Jonathan Barrett, the Galloway Glens Land Management & Access Officer leading on project delivery, said: Our grateful thanks to all the funders of this project and to the landowner who generously supported this idea”. It will give safe access to areas of old woodland as well the network of paths in the Forest Park and could form part of an ambition to develop a long-distance path from Carsphairn to Kirkcudbright. “This path will be of great benefit to local walkers and to visitors. Gerry Cinderby, New Galloway Resident and LiNG volunteer, who identified the opportunity for the project initially, said:
#New paths on an old road upgrade
The work undertaken will include creation of new lengths of path, upgrade of existing paths, and a new footbridge over Knocknairling Burn. The path route will complete a missing path link between New Galloway and the path network in the Forest Park to the South. Final fundraising for the route is now underway. This is being funded by the Galloway Glens Scheme’s National Lottery Heritage Funding, matched to contributions from the Council’s Environment Team, the Dumfries & Galloway Region Wide Community Fund and a contribution from LiNG.
The project will cost more than £30,000 in total. Now, with the generous support of the Kenmure Estate landowner and the assistance of the Dumfries & Galloway Outdoor Access Trust, plans are afoot to establish the new route in Spring 2021. Over recent years, the idea has been worked up into a detailed proposal by the Galloway Glens Scheme, with the backing of the Council’s Environment Team. The need for the project was identified by the local community, particularly Gerry Cinderby and the Local Initiative in New Galloway (LiNG) volunteers. The route boasts marvellous views over Loch Ken and into Galloway Forest Park.
The new section of path, running from the Cairn Edward forest road at Strachan to the existing network of paths in the New Galloway Golf Club woods, allows users to avoid the road. Walkers currently have to negotiate the A762, with limited visibility and fast traffic. WTOP’s Dick Uliano contributed to this story.The new route, referred to as the ‘New Galloway Link Path’, means pedestrians will have off-road access from New Galloway to the Forest Park’s network of paths. The petition claims the roadway’s driving capacity has been reduced by 39% in order to accommodate the new lanes and states “the road now is consistently congested, with back-to-back traffic even in the middle of the day in good weather.”įewer people have signed a petition in favor of the new bike and pedestrian lanes. Recently, more than 8,000 people have signed a petition calling for the new lanes to be removed. However, others told WTOP that they feel safer walking and biking on the street than before. Residents have been mixed on the bike lanes: Some voiced their displeasure over the new lanes on social media, claiming that travel times are longer than before. A small band of devoted bicyclists braved chilly winds to ride the newly-installed bike lanes on Old Georgetown Road. One of three lanes in each direction has been converted to buffered bicycle lanes with green pavement markings, lined with plastic flex poles. The lanes followed the deaths of two teenage bicyclists in separate crashes over the past three years. “ The focus of this project was to improve safety for vulnerable users of the system as well as motorists while balancing mobility along the corridor,” the report stated. Southbound travel times have been unaffected.
#New paths on an old road drivers
The report does show travel times have increased on average about 30 seconds for drivers headed northbound, in the morning hours and about a minute in the afternoon. The one death in that span was also pedestrian or bike related. Six of those crashes were pedestrian or bicycle related with five resulting in injures, the report stated. In the ten months prior to the installation, there were 40 crashes, resulting in 17 injuries and one death. Nine of those crashes resulted in injury, but there have been no fatal crashes, and no bike or pedestrian crashes. Over the last six months, there have been 35 crashes on the roadway, the report says. Since the lanes were installed last October, there have been no pedestrian or bike involved crashes on Old Georgetown Road, a new report from the Maryland State Highway Administration suggests. But so far, it looks like they are boosting safety and increasing travel times for some commuters.
The new bike and pedestrian lanes on Old Georgetown Road in Montgomery County, Maryland, have drawn criticism from some drivers.
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