Received: 24 April 2012 in reply to my opening email
Thank you for your comments on the cycle network between Limekilns and Dunfermline. User feedback is a valuable tool for planning route improvements and new routes. The route you describe via the shore, Brucehaven and Pattiesmuir was originally developed as a leisure route and the variable surface was accepted on that basis. It's a fair comment that for commuting it is less suitable unless you are looking for a mountain bike commute. We hope to upgrade the Limekilns shore path over the next couple of years as we have had a fair bit of feedback about its condition and this is one of the last sections of unsurfaced path along the coastal route from the bridge to Kincardine. The link from Pattiesmuir to Primrose Lane is more problematic to upgrade as this is a field access and therefore subject to heavy agricultural traffic. Upgrading would have to be done to a road standard with the attendant high cost and our view is that this is not best use of our limited cycleways budget - rather we would look to improve an alternative route.
One option is to convince Transport Scotland to provide a shared use path alongside the A985 from Limekilns to Rosyth. However this is not seen as a priority for them primarily due to the presence of the existing route through Rosyth port. This route (actually NCN76) is another alternative you may wish to consider - from Brucehaven there is a short length of shared use footway alongside the A985 to the back access to the port. NCN 76 then follows the back road into Rosyth on the road. Unfortunately this is a bit of a rat run to the bridge but its actually OK to cycle on if you are fairly confident. From the roundabout with Castle Road there is a traffic free path up Castle Road back up to the A985 by the roundabout with Kings Road. There is an advisory crossing at the roundabout which is OK to use as traffic is slow going onto and off the roundabout. Up Kings Road the cycle route follows a mix of shared use path and the one way residential service roads which have a 20mph speed limit which takes you to Rosyth station. We are currently developing a new cycle route which will eventually go the length of Queensferry Road to the town centre. This will become the alternative to Grange Road in due course, however despite its reputation, I would say that Grange Road is actually OK to cycle on if you are confident - I used to use it daily even before the speed limit reductions and didn't find it any worse than any other road in the area. Eventually Grange Road will get absorbed in the new strategic housing development planned for the next 20 years and will become a 30mph limit street with a shared use footway alongside it. In the meantime, from Rosyth station across the M90 spur roundabout, using the footway to cycle on is acceptable (These footways have had some local widening done and more will follow in the coming years). Along Carnegie Drive the footways aren't shared use. There is actually a separate cycle route parallel to Carnegie Road in the wooded area to the north of the road. However this is unsurfaced and somewhat overgrown - we are looking to improve this route in the near future either by surfacing this path or widening the footways along Carnegie Drive to shared use. [The references to Carnegie Road and Drive should both be references to Carnegie Avenue].
We are also looking to improve the routes through the Linburn greenspace area from Rex Park to Woodmill Road which would add another commuter option to the school once the Queensferry Road route is complete.
So I would say that there will be some considerable development of cycle routes in and round Dunfermline in the coming years and we expect to consult on development plans as we go along. The attached PDF plan shows the existing network and some of the routes described above - red denotes on road and green dashes traffic free.
Can I also take this opportunity to draw your attention to an important cycling event coming to Fife on the 15th of May - Round 1 of the Halfords 'Tour Series' professional cycle race is being held in Kirkcaldy and is a must for all cycling enthusiasts. There will also be various events throughout the afternoon including a chance to ride around the circuit for everybody.
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