James Hospital, Perth
Not content with the down hill mountain bike course at Deuchny Woods, the Council have sanctioned a new way for cyclists and skate-boarders to injure themselves.
Perth & Kinross Council have constructed a BMX / Skateboard track on the South Inch. The P&KC web site claims this to be one of the best in the UK, I'll take them at their word as I know nothing about BMX'ing!
Plans are afoot or aboard for more parks in the outlying towns, including a self-motivated group in Kinross.
More information can be found at the P&KC web site.
This is the next objective for the Council. A route of sorts has been established along Glasgow Road, which is a good name for the main route into the city from Glasgow (and Stirling), this route has a lot of critics. A further two routes are almost complete; the first from the commuter suburb of Scone and the other from North Muirton.
Scone Route -is awaiting the result of a Scottish Office Planning Inquiry following concerns by the residents and businesses on the main road between Perth and Scone. For more up to date information see the Road & Transportation page.
All this effort will probably be wasted on seasoned cycle commuters but may be welcomed by inexperienced cyclists. It is a pity that shared use footpaths can give the impression that pavements are made for cycling upon and that cyclists do not belong on roads.
North Muirton route - is awaiting the completion of a linking path between two roads.
More routes are being planned to connect the other outlying areas of Perth to the city centre.
The provision of cycle parking in Perth has changed from a well held to an open secret!
The council first spent their money on Sheffield bike stands, (that is the loop of stainless steel tube that sticks out of the pavement) which are located throughout the city centre and then on a number of cycle lockers at strategic locations throughout the city.
Sheffield stands are located around the city centre, along the new river front at Tay Street, outside Waterstones Book Shop, at the Bells Sports Centre and at the "new" car park beside the council offices in the old Pullars building off Kinnoull Street. At the A.K. Bell Library, previously you had to use the architectural version known as "the railings" now there are four shiny Sheffield stands available for use. There is a set of stands outside the Comet warehouse off Dunkeld Road and adjacent to the Safeway Supermarket, St. Catherine's Place.With all Sheffield stands - cyclists have to use their own locks to secure their bikes to the stands and the bikes are visible to all and sundry...
Security tip - buy a good quality D-lock, the best you can afford and get as much of your bike into it and the Sheffield stand as possible. It makes it harder for a thief to remove the lock if there is no space around the lock. If you can afford it use two locks. Combination locks and wire locks are the most easily broken.
Remember to remove all removable items e.g. pumps, saddles (if you use a quick release on the seat post) lights, computers etc. when you park your bike. And don't forget your wheels if they have quick releases, take them off and pass the rims through the D-lock.
Comforting thought... a thief can usually break a D-lock in under three minutes and a good lock in under five.
Cycle lockers are more discrete; to use the lockers you have to supply your own padlock which holds the locker door fast, (it would still be prudent to lock your bike up using a proper cycle lock inside the cabinet). The biggest single concentration of these lockers can be found in the Kinnoull Street Car Park.
The lockers at the railway station, are locked up for "security reasons." The real irony is the adjacent car park is still open to cars, and car bombs make a bigger crater than a locker filled with fertiliser bags! (It is one thing to say nothing and let people think that you are a fool....)
The locations of the cycle lockers can be found on a map on the Perth & Kinross Council web site, under Roads and Car Parking. Unfortunately the map does not give a key to symbols used - the cycle lockers are shown as a red key symbol.
A link has also been made to the National Cycling Strategy cycle security web pages which have a large collection of articles on cycle security.
There is not an over abundance of bike shops in Perth. Mike Richard's shop is the sole survivor and a newly refurbished Halfords Bike Shed. A second cycle shop, Perth City Cycles has opened in Princes Street, unfortunately I do have any more details.
Richard's shop can be found in George Street, which is close to the Museum and Art Gallery, and runs parallel to the Tay at the north end of the city centre. Support your local bike shop, they are a valuable resource for advice and spares.
Halfords can be found at the north end of St. Catherine's Place Shopping Precinct, to the west of the city centre.
Despite being built on hills Perth is not well renowned for its mountain biking, however tucked away in the depths of Deuchny Woods is a quietly held secret, somewhere that downhill mountain bikers go to play... and boldly find new ways to injure themselves.
To get there - follow the Sustrans 77 signs from Perth Bridge, at the top of the hill is the Jubilee Car Park, go through the car park, around the gate and up the forest road till you come to a left hand dog-leg, go straight on into the trees and be amazed, injured, impressed or concussed!
Please note there are no "facilities" here like toilets, first-aid boxes, telephones or heli-pads.
The official Forest Enterprise information on Deuchny Woods / Jubilee Car Park can be found from the link below.
Over the past year or so Perth & Kinross Council have spent a lot of their budget on the provision of advance stop lines and cycle lanes at all the major road junctions in the city.
Advance stop lines is the area of sand coloured road in front of the stop lines at traffic lights or junctions that allow cyclists to go to the head of the queue where they are more visible to other road users or a device to show car drivers how bad they really are stopping at junctions or both...
Some of the advanced stop lines have cycle lanes leading up to them, the idea is that you can cycle up to the junction on the nearside and may even be able to cut across the front of the leading vehicle to turn right. Good idea, so long as the lights don't change while you are entering the advanced stop area. Anyway the cycle lanes are usually rendered useless when a car stops on top of it.
Some have cycle lanes, some good and some not so good. The newly refurbished Tay Street, which runs beside the river, is a typical example of both: The narrow lanes which run on both sides of the street change outside a church to the cyclists favourite road surface - cobbles. Every time I go over them how I bless Perth & Kinross Council. Thanks for making the waterfront so beautiful and me botty so sore! Mercifully the tarred surface restarts soon after.
A Cycle Routes and Facilities leaflet is available from the council which explains more about the Advanced stop lines, Traffic signs & road markings, Cycle lanes and other useful information for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.
Cycling Officer, Roads, Transport & Architectural Services, Perth & Kinross Council, Pullar House, 35, Kinnoull Street, Perth, PH1 5GD Tel. 01738 476522
In previous years, Perth has suffered from a very nomadic Tourist Information Centre (TIC). These days the office seems to have taken settled at the City Mills, which was a Granary and has now converted to a hotel, a "working" corn mill (with water wheel) and the TIC.
The TIC can be found to the west of the city centre off North Methven Street (one of the main north-south streets) and practically opposite Mill Street (where the cinema is located.)
There are no facilities for secure cycle parking the nearest set of lockers can be found in the same street as the cinema. There are a number of trees close to the TIC that could be pressed into service as bike racks.
An area or road (that scares the cleats off me). You have my admiration if you regularly survive any one of these locations!
A85 Crieff Road — Perth to Almondbank
If at all possible I avoid cycling on this stretch of road, preferring to either go through Huntingtower or the long way around by way of the Flood Prevention Path.
A9 Perth to Inverness (Trunk) Road
Only for dedicated Lands End to John o'Groats riders, the criminally insane or both. I avoid cycling on this road like the plague. Better to use the Perth - Bankfoot route. A lot better to follow the NCN 77 to Logierait and NCN 7 to Inverness.
A912 Perth to Newburgh Road — into Perth.
Friarton, the A912 joins the motorway slip road at the crest of a hill. Traffic from Bridge of Earn are more likely to be concentrating on the traffic from the motorway than in front of them. Keep to the side and watch your back.
A912 Perth to Newburgh Road — from Perth.
Friarton - real white knuckler. Traffic leaving Perth first pass through a 40 mph zone before going straight on for Bridge of Earn or second left for the motorway on-ramp. I have lost count of the number of times I have been cut up by accelerating traffic entering the motorway on ramp. One of these days my luck is going to run out...
A useful survival technique is to wobble your bike when crossing the entrance for the on-ramp entrance. Road users may toot or gesticulate but at least they saw you!
A912 Perth to Newburgh Road / M90 on /off-ramps at Bridge of Earn.
Traffic leaving the A912 from Bridge of Earn have a tendency to cut you up when they are joining the motorway.
Traffic leaving the M90, heading south onto the A912 are usually still in "warp-speed" on this off ramp. It may be prudent to watch out for the on-ramp for traffic leaving Bridge of Earn onto the M90 as well.
The best survival tip here applies to all these types of junctions, when safe cross from the A912 to the near side of the off ramp. Do not cycle along the dashed line between the off -ramp and the A912. (A member of the CTC Fife & Kinross DA was killed at such a junction.)
A9 / A912 Inveralmond Roundabout (north of Perth)
Done it once and never again. Far safer to cross the peripheral roads on foot than cycle around it. Try the Perth to Almondbank route?