments via the heatmap tomorrow the 31st of October!

This will give you the chance to anonymously pin point and comment any issues or opportunities within the two routes.

How would you improve the streets? What would make you want to walk along the streets? Would you walk to the shops if the streets were better? Are there barriers we can remove to make cycling and walking more appealing? What do you think tourists see when they visit?

You may wish to highlight areas where crossing points could be improved, there may be poor lighting , you may wish to have pleasant seating areas, or maybe you think traffic speeds could be reduced. Anything that pops into your mind as you're travelling these routes by foot, bike, wheelchair, bus or other modes of vehicle. On a rainy day there may be areas that create puddles - let us know and we can work with you to make Stirling a more accessible, pleasant, and vibrant city for all!

Check out the comments, ideas and suggestions from Raploch Street Design heatmap and how we have developed these into the concept design drawings .

Watch this space for news about the upcoming Launch Event !

To evaluate the impact of the project, we would like to hear the views from those involved with the project. We invite you to complete this short online survey about the project and the engagement process. This should take no longer than 5 minutes to complete and is available to complete until Friday 16th August.

As a thank you for completing the survey, you will have the chance to enter a prize draw to win a £50 Sainsbury’s shopping voucher.

​

Please click here to take part

​

All the best,

The Sustrans Team

Prize draw T&Cs available as part of the survey.

Is it Huntley, or Huntly Crescent? This is the question we’ve been asking ourselves the last few months. It seems there isn’t just one answer. Some people have told us that the ‘e’ belongs and others have told us that it doesn’t. So we decided to see if we could track down the missing ‘e’ and we found it hiding on an OS Map Published in 1951. So chances are, if you’ve called Raploch home for many years, and you remember the houses that stood in the area before their demolition then you’ll remember it this way.

However, something happened that would begin the great spelling debate just after the turn of the millennium. Until 2001 Huntley was commonly spelt with an ‘e’, but when the old houses on Huntley Crescent were demolished, so too was the letter ‘e’.

“

When the new houses were built they were registered with the address ‘Huntly Crescent’. It is very difficult to change an address after it has been registered, so it seems whoever put in the application, by design or by error changed the spelling forever for future inhabitants. This is the spelling that can be found on recently published maps and on Google Maps. A trace of the past still remains though, the popular Day Today shop may be just behind the council’s recently installed new sign for ‘Huntly Crescent’, but the building appears to be the only one we can find that has retained the ‘e’ in its official address.

On 6th June, 120 people came together at our community celebration event to see the updated designs and to thank everybody involved with the Raploch Street Design Project from start to finish!

Children from all three primary schools, people living nearby, representatives from St Mark’s Church, Stirling Council Councillors, members of the Community Council and Raploch Community Partnership, business owners and residents from a local care home came along to take part in the celebrations and see the updated designs.

The designs were displayed for all to see, as well as the visuals and a plan for the temporary interventions on Huntley Crescent. Our team was on hand to explain how we’ve adapted these in response to your feedback – and to handout special branded cupcakes made for the occasion! You can find the updated designs on this page here.

Reimagining the streets, we hopped, jumped, and skipped our way across our chalked out trail to take part in two design walkabouts of the project area with the Rebel Writers group from Raploch Primary, the Junior Road Safety Officers from Our Lady’s Primary and local councillors Jim Thompson and Susan McGill.

The celebration was made even better by our friends from Stirling Active Travel Hub who brought along their cycle-powered smoothie maker and a selection of e-bikes for anyone to try.

We’d especially like to thank members of the Community Liaison Group who met for the last time a week before this event. The group has been vital to the success of the designs and we are happy to say that members are continuing to think about ways in which they can make a positive change in the community, and encourage more walking and cycling in the area.

What next? You can view the updated designs here alongside explanations of the changes in the design. The designs are now being handed over to Stirling Council with a view to construction in 2021.

In our previous post we summarised your feedback in detail, and explained our responses to your comments.

Here you can see an overview of the relative amount of positive, neutral and negative comments on our website. This is based on the 77 people that indicated how they felt about the designs with smiley faces in our online surveys , and therefore is just a rough reflection of the character of all the feedback, as it does not include hundreds of offline comments.

To find out more about the feedback gathered and our design response, please see the post below this one, or come along to our event this Thursday the 6th June from 1pm till 6pm outdoors, in Raploch Road with Huntley Crescent , where we will also discuss the ‘temporary changes’ stage of the project: https://www.facebook.com/events/374005456656264/ We hope to see you there!

During March and April 2019, the ‘Explore the Design’ stage of the project, we received over 600 comments about our design ideas and reached over 2,000 people ! Thank you very much for getting involved. For more detail on this, see the ‘Explore the design stage’ blog post from a few weeks ago.

This week we have summarised these comments and we explain the team’s design responses. This is a very brief overview of all the feedback gathered, so not all comments will be reflected in it. However we have tried to include as many as possible, and we have considered all the comments , including those which we haven’t been able to include here.

You will have the chance to discuss this feedback and our response at our next event, on Thursday the 6th June from 1pm till 6pm outdoors, in Raploch Road with Huntley Crescent , where we will also discuss the ‘temporary changes’ stage of the project: https://www.facebook.com/events/374005456656264/ We hope to see you there!

You will also be able to view the updated designs on this website , from the 6th of June.

If you can’t make it to the event but have any questions about the design, please email Irene at Irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk

Accessibility and Walking

There were positive comments about pavement improvement, additional informal and controlled crossings and measures to reduce and prevent pavement parking, continuous footways and raised tables. These interventions were seen as improving accessibility for people with restricted mobility.

Some requested differentiating the pavement from the carriageway by using different colours. Also adding more measures to avoid pavement parking, and ensuring continuous footways are safe for the visually impaired. Finally, some asked if the continuous footways meant car access was blocked to side streets.

Crossings

Controlled crossings and additional informal crossing points throughout the project area were regarded positively. Many agreed it would be safer to cross the street with the proposed changes. It was also suggested that informal crossing points were painted on the road , to highlight them to pedestrians and drivers. There were also some requests for an additional crossing at the other side of Back O’Hill Road, and a toucan crossing at the Raploch Road junction with Drip Road.

Finally, it was suggested that the tree planter in this junction was removed, as it was seen as obstructing sightlines.

Cycling

Segregated cycle lanes are seen as positive change. There were requests to use a different colour material for the cycle paths, but make sure it is not slippery, and to better link this project with the wider Stirling area. This wider linking could include, it was suggested, a connection to the Riverside Path by adding a ramp, and a better cycling link between the Old Railway Path and Weir Street.

Some asked for segregated cycle lanes on both sides of Raploch Road, and the junction with Drip Road, or to open the pavement on one side of the road to cyclists. Finally, better signage and wayfinding for cyclists was suggested.

Driving

The proposed 20mph limit was regarded positively, and there were requests to ensure this is clearly signed and enforced, and if possible implemented in all of Raploch. There were also some suggestions for making the road space narrower wherever possible.

Raised tables were generally seen as an adequate way of slowing traffic. Some requested further raised tables along the area, particularly in the Weir Street junction and near the Back O’Hill end of Raploch Road. These were seen as more effective than speed bumps.

There were a few comments about trying to re-direct traffic from Drip Road and Raploch Road into the Millennium Way.

Public parking

There was general opposition to the double yellow line outside 96-126 Raploch Road, as it is frequently used as visitor parking by residents. On the other hand, there were generally positive comments about the Back O’Hill area proposed echelon parking, along with requests for more disabled spaces in this section, by removing one of the planters instead. It was also highlighted that one of the proposed planters was in an active driveway, and that the rear of bays need to allow wheelchair access. Some raised concerns about difficulty pulling out of echelon parking, especially when the road is busy.

Finally, there were requests for an additional passing place in the green space, at the end of Raploch Road/Craigforth Crescent closer to the Fire Station. This is because at the moment people park in the green space, but with the high kerb, they would park beside it, which may obstruct traffic.

Greenspace

There was widespread support for the path along the trees and the play area. We gathered some requests for it to be 2m wide for accessibility. Also, boulders were seen as a more adequate material for the nature play section.

There were also requests for an additional passing place in the green space, at the end of Raploch Road/Craigforth Crescent closer to the Fire Station. This is because at the moment people park in the green space, but with the high kerb, they would park beside it, which may obstruct traffic.

There were many positive comments about the added greenery in the Back O’Hill area, including the transformation of the bus turning area, but some worries about the maintenance of the green space.

Bus routes

There were voiced concerns about the possibility of altering the existing bus routes and location of current bus stops.

General

There was general support for removing some of the fencing, and several asks for replacing existing guard rail with something more modern and attractive. More litter bins, dog litter bins and seating was also requested for the whole project area. We received positive comments about the benches delivered so far, and the community noticeboard. Finally, several suggestions were noted to remove seating in front of the housing at the Back O’Hill end of Raploch Road, and simply have planters instead.

It has been a busy few months for the Raploch Street Design team! We have been updating the design proposals with the comments gathered, planning for our Celebration Event in June (more info below), and preparing for the next step of the project, which will include trialling some of the changes identified by the community.

What will these temporary changes be?

Based on hundreds of comments gathered from the community, we have identified an opportunity to trial a series of temporary interventions at the junction of Raploch Road and Huntley Crescent.

These are temporary changes (like the benches and noticeboard) to the area around the junction of Huntley Crescent and Raploch Road. The changes could start to address some of the problems you’ve told us about, such as speeding traffic turning into and out of Huntley Crescent. They would improve the sense of safety now, in advance of later construction work to deliver the entire Raploch Street Design project. The team has identified the following four opportunities based on comments from the community:

Current view of Huntley Crescent junction with Raploch Road.

Visualisation of proposal for temporary interventions at Raploch Road / Huntley Cres.

1. Slowing down vehicles as they enter and exit Huntly Crescent onto Raploch Road. We can do this by putting in a new kurb line to tighten the bend to encourage traffic to slow down as they turn into and out of the junction. This would reduce the bend of the corner from 12m to 6m.

2. Making it easier for pedestrian and people with restricted mobility to cross Huntley Crescent by installing drop kerbs and highlighting where people regularly cross at Huntley Crescent contrasting paint. We can extend this colour on to the pavement to brighten up the area.

3. Putting in a planter with tree or greenery, this could also help to prevent pavement parking.

4. Slow down vehicles travelling on Raploch Road with bolt down cycle and bus friendly speed cushions .

Details on delivery of the changes are still to be worked out.

June Celebration Event

We showcased these temporary changes designs at our Public Session in March, and we will also share them during our upcoming Celebration Event :

WHAT : At this event, besides seeing the trial designs, you’ll also be able to explore the updated concept design for Raploch Street Design, which we have changed with help from your feedback. There will be sweets, activities for children and adults and other surprises!

WHERE : The corner of Raploch Road and Huntley Crescent, outdoors.

WHEN : 6th of June, 1pm till 6pm. There will also be two design walkabouts of the area, starting at 2pm and 4pm from the event location.

More details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/374005456656264

You can find out more about when these changes are planned to be delivered at our Celebration Event on the 6th of June, and at our next Community Liaison Group meeting. We will also keep you updated through this blog, so make sure you are subscribed.

Community Liaison Group Meeting

At this meeting, we’ll share with the group how we are going to present the feedback we gathered in the last few months and how we have used this to update the designs. We will also feedback about the temporary changes stage of the project, and the walking, wheelchair use and cycling recommendations we have gathered from our engagement. There will be teas, coffees and biscuits. If you would like to attend this meeting, please email Irene at Irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk

Living Streets campaigns to make streets safer for people walking in later life whilst encouraging everyone to give more walking a go!

This National Walking Month sees the launch of the #nine90 campaign which sets out to improve the walking quality of streets for everyone, whether they are aged nine or 90. They aspire to do this with clear pavements, slower car speeds and more effective crossings. By making these small changes, our streets become more accessible for everyone.

Walk 20 minutes a day

Walking is free, flexible and fun. Coupled with this, it is proven to have a huge impact on your wellbeing. Walk for 20 minutes a day during May and experience the health and wellbeing benefits that come from an everyday increase in small steps. Make a small change to your daily routine and add more walking at work, to school, or around your neighbourhood.

If you’re wondering how to incorporate 20 minutes' walking in your everyday routine, we have some top tips:

Check here for more tips on how to fit in 20 minutes.

Walk to School Week

Walk to School Week is taking place on the 20th-24th May this year. All pupils and parents around the UK will unite for one week of walking to school. Schools are invited to take part in a new, five-day walking challenge . The challenge aims to get to the heart of walking and show how it can benefit the whole community as well as improve individual wellbeing. Learn more about how to register your school here.

Calling female cyclists - become a Breeze Champion Spaces are still available for FREE Breeze Champion training course, taking place in Stirling on 18th May. The Breeze network is looking for women to join their team of Breeze Champions and inspire more women to get fit, have fun and ride bikes. You don’t need to be cycling experts, just confident riding a bike and passionate about getting women and girls active.

Trained Breeze Champions will receive exclusive Breeze Champion kit, British Cycling Ride membership and on-going support from Scottish Cycling and British Cycling to help them on their way.

Sign up here .

The lovely weather got us thinking about summer, so the Raploch Street Design Team has started planning their June event. It will likely take place the 6th of June in the corner of Huntley Crescent with Raploch Road, where we will have a gazebo and different displays, as we did in our launch session back in September.

What will it be about?

We will show you the concept design for Raploch Street Design, with updates and changes based on your feedback.

You’ll be able to ask questions about the designs

We will have lead walks around the project site, in which we will explain the design on site

We will also let you know about the next steps in the project, and some of the proposed temporary changes for the area, based on all the information we have gathered from you.

As always, there will be refreshments and activities for children and toddlers, so do bring them along!

Specific times will be decided soon, so keep an eye out on this blog to find out more.

Community Liaison Group Meeting

We will meet with the project’s Community Liaison Group a week before the public session, the 30th of May, to discuss the new designs in detail, as well as the comments from the Explore the Design stage on which they are based. If you would like to attend this meeting, please email Irene at Irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk

And finally…

We added a community board to the Huntley Crescent corner with Raploch Road a few months ago, after several people in the community asked for it. We have now added a sign to the board, reading ‘Raploch Community Board’. Go and have a look and contact Irene on Irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk if you would like to get a copy of the key for the board!

Our website is now closed for comments, but you can still see everyone's contributions and the design proposals here: https://raploch.commonplace.is/overview

These are all the activities we have held to make sure you got to have a say:

Public Session, 15th March: This was the big launch of this stage, where we showed the designs for the first time and gathered your views.

Website Launch, 15th March: We uploaded the designs to our website here: https://raploch.commonplace.is/overview , for people to be able to comment online. Since its launch:

Drop-in Sessions, 28th March, 4th and 11th of April: We held 3 drop-in sessions where people could come share their views about the design and ask questions.

Community Liaison Group Meeting, 29th March: We held a meeting with the community group we have established for the project, to discuss the designs in details and gather their thoughts.

Community Council Meeting, 1st April: The team attended the April Raploch Community Council meeting to invite them to comment on the design and attend our drop-ins.

Forthbank Care Home Session, 1st April: We presented the designs to residents, staff and relatives at the care home, and asked them for their views.

We are now in the process of changing the design ideas according to the comments we have gathered. We will present the changed designs at the start of June, on our website and in public events. Keep an eye out on this page to stay updated!

This Friday the 12th of April is the last chance to comment on the design proposals for Raploch Road and north Drip Road. You can do this in our website https://raploch.commonplace.is/overview or you can join our final drop-in session this Friday:

What: Design Feedback Drop-in

Where: Raploch Community Campus, near the reception

When: Friday 12th of April, 10:30 till 12:30

If you can’t make this time, you can still go to the campus before this Friday, where the designs will be displayed near the reception. You can then fill in a questionnaire with your feedback and leave it in a ballot box, which is below the designs, or just insert any comments and questions in the box.

If you would like to get in touch directly with comments about the design, please email Irene at Irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk

We have started analysing the feedback we have gathered. Over 150 people have commented on the designs, and over 600 people have either seen the designs online or attended one of our design feedback events. In total, our websites have had almost 2,300 visitors since the project launch in September, which we are really proud of as Raploch has a population of 3,150!

It is a big task to summarise all of the findings and feedback we’ve gathered and turn them into changes in the design proposals, so we will spend the next few weeks doing this.

June events

After this, we will start planning the last Raploch Street Design events, which will likely take place at the start of June. In these events we will show you the designs changed according to your comments, and will celebrate the project with plenty of food and fun activities. We will also showcase some of the temporary changes we would like to add to the Huntley Crescent corner with Raploch Road, following your suggestions.

Please subscribe to this news page to stay updated on our next events.

It is a while until our next event, so why not find some new cycling routes in the meantime? Are you looking for some company for your next bike ride? Then you can join the fun and free led group bike rides ‘Stirling Social Rides’ run on Saturday and Sunday.

It is a brilliant way to meet new people and explore new places and routes in Stirling in a friendly and informal setting.

Stirling Social Rides are led by trained Sustrans volunteers and are supported by Stirling Active Travel Hub. It is an easy pace to suit the group and no one will be left behind. Where possible, the rides will include a stop for coffee and chat on the route.

Rides will take about 3 hours, including a coffee break. All rides leave from The Peak Sports Village, Forthside Way, Stirling at 10.30am and are designed for adults 16+.

Book on 01786 474160 or go to Stirlingactivetravelhub.eventbrite.com

The deadline to share your views about the design proposals has been extended to the 12th of April. You can see the designs and give your feedback here: https://raploch.commonplace.is/overview or read about options to feedback in person in this blog post. We have added design boards on the street, to show pedestrians and ask for their feedback.

Tomorrow 4th of April I will be at the Raploch Community Campus, from 10:30 till 12:30 to listen to people's views on the designs and answer their questions. Please come along and have your say.

If you can't make it at that time, there will be questionnaires for you to fill in at the campus, near the reception, where the designs are displayed. There is a ballot box in the corner, where you can introduce your feedback.

Last Thursday we had our first design feedback drop in which was very well attended - 12 people came, including the Rebel Writers Group from Raploch Primary and Scottish Natural Heritage staff that cycle to work at Castle Business Park. This week I have been to Forthbank Care Home to explain the design proposals and gather the feedback of staff, residents and their relatives. I spoke to about 20 people at the care home, which has been shaping the design from the start of our engagement last September. I also attended the Raploch Community Council Meeting on Monday evening, to tell attendees about the different ways in which they can share their views about the project.

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/397409114411813

If you would also like to have your say in person or over the phone but aren't able to make these times, please email Irene at irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk

If you are happy to comment in writing, you can do so online through this link: https://raploch.commonplace.is/overview .

You can also fill in a questionnaire in person at the Raploch Community Campus . You can find a ballot box on top of the reception desk and questionnaires right next to it, where you can insert your filled in questionnaire. The designs will be displayed at the right hand side of the reception desk until the 5th of April.

Thanks very much to everyone who joined us last Friday the 15th of March to have a look at our design proposals and give us feedback on them. It was great to be able to chat to so many of you, and we got really good suggestions. Over 100 people came, including children from the 3 primary schools, councillor Jim Thompson and members of the Stirling Area Access Panel.

The Explore the Design event took place in the Raploch Community Campus, and it was a drop-in with displays of the design proposals, as well as posters and materials explaining our project so far, the information we’ve gathered from the community and next steps.

Activities

Presentations: We introduced the Raploch Street Design Team, and briefly talked about the more than 30 activities and meetings we’ve held so far as part of our engagement.

Participatory Budgeting : Community Link Officer Andy Davies also joined us to tell attendees about the new Participatory Budgeting program, through which local people can decide how to spend £700,000 on council projects.

Children's corner: We kept our youngest attendees busy and happy while their parents explored the design.

Treasure Hunt: With the 3 primary schools. The weather wasn’t nice to us at all, and our handouts got pretty wet! Which is why we were super impressed with our participants – so motivated, smart and able to tackle the weather for longer than we could have hoped for!

Active Travel Gazebo: Finally, the Stirling Active Travel Hub and Recyke-a-Bike joined us with information about their upcoming activities and their free Dr Bike! Follow their social media for more info on upcoming activities.

The Feedback

Attendees filled in questionnaires about the design, and also wrote comments directly on the printouts, expressing their suggestions and views about the proposals.

If you would also like to have your say but weren’t able to attend last Friday, you can comment online through this link: https://raploch.commonplace.is/overview .

You can also fill in a questionnaire in person at the Raploch Community Campus . You can find a ballot box on top of the reception desk and questionnaires right next to it. The designs are at the right hand side of the reception desk.

Irene will be available at the ground floor of the Raploch Community Campus to discuss the designs in person, at the following dates and times:

- Thursday 28th March, 10:30 to 12:30

- Thursday 4th of April, 10:30 to 12:30

Come talk to us about the designs in detail and ask any questions you may have.

Come join our Community Liaison Group meeting next week, to discuss the designs in detail with our principal designer Mette, express your suggestions and ask any questions you may have.

- Friday 29th of March,

10:30

Raploch Community Campus, Room 3

The design proposals for Raploch Road and Drip Road connecting to the college are now uploaded on our website ( https://raploch.commonplace.is/overview ) for you to review and comment on – go ahead and have your say!

Our proposals are based on the hundreds of comments and suggestions from residents, business owners and young people we have gathered online and through almost 30 meetings and activities. But we’re still gathering feedback: none of the designs are final. We need your help to figure out if they are right for the community, and will change them according to your views.

The designs will be available on our website for you to comment until the 5th of April.

If you scroll down each design page you will find a series of questions about your opinion on the proposals; this will help us make sure we haven’t missed your views on any aspect of the design.

Last Friday the 15th of March we held our Explore the Design event in Raploch Community Campus, where we showed our design proposals and collected feedback from over 100 residents and commuters . On the same date, we also published the designs on this website, for everyone to easily access them at home and provide feedback online.

(more on this in our next blog post)

If you couldn’t make it last Friday but would like to see the designs in person, they’re now exhibited on the ground level of Raploch Community Campus, where you can leave your feedback using one of our questionnaires and a ballot box until the 5th of April. For more detailed information about alternative ways to give feedback, see our blog post below.

· Design Feedback Drop-in Sessions

10:30 – 12:30, 28th of March and 4th of April, ground level of Raploch Community Campus.

· Community Liaison Group meeting

10:30 – 12:00, 29th of March, Room 3 Raploch Community Campus.

In this meeting, we will discuss the designs in detail with our community group. Everyone welcome to join.

· May Public Event

In May we may be able to run a trial of some of our design proposals on the street, to see how they could transform the area. It would likely focus on the Huntly Place section. Please subscribe to this page to stay updated.

Since the Raploch Street Design project launched in September 2018, we have received hundreds of comments and suggestions from residents, business owners and young people through almost 30 meetings and activities, and our websites. Based on this, we’ve come up with designs for Raploch Road and north Drip Road, and now we need your feedback.

How can I share my views?

The Raploch Explore the Design event

Our Explore the Design event is coming soon and everyone is invited to join!

The session will be so much more than a consultation event, with something for everyone: children’s activities (including a treasure hunt we have organised with the local primary schools), a free Dr Bike (2pm-4pm), a finger buffet and plenty of people from our team to chat about the project and the proposed designs in-depth. Come and have your say about the design proposals and discuss them with your neighbours.

WHEN: Friday 15th of March , Drop-in anytime between 1-7pm

WHERE: Raploch Community Campus, room 4 and 5

Exhibition at Raploch Community Campus

The proposed designs will also continue to be exhibited and open for feedback at the Raploch Community Campus until the 5th of April, near reception. There will be a ballot box and questionnaires about the designs for the public to fill with their views.

To guide people through the designs, there will be drop-in sessions on, where you’ll be able to speak to Irene ( Irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk ) in person about our design, and let her know about your suggestions or ask any doubts you may have.

· WHEN: Exhibition 15th March till 5th April 2019

- Drop-in sessions: Thursday the 28th of March and Thursday the 4th of April, from 10:30am till 12:30pm

· WHERE: Raploch Community Campus, near reception

Online feedback about the designs

The designs will also be available on this website, where you’ll be able to add comments from the 15th of March until the 5th of April. There will be an online questionnaire you can fill in about the proposals, as well as boxes to add any additional comments.

We are really excited about hearing from all of you about our suggested designs, be it online, in person or through a ballot box! Whatever means you choose, we will listen to your views.

What some people complain about is not being able to walk along or in between the trees, as there isn’t a path for it. This especially affects people with mobility issues, who can’t walk on the grass. We are trying to address some of these issues through our design proposal, which you’ll be able to comment on at our event on the 15th of March at Raploch Community Campus, as well as on this website and at a stall in the Community Campus for the following three weeks. Please follow this link for more info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1217716411710023/

For now, to encourage even more people to appreciate and enjoy this much-loved green space, we have decided to try and find a name for it with the community. We will ask children from the three primary schools to come up with two names per school, which people will then be able to vote for on our upcoming event on the 15th of March. Do you also have a suggestion for a good name for the park? If you do, please let us know by emailing Irene at Irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk , and we will add the name to the ones chosen by the schools.

With the help of local people we have decorated and added some leaflets about local events and services to the new community board we added on the side of the Great Wall at Huntley Cr. See below a picture taken by Helenor, one of our local champions for the Raploch Street Design project. If you would like to add something to the board, or even get a copy of the key for it, please get in touch with Ann Grieve or Helenor Bundy if you know them, or email Irene at Irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk .

Do you like catching up with your neighbours or meeting new people in the Raploch while enjoying some food? Are you looking for fun after-school activities for your children? Is your bike needing a quick fix? You’ll be able to do all this at our next even the 15th of March at Raploch Community Campus, on top of being able to review and have a say on our design proposals! People of all ages and abilities are encouraged to attend, as always, since we keep trying to make our events accessible and interesting to everyone. If you need transportation to get to the event, please email us at Irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk All the details are here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1217716411710023/

Remember to subscribe to this blog to stay updated on all our activities!

Get your bike ready for spring We will have a free drop-in Dr Bike on the 15th from 2 pm till 4 pm. You’ll be able to get a free health check on your bike or your child’s bike from a Recyke-a-Bike mechanic who will make your bike ready to ride this spring. Stirling Active Travel Hub will join us as well. It’s a great opportunity to learn what’s on at the Hub, get some tips on cycle-friendly routes in Stirling or sign up for Bikes for All scheme.

Re-imagine your commute with Sustrans’ Scottish Workplace Journey Challenge

Sustrans has got fantastic prizes to give away if you leave the car behind for your travel to, from and for work next month. Put the fun back into your work journeys as you challenge colleagues and other workplaces to travel sustainably and compete to climb the leader board - every journey counts!

Simply register online to log the walking, cycling, public transport and car-share journeys that you make to and for work from 1 – 31 March. Find out more and register at https://scotland.getmeactive.org.uk/

Calling female cyclists - become Breeze Champion Did you know that in Scotland twice as many men as women cycle once or twice a week for transport?

Together with British Cycling HSBC UK Breeze, we’re calling female cyclists to join the team of Breeze Champions and inspire more women to get fit, have fun and ride bikes.

If you’re a confident female cyclist and want to encourage other women and girls to cycle join The Breeze Ride Leader course delivered in Stirling on 18th May 2019 . The number of spaces are limited so don’t wait to sign-up.

Completing the course, you will become a Breeze Champion, an ambassador for the programme to raise awareness of the Breeze programme and help get more women and girls on bikes. You will also develop strong leadership skills and make new friends whilst improving your own health and fitness too. The course will qualify you to deliver guided bike rides for groups of female adults of all levels of experience and ability.

The course is one day, free to attend and in return, you're asked to lead 8 rides per year.

You can find out more about becoming a Breeze Champion by reading experiences from a current participant: www.mummysgoneacycle.com/champions/

For more information and to sign up for a place visit: www.letsride.co.uk/beachampion

The team has been very busy this week promoting our Public Session 3: Explore the Design, and inviting people to come along. Which takes me to... Come along to our next event! You can find more info on in the poster below or by following this link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1217716411710023/

We also attended last week's community council meeting to update them on the project, and have decorated our brand new community noticeboard, located at the side of the Great Wall takeaway. If you walk by, have a look and let us know what you think! Also, here's a picture of a rainbow welcoming us to Stirling and Raploch last week. A sure sign that good things are coming!

Last Friday the team organized an Active Travel workshop for our Community Liaison Group. During the session, we discussed what influence how people travel for their everyday journeys.

Since the project started, we have been asking the community what is stopping them from making their everyday journey by bike, on foot or obstacles when using a wheelchair. The poor condition of pavements and lack of cycling infrastructure have been among most popular, however, there was a number of other barriers including lack of knowledge about bike or wheelchair friendly routes, the perception of not being safe on a bike, cycling not being popular among friends or family or dog poo on pavements.

Together with the Community Liaison Group we discussed identified barriers and the group brainstormed how to address some of the identified problems to improve walking and cycling in Raploch. See some of the ideas below:

Kasia, our Behaviour Change Officer said:

The workshop highlighted the need of having local champions who will support actions to bring ideas to life, promotion of local initiative happening in Raploch and around Stirling as well as improving local neighbourhood to make it friendlier for people with dementia.

The group also recognized the need for a series of essential cycling skills activities and led rides for beginners. We hope to continue work with the community, to help design solutions to increase walking and cycling in Raploch. If you’ve any ideas, would like to be involved or have any questions, please email Kasia, kasia.koziel@sustrans.org.uk .

This week we published a short video about the new benches and planters we added to Raploch with the help of our local champions. We spent hours outside and it was almost as freezing as it is today, so they definitely showed commitment! You can watch it here: https://www.facebook.com/1427061174189234/posts/we-had-the-pleasure-of-working-with-local-residents-to-add-new-benches-and-plant/2399406386954703/

If you would also like to get involved in the project, contact Irene at irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk

This week we're also inviting families and schools in Raploch to join the Sustrans Big Pedal, the largest inter-school cycling, walking and scooting competition in the UK.

Big Pedal is a free annual competition that encourages children, parents and staff to travel to school using human power in order to win prizes and have fun.

This year’s theme is ‘Travelling around the body’ with pupils tracking their progress on a wall chart, learning about the human body and how active travel benefits their health as they go.

The Big Pedal 2019 is open to individual classes as well as whole schools. On each day of the challenge, schools compete to see who can record the greatest number of pupils, staff and parents cycling, walking, scooting or using a wheelchair to school. Schools and classes will be entered into a daily prize draw for rewards, if more than 15% of a school cycle, walk or scoot on each day of the challenge.

This year’s challenge will run from 25 March to 5 April . For schools unable to take part in the main challenge there is also a one-day version.

We’re inviting parents and teachers to join Big Pedal and register your school through the Big Pedal website: https://bigpedal.org.uk/

Our Community Liaison Group is meeting next Friday the 8th, at 11am at Raploch Community Campus to discuss active travel in the Raploch. Everyone is welcome to join. For more information, follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/events/296598154384616/

On Tuesday, Raploch Street Design team put up a community noticeboard with the help of local residents, in the corner of Huntley Crescent with Raploch Road. The owners of the Great Wall takeaway kindly volunteered to have the noticeboard on their wall. We have now made copies of the noticeboard’s key so that community members can have them and put up leaflets and adverts for local activities. If you would like to have a copy of the key, please email Irene at Irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk . There is a limited number of keys, but we’ll do our best to ensure the community can access the board by getting in touch with the key holders directly.

We are now working on a sign for the noticeboard, which will read ‘Raploch Community Noticeboard’ and will provide details about who to get in touch with if you’d like to advertise a local event in the board.

Coming up soon is our new video, explaining the thinking behind adding benches and planters to the street and other quick interventions. In this video, Anne, one of the local champions of the project, explains her view of Raploch Street Design and why she decided to get involved. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like to be part of the project too, by emailing Irene at Irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk . We will be sharing the video on social media and in this blog soon.

Community Liaison Group: Active Travel Workshop

Everyone from the Raploch is free to join our quarterly community group meetings. Our next session will be the 8th of February at 11am in Raploch Community Campus, Room 2. We will discuss barriers to active travel and accessibility issues that we identified throughout the project’s activities.

The workshop will be interactive and practical, and your feedback and ideas will advise our Behaviour Change Recommendations Report, which we will write at the end of the project.

Session 3: Co-Design

Since our Launch Session in September, we have gathered comments and suggestions from over 300 people about the project area. Based on all this information, we have come up with some design options, and now we need your feedback to make sure we got them right.

So join us for the Raploch Street Design Session 2: Co-Design!

This is a public event taking place on the 15th of March at Raploch Community Campus, and you are welcome to drop-in at any time from 1 pm till 7 pm. Free refreshments will be provided throughout the session, as well as a finger buffet in the evening.People of all ages and abilities are encouraged to attend, as we look to ensure the event is accessible to everyone. We can provide transport on request, so don’t hesitate to get in touch.There will also be activities for children and toddlers, so do bring them along!

Anne and Helenor are part of our Community Liaison Group , because they decided to take a more active role in the project and become advocates for the community. If you’d like to be part of this group too, please email Irene at irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk

One of the things that came out of our events so far is that people wanted to add colour to the street, and more seating. That’s why we’ve added these colourful benches, which we have painted in our garage. Benches are especially helpful to older people and those with mobility issues, who may need to rest often. They may make it possible for them to go out for walks more frequently. The planters also add some greenery to the space, which was also one of the requests of the community. Many of the plants we’ve added are aromatic herbs, so people can enjoy their smells too.

As we mentioned in our previous post, all the benches and planters can be easily moved, which means that if any of the locations turn out not to be right, we can move them to a place that suits people better.

We will be adding a Community Noticeboard in the crossing of Huntly Crescent with Raploch Road next week, on the wall of the Chinese take-away in the corner, the Great Wall. The noticeboard will have several keys, which for now we will give to Community Liaison Group members and the take-away owners. Please email Irene at Irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk if you’d like to have a key too, or would like to advertise anything in particular on this noticeboard.

Our next Community Liaison Group meeting will be the 8th of February, at 11 am in the Raploch Community Campus, room 2. This time we will have an Active Travel Workshop delivered by our behaviour change officer Kasia, in which she will create a platform for attendees to share their views on walking, cycling and accessibility in the Raploch, and share the information we have gathered so far. Everyone is welcome.

Finally, our next Public Session: Co-Design will be the 15th of March in the Raploch Community Campus, room 4 and 5. It will be from 1pm till 7pm, and you can drop in at any time. We will show you the design options we have based on your comments so far, and you’ll be able to review them so that we can change them accordingly. As always, we will have refreshments and everyone is welcome to join, whatever their age and abilities.

The Raploch Street Design team is back to work after the holidays. We hope you had a great festive period and wish you a very happy New Year. We’re starting 2019 with lots of energy!

Benches and planters

The team has got more new benches and planters for Raploch Road, which we have assembled and sanded. On Monday we will start to add some colour to them.

The Raploch Street Design Community Liaison Group and attendees at our last session voted for where they’d like the new benches to be located in the project area.

We will add benches to the 3 most voted areas, which will be locked to 3 planters. The benches are not permanent, so if the location turns out not to be right, we can relocate them or take them away. We will also add a nice new planter to the bench we had already placed next to a bus stop near the fire station.

Anne and Helenor, members of the Community Liaison Group, will help us set up the benches in their locations and add nice plants the planters next week. They have been of great help to the project so far, being great champions for the community. We are also planning on adding a community notice board on the side of the Great Wall take-away very soon.

What’s coming up?

Session 3: Design

This week the team has started thinking about design options based on your comments, which we will present at our Session 3: Co-Design. This will take place on the 15th March from 1 pm till 7 pm in the Raploch Community Campus - please save the date! You will be able to drop in any time to give us feedback on the designs, which will help us change them accordingly. As always, people of all ages and abilities are welcome, as we are working to make the event accessible to everyone.

Community Liaison Group Meeting: Active Travel

The 8th of February the Community Liaison Group will take part in an active travel workshop delivered by our dedicated Behaviour Change Officer Kasia. The group will be able to share their views on walking and cycling, which will help inform our active travel recommendations in the final report.

If you’d like to be part of the Raploch Street Design Community Liaison Group, please email Irene at irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk , and remember to subscribe to our blog to stay updated.

This month has been incredibly busy for the Raploch Street Design team. Here are all the activities we have delivered this frosty December.

Big Noise session

On 4th December we joined a Big Noise session to talk with young people and learn more about their views on walking and cycling.

During the session, participants discussed the benefits of cycling and walking and what stops them from doing so. They all agreed that cycling is a good physical activity that improves health, and mentioned other benefits, such as: ‘faster than walking’, ‘can save bus money’ and ‘it keeps me warm’.

The group also indicated that they didn’t see Raploch as cycle-friendly, especially for younger or inexperienced cyclists. They raised that safety is a concern not only for them but also their parents. Some participants also mentioned they had no access to a bike, lacked skills or confidence to cycle and that the school was too far away for them to cycle to.

Finally, participants discussed how they would remove some of the barriers identified.

They raised the need for cycling training, safe and free bike storages across Stirling as well as a network of cycling lanes that connects places across the town. They would also like to see cycling as a social activity.

We really enjoyed gathering feedback and ideas from young people, which will help plan future activities in Raploch to encourage cycling and walking.

Walking audit and Design Workshop

On 10th December we held another walking audit, this time with Castleview Primary School and Forthbank Care Home. Although it was a very cold day (below zero degrees), we were joined by 24 participants. The main issue they raised during the audit was accessibility for people with walking difficulties, on wheelchairs and mobility scooters. Both groups reported they avoided using the junction of Raploch Road and Drip Road and used alternative routes and crossings. They didn't find the junction safe, which is a barrier to access different routes. One of the teachers said: ‘If it were easy to cross to the other side of Raploch Road we would explore new walking routes’. Pavement quality and lack of drop kerbs along the Raploch Road were also raised as an issue.

Following the walking audit, we visited Forthbank Care Home to run a design workshop and discuss solutions that would make it easier for staff, residents and their relatives to travel through the area by foot or by wheelchair. Safer crossing options, seating and artwork were some of the aspects discussed in the workshop.

Thank you to Castleview Primary School and Forthbank Care Home for joining us. We collected very valuable feedback which will help us ensure our proposals meet the needs of everyone whatever their age or mobility.

Christmas Fayre

The 7th December we had a stall at the Raploch Christmas Fayre in the Community Campus. We gave out our branded Christmas cards and chatted to people about the Raploch Street Design project. It was great to see so many people fundraising and going that extra mile to make sure the young people of Raploch have a great start in life.

New Signs

You might have noticed that we have added new signs and updated existing ones in the project area. Many people raised wayfinding as an issue in the Raploch and noted that local routes should be better promoted. Maintenance was also identified as an issue, with some incorrect signs and abandoned poles in the area.

We have selected two abandoned poles and have given them a use by adding signs indicating locally loved routes, the Old Railway Path and the Green Gate Path linking to the river side path. We have also updated two signs; one at the junction of Raploch Road and Drip Road, with directions to Stirling city centre, and another one with directions to Castle Business Park, which we have relocated so it is not hidden behind a bus stop any more. Please let us know what you think about these signs by emailing Irene at Irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk

Thank you to everyone who has been engaging with us since our launch in September. Raploch Street Design team wishes you all happy holidays and a wonderful start to the New Year!

In the last Raploch Street Design Session, the 22nd of November, we showed a series of displays explaining what we've done so far and what we've gathered about Raploch. Here are some of the boards we showed. If you are visually impaired, please contact Irene at irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk , and we will send you a written description of the materials.

We will be showing some of this, and giving out Christmas cards and sweets, tomorrow at the Raploch Christmas Fayre (9:30 -11:30 AND 1:30 -2:30 at Raploch Community Campus). We hope to see some of you there! And remember to subscribe to this page to stay updated about our coming activities.

Last Thursday the Raploch Street Design had a very successful Public Session at St. Mark’s Parish Church, who were wonderful hosts of the event. Thanks very much to everyone that joined us, we were overwhelmed by your enthusiasm and commitment to the community.

Over 70 people joined us and gave us lots of very good ideas for potential designs. We are really looking forward to translating it all to design ideas for Raploch Road and north Drip Road.

Design Workshops

The team organised two design workshops, which gave attendees the chance to turn the comments gathered so far into designs for the streets. We gave them a series of to-scale design items such as street furniture, trees and crossings, which they then placed on the map to indicate where they would like to add these to transform Raploch Road and north Drip Road.

A wide variety of residents and community members joined the workshops, including children and teachers from the local schools, senior citizens, students from the college, local councillor Jim Thomson, a representative from Stirling Area Access Panel and many more. They worked together to ensure that the design they came up with met the needs of people of all ages and abilities.

To make sure that the suggested designs work for the whole community, we are planning to take this workshop to groups that weren’t able to make it to St. Marks’s, such as Forthbank Care Home and youth groups. If you’d like to stay updated on this, please subscribe to this page.

Exhibition and Walking and Cycling Zone

Throughout the event we offered a welcoming space to those that wanted to drop in but couldn’t commit to the whole length of the workshop.

We prepared an exhibition showing what we’ve done so far and summarising our findings.

Attendees were also able to let us know whether they thought what we’ve gathered so far is right, and if we’ve missed anything.

We asked attendees to indicate where they’d like to locate more benches and a community notice board. For more on this stay tuned to our blog.

We also had a walking and cycling area where we asked attendees about their experience of walking and cycling in the area. Recyke-a-Bike and Stirling Active Travel Hub also joined us to provide a free Dr Bike for attendees and tell them about Bikes for All - thank you very much for that!

• The 4th of December we will be delivering a walking and cycling workshop at Forth Valley College, aimed at the youth leadership group at Big Noise.

• The 7th of December we will be at the Christmas fair in the Raploch Community Campus to provide information about the project and share the Christmas cheer.

• The 7th December in the afternoon we will hold a design workshop at Forthbank Care Home.

• The 10th of December we will have a walking and wheeling audit of Raploch Road and the Drip Road with Castleview Primary and Forthbank Care Home.

Please subscribe or keep an eye on this page to stay informed on all of our activities.

Our next Public Session will be in March, where we will show you some design options based on what you’ve told us so far, and you’ll be invited to give us feedback on them. You’ll also be able to comment on the designs on this website. Stay tuned and subscribe for more on this!

This week the Raploch Street Design Team has been busy organising Session 2: Develop, which is taking place next Thursday 22nd November at St Mark’s Parish Church in Raploch, 3pm-8pm .

We are really looking forward to seeing you there and telling you what we have been up to. You will also have the chance to explain how you would like to see the project area changed based on the comments gathered so far, and participate in a design workshop.

Please find more information in the poster below:

Session 2 Display Trial with the Community Liaison Group

To make sure that the content of the session is accessible and understandable for everyone, this week our Community Liaison Group has reviewed examples of the materials we've prepared. They have given us very useful feedback on them, which we will use to update the displays.

The Community Liaison Group is formed by residents, people who work or study in the Raploch, and representatives from other community groups in the area. They meet once every two months to help make our engagement effective and spread the word about it, and give us suggestions for activities and quick actions. If you would like to be part of this group, please email Irene at Irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk . You can also join our facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/253254722041488/

We are so grateful for this group’s contributions so far, as they have given us insight that we could have never gained without them. Thank you very much to our group members!

Based on the comments we have gathered so far, more seating is needed along the project area to make sure older people and those with mobility issues can break up their walks, have a rest and socialise with other community members.

It was also suggested that a notice board would be a valuable community asset, to make sure all local activities and resources are communicated, especially those aimed at people with special needs and providing opportunities to connect with other residents.

This is why we asked the Community Liaison Group to help us come up with suggestions for where we could locate more benches and a community notice board. They had a very constructive discussion about this and came up with a few potential locations. Thank you very much for your suggestions!

These suggestions will be shared at the Session 2: Develop event, where we will ask the wider community to contribute to the discussion.

We have identified a series of quick wins based on some of your contributions. This week we have moved one of the signs on Drip Road, which has hidden behind the bus stop. We are planning to carry out more quick actions in the coming weeks and we will keep you posted here as we get on.

Now we have our feedback from the Community Liaison Group, we can start changing some of our displays and getting everything ready for the design workshops. We can’t wait to see you all there! Bring your friends and neighbours along, as well as your little ones, as there will be a children’s activities corner. The more, the merrier!

We will also have a free drop-in Dr Bike on the 22nd from 3 pm till 5 pm. You’ll be able to get a free health check on your bike from a Recyke-a-Bike mechanic who will make your bike ready to ride.

We’re also excited to a introduce the newly launched project Bikes for All Stirling, which provides subsidised access to Stirling's public bike share scheme. For £3, you can receive a a NextBike annual membership (worth £60). This means you’ll have access to NextBikes for a whole year for day-to-day journeys around Stirling; there’s bikes available right outside Raploch Community Campus and at Forth Valley College. Chris from Stirling Active Travel Hub will be at our event on the 22nd to answer any questions and to support you to sign up for Bikes for All.

And that’s not all! For those who don’t feel confident to cycle on road, Stirling Active Travel Hub in partnership with Recyke-a- Bike are offering a free cycling training session on 16th November . It is a great training opportunity to gain the the skills and confidence that you need to cycle for your everyday journeys - or just for fun! Sign up today: https://bit.ly/2PhuEqY

There are also also free weekly bike rides from Raploch Community Campus all throughout November. These are free rides of around 5 miles, where you can meet other people, get to know local cycling routes and get a free trial of Nextbike. There will also be support available to sign up for Bikes for All if you like. Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/raploch-cycling-meander-tickets-51588984040

We hope you will enjoy these free events and all of these opportunities and will help us to spread the word about them.

See you on the 22nd of November!

We’re very excited about the Raploch Street Design’s Public Session 2: Design Development Event, which will take place on the 22nd November at St Mark’s Parish Church 3pm-8pm. Everyone’s invited to drop-in during the afternoon and evening or join one of our Design Workshops, starting at 3:30 pm and 5:30 pm.

What will happen at Session 2?

In this session, we will share with you what we have done so far and feedback to you the design themes which we have developed from the comments we’ve gathered along the way.

Through two design workshops, we will together develop design ideas for the project area to address some of the issues raised. We will do this by working with a to-scale model kit of Raploch Road and the Drip Road connecting to the college. If you are not able to participate in the design workshops, don’t worry, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to tell us how you would like to address some of the issues raised and we look forward to exploring this with you.

There will also be a ‘Walking and Cycling’ zone, in which you can tell us about what the barriers to walking and cycling are in the Raploch, and participate in related activities.

There will also be a free Dr Bike (provided by Recyke-a-bike), that will provide a bike health check, so please bring your bike along.

People of all ages and abilities are very welcome, and we are doing all we can to make the event accessible to all. If you have any questions regarding this, please contact Irene at Irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk

There will be an activity area for children and toddlers, so don’t hesitate to bring them along too!

Free community dinner will be served from 5:30 pm, so come along and grab a bite and share your thoughts with us!

We will also be running a Community Liaison Group meeting and lunch on the 14th of November at 12 pm in the Raploch Community Campus (Room 1). During this meeting we will test some aspects of session 2, to gather feedback and suggestions on how to improve them before we have the event the following week. If you’d like to get involved in the project's community group, please let Irene know at Irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk .

The Raploch Street Design team is making progress analysing all the comments you shared with us online and in our public sessions. In total we gathered about 300 comments from all sources, so it’s not a small task! Thank you very much to everyone who shared their views.

We have categorised comments according to their content, and have come up with a list of themes.

Here’s a list of comment themes, from the most recurrent (highest number of comments per topic) to the least (lowest number of comments).

Cars/ Traffic There were many concerns about high speeds, difficulty crossing Raploch Road and Drip Road and unsafe junctions. Many asked us to look at slowing vehicles down as they turn into Huntly Cres. Some raised issues about cars being parked on the pavements.

Wayfinding and Maintenance Many felt there is poor signage and wayfinding, as well as abandoned poles and dog litter. There were also issues raised about litter on the riverside paths and the neglected entrance to the foot path. A few asked for general improvement in visibility and lighting, especially on side roads.

Railings There were mixed views, but general support to remove some of the railings if traffic is slowed down. Railings are seen by some as useful ways of keeping children and dogs safe, others see the railings as being the reason drivers feel they can drive fast along Raploch Road.

Cycling There were a few requests of cycle parking and maintenance of existing cycle paths. The Junction of Raploch Rd and Drip Rd was considered dangerous to cross for cyclists and pedestrians.

Green Space and Play Trees on Raploch Road are very popular, but need to be maintained to allow people to walk along and in between them. There was a general interest in more colour, perhaps flowers, but they need to be sustainable or looked after. Accessible play areas were also suggested.

Street furniture Benches at bus stops and in the trees section were generally seen as a good idea, as well as more litter bins. A few requested a better use of the space at the corner of Raploch Road with Huntly Cres.

Artwork Many asked for the street to be more colourful, and a gateway to the neighbourhood was suggested, perhaps co-designed by the community.

Pavements There were several comments saying the pavements are neglected, uneven and difficult to walk or use a wheelchair on. There are also puddles and drainage issues at the junction of Huntly Cres and Raploch Road.

The theme with the highest number of comments by far was vehicle speed and volume, and prioritising people movement. Another recurring theme was accessibility, and how it is often difficult to cross the road or access footpaths and green spaces, or even walk on the pavements. Adding colour to the street was also a prominent idea.

Raploch Street Design’s next big public session will be the 22nd of November in St Mark’s Stirling. We will be running a series of design workshops on the day, when together we will develop design ideas based on the comments gathered so far. Everyone is welcome, and we will be offering snacks and dinner. More details to come soon- if you'd like to stay informed, please subscribe to project news on the top right of this page.

The new Raploch Street Design website is now live! Here you will be able to learn about the project, see what your Street Design team has been up to, leave comments and see what’s coming up.

All our next events will be posted here so that you don’t miss the chance to get involved. If you’d like to stay updated, please subscribe by entering your email on the top right corner. We will also keep you informed on what the Raploch community has shared with us so far.

How will the website work?

Every week there will be a new blog post with updates and information on our next steps. We will also invite community members and residents to write their own posts, about their experience of Raploch Street Design events and what they think about the street.

This will also be the place for you to review and comment on the design proposals for Raploch Street Design, besides attending our events.

How can I get involved?

The best way to stay in touch is by subscribing to this page and coming to the Raploch Street Design meetings and events.

Our next event will be a Walking Audit with buggies, wheelchair users and children, to think about how to make Raploch Road and a section of Drip Road safer and more accessible for everyone. The ideas we gather will inform our design, along with the rest of the views from the community. The Walking Audit will take place on the 23rd October, and there will be two sessions, at 11 am and 2 pm , both starting in front of the Fire Station at the end of Raploch Road.

We also run regular Community Liaison Group meetings, and we are currently looking for more residents to be part of it. Our next meeting will be at the start of November. If you would like to join us, please email Irene at Irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk

Raploch Street Design online heatmap has now been closed for comments. Thank you, everyone who shared their views and ideas with us to date - your contribution will be essential to our proposals.

If you have missed the deadline don't worry, there are plenty of opportunities to be involved and have your say, as we will have a series of engagement activities running from now until next June 2019. If you'd like to stay updated about the events and activities, please subscribe to our news page. You can find the subscribe button on the top right of this page.

Have a look at what the Raploch community shared by clicking here . Over 200 people have visited the interactive map, leaving 103 comments about the street, and ideas for how they would like to improve it. This is a great result!

The Raploch Street Design project team have held survey events at Forthbank Care Home and Forth Valley College, where we asked residents, staff and students for their views and ideas. Surveys have also been available at the Hub at the Campus, for the local community to answer and share their views with us. Thanks to this, the views shared online and at the successful Launch Session, we have gathered over 300 comments about the project area of Raploch Street Design. This has given us unique and valuable information on how local residents and commuters feel about the street.

Finally, we have held the first Community Liaison Group meeting. The Community Liaison Group is a group of residents and representatives from different community groups in Raploch, that will come together every quarter to discuss the Raploch Street Design Project, give the project team new ideas for engagement, and help us reach out to as many people as possible. If you would like to be part of this group, please email Irene at irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk

The next stage of the project includes a series of walking audits of the area with residents with different mobility issues and children from all three primary schools; the second big engagement event where we together we will create a scale model of how you would like the street to look, and plenty of other activities directed at different groups.

Remember to subscribe at the top right to stay informed - we will share more info on events, and the content gathered so far very soon.

Raploch Street Design online heatmap has now been closed for comments. Thank you, everyone who shared their views and ideas with us to date - your contribution will be essential to our proposals.

If you have missed the deadline don't worry, there are plenty of opportunities to be involved and have your say, as we will have a series of engagement activities running from now until next June 2019. If you'd like to stay updated about the events and activities, please subscribe to our news page. You can find the subscribe button on the top right of this page.

Have a look at what the Raploch community shared by clicking here . Over 200 people have visited the interactive map, leaving 103 comments about the street, and ideas for how they would like to improve it. This is a great result!

The Raploch Street Design project team have held survey events at Forthbank Care Home and Forth Valley College, where we asked residents, staff and students for their views and ideas. Surveys have also been available at the Hub at the Campus, for the local community to answer and share their views with us. Thanks to this, the views shared online and at the successful Launch Session , we have gathered over 300 comments about the project area of Raploch Street Design. This has given us unique and valuable information on how local residents and commuters feel about the street.

Finally, we have held the first Community Liaison Group meeting. The Community Liaison Group is a group of residents and representatives from different community groups in Raploch, that will come together every quarter to discuss the Raploch Street Design Project, give the project team new ideas for engagement, and help us reach out to as many people as possible. If you would like to be part of this group, please email Irene at irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk

The next stage of the project includes a series of walking audits of the area with residents with different mobility issues and children from all three primary schools; the second big engagement event where we together we will create a scale model of how you would like the street to look, and plenty of other activities directed at different groups.

Remember to subscribe at the top right to stay informed - we will share more info on events, and the content gathered so far very soon.

Thanks very much to everyone who attended our Launch Session on Thursday 6th September. Over 100 people came speak to us about Raploch Road and Drip Road, what issues they'd like us to address and how they would like to improve them.

All comments and ideas were recorded on maps and in survey sheets. Some of them were even written directly on the pavement...

Children from all three schools in the area joined us in the afternoon, to tell us how they feel about the road. Many suggested ideas to make the road safer for them.

We are still recording comments and ideas, which is why we have left surveys for residents to pick up and fill in at Raploch Community Partnership, on the campus. You can also write your suggestions on this website ( https://walkcyclelivestirlingmap.commonplace.is/ ) until the 30th of September. Your comments will be used to shape our designs, as well as future discussions and events, to make sure they work for you.

What's next?

Our next event will be a practical model kit design workshop in November where you will have the opportunity to redesign the area by using props and miniature models. Everyone is welcome to attend, more details will be published on this blog. In the meantime watch this space for more local events in your area including led walks, art workshops, film screenings and more. Please sign up to this site or keep checking it for details of upcoming events or contact irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk for more information

All photos by Janie Meikle (www.picturethepossible.co.uk)

Thanks very much to everyone who attended our Launch Session on Thursday 6th September.

Over 100 people came speak to us about Raploch Road and Drip Road, what issues they'd like us to address and how they would like to improve them.

All comments and ideas were recorded on maps and in survey sheets. Some of them were even written directly on the pavement...

Children from all three schools in the area joined us in the afternoon, to tell us how they feel about the road. Many suggested ideas to make the street safer for them.

We are still recording comments and ideas, which is why we have left surveys for residents to pick up and fill in at Raploch Community Partnership, on the campus. You can also add comments on this website ( https://walkcyclelivestirlingmap.commonplace.is/ ) until the 30th of September. Your input will be used to shape our designs, as well as future discussions and events, to make sure they work for you.

What's next?

Our next event will be a practical model kit design workshop in November, where you will have the chance to redesign the area by using props and miniature models. Everyone is welcome to attend; more details will be published on this blog. In the meantime, watch this space for more local events, including led walks, art workshops, film screenings and more. Please sign up to this site and keep checking it for details, or contact irene.tortajada@sustrans.org.uk for more information.

All photos by Janie Meikle (www.picturethepossible.co.uk)

Commonplace is now live! Please leave your comments on the map and subscribe to project news to be notified once the project designs are ready for you to view.