Jim Riach

Active Travel Officer @trustinthepark cyclist & lover of wild places and bushcraft skills. All views are my own Instagram @jimriach Facebook @bikingandbushcraft

[Jim Riach @JimRiach]

Great to see local food being grown and served at our favourite local restaurant - well worth a visit.

[Jim Riach @JimRiach]

@NickNairn Looks amazing, especially when you look back to how it was in March!

[Surfers Against Sewage @sascampaigns]

🚨 The sewage scandal in Scotland is worse than we thought. Scotland’s sewage crisis is largely unmonitored and unreported, leaving communities at risk and misled.

📈 23,498 discharges recorded in 2024
📉 But only 6.7% of the network is monitored. If fully monitored, we estimate there could have been as many as 364,629 discharges, an average of more than one discharge every 90 seconds.
💩 Scotland has the highest average discharge rate of any UK water company - 89.3 discharges per overflow.
📍Scottish Water says it has 4,080 overflows, but only 1,116 are shown on their public sewage map.

The true scale of pollution in Scotland remains unknown.

We need 100% monitoring of sewage discharges in Scotland to protect water users. The Government MUST prioritise public and environmental health, and end sewage pollution in Scotland by 2030. It must hold Scottish Water to account for delivering on the targets it sets.

It’s time for full transparency and real-time alerts. With an election coming up in 2026, politicians in Scotland must finally get to grips with the Scottish sewage scandal and stop pointing the finger elsewhere.

Sick of sewage? 🪧 Join us on the 17th May for the Paddle-Out Protest - https://t.co/RdmARGtkK9

📸: Paddle-Out Protest in Edinburgh by Angus Trinder

#EndSewagePollution #SickOfSewage #WaterQualityReport #ScotlandSewageCrisis

[Jim Riach @JimRiach]

This seems like a great initiative to encourage more cycling a walking. With it's millions of visitors, I just wonder why @lomondtrossachs national park and the upper forth, doesn't have a similar service or indeed any active travel connections to @StirlingCouncil urban heart?

[Urban Cycling Institute 🚲  @fietsprofessor]

𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐌𝐘 (𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑛):
1. a parenting logic of enabling children’s autonomous mobility by bicycle.
2. broadening the imagination of what kinds of mobilities and activities are desirable and possible for children.

(📹in #Bentonville🇺🇸, by Larry Fleury)

[Urban Cycling Institute 🚲  @fietsprofessor]

It likes to pretend to be a purely technical discipline, but traffic engineering is deeply political. Don't be fooled!

(graphic by @copenhagenizers)

[Urban Cycling Institute 🚲  @fietsprofessor]

No city can achieve its climate targets without prioritising walking, cycling and public transport.

It is that easy:🚶>🚲>🚊>🚗

[Jim Riach @JimRiach]

This seems to be the logic used in @lomondtrossachs with no links on the east side from @StirlingCouncil urban heartland - yet millions of visitors and growing numbers driving out to ride their bike on the quiet gravel trails - just give us decent infrastructure.

[Urban Cycling Institute 🚲  @fietsprofessor]

You can't justify a bridge by the number of people swimming across a river. So why do we apply this logic for bike infrastructure?

Build proper infrastructure and they will come!

[Jim Riach @JimRiach]

There is some hope! - they say this is devolution in action, it would be great to see similar innovation in rural, gateway, communities in @lomondtrossachs as an exemplar of accessible and integrated infrastructure in visitor hotspots.

[Active Travel England @activetraveleng]

"A truly integrated way to make transport work for people.”

@simonlightwood and @Chris_Boardman visited Stockport Interchange, a new transport hub bringing together bus, rail, walking and cycling routes - a fantastic example of connected and accessible transport systems 🚌🚄👟🚲

[Jim Riach @JimRiach]

If you are heading to @CarrsBillington in Stirling this morning, I wouldn’t bother their card machine is not working so not possible to make a purchase. Make alternative plans.

[Countryside Trust @Trustinthepark]

✅'Pedal Power is good for Business' workshop!

⏰Wed 19 March 2025 10am-12pm noon, Loch Katrine.

Calling business micro, large & entrepreneurs to unlock their potential + realise the benefits of cycling.

Book⏬https://t.co/zhKTLZ7420

#cycleintheparkwelcome #cycling #wheeling

[Urban Cycling Institute 🚲  @fietsprofessor]

1970: 🚗
👨‍🦳: 'One more lane will fix it!'
1980: 🚗🚗
👨‍🦳: 'One more lane will fix it!'
1990: 🚗🚗🚗
👨‍💻: 'One more lane will fix it!'
2000: 🚗🚗🚗🚗
👨‍💻: 'One more lane will fix it!'
2010: 🚗🚗🚗🚗🚗
👨‍💻: 'One more lane will fix it!'
2020:🚗🚗🚗🚗🚗🚗
👩‍🦱:'🚗+🚲+🚎+🚶‍♂️+🌳+🏙️'

[Jim Riach @JimRiach]

@LochLomondCEO @ScotGovFM @JohnSwinney Perhaps better collaboration in creating active travel connections to the gateway communities of Aberfoyle and Callander along with improved public transport to and between these communities would be a good start to making @lomondtrossachs a exemplar destination tackling both?

[Jim Riach @JimRiach]

In rural @StirlingCouncil you have to ask yourself - what bus! - as it is difficult to find one to compare times too.

[Campaign for Better Transport @CBTransport]

Travelling by public transport should be easy and quick, but too often it isn't. You can drive the 34 miles from Trawdon to Manchester in 44 mins, but it takes 3 hours plus to do the same journey by public transport!
Do you have a similar experience or know somewhere like this?

[Brent Toderian @BrentToderian]

If you think Amsterdam managed to avoid being overrun by cars, you’re wrong.

They too surrendered their streets to cars for many decades.

But the people fought back, and forced leaders to see their mistake.

There's nothing magical about #Amsterdam.

They just changed.

[Jim Riach @JimRiach]

Helen shares many of the benefits of having the #NationalCycleNetwork in your area. So it would be great to see some progress on NCN765 Doune to Callander - any updates? @SustransScot @StirlingCouncil

[Jim Riach @JimRiach]

Government have done all they can to dismantle the active travel sector, now they are doing the same to sport - both sectors, that provide significant benefits to the country.

Another blow to my confidence in those who run the country.

#sport #activetravel #noconfidence

[The Herald @heraldscotland]

BREAKING

Scotland's cash-strapped national sports agency has opened a voluntary severance scheme in a bid to cut costs

https://t.co/VQM2Q58xi5

@andrewlearmonth

[Jim Riach @JimRiach]

The economic argument is often used to oppose new cycling infrastructure, particularly in rural areas - but the benefits to health and consequently the economy are plain to see! - the health benefits in Scotland are the same as in Copenhagen.

[Brent Toderian @BrentToderian]

“One mile on a bike is a $.42 economic gain to society, one mile driving is a $.20 loss.”

“Which means that Copenhagen, a city of 1.2 million people, saves $357 million a year on health costs because something like 80% of its population commutes by bike.” https://t.co/2Ahi7zBKxU

[Jim Riach @JimRiach]

No government plan, no obvious Local Authority Plan or RTP Plan - there needs to be leadership to support any behaviour change, in rural communities, improved public transport, and communities connected with safe walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure might be a good start.

[Audit Scotland @AuditScotland]

The Scottish Government aims to reduce car kilometres by 20% by 2030.

This is part of its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

But car traffic has increased since 2020.

And @scotgov has no delivery plan and is now unlikely to hit its target.

More: https://t.co/YtccfQ5P3q