Musselburgh Active Toun

The project is being delivered by East Lothian Council in partnership with Sustrans and consultants, AECOM.

The Musselburgh Active Travel Network Masterplan was first developed in 2018. It identified six key active travel routes aimed at encouraging more people to walk, wheel and cycle in and around Musselburgh. The Masterplan was consulted on comprehensively in 2018 and received a high level of support. East Lothian Council has since identified local connectors to the key routes to provide a complete network.

Outline design options for three of the key routes were presented to the public in summer 2021 and feedback from this consultation was used to develop detailed designs for:

• Route 1 West – Milton Road East to New Street;
• Route 2 – A199 to Wallyford Roundabout, via New Street and Linkfield Road; and
• Route 5 – Old Craighall to Goose Green.

Public engagement then took place between November 2023 and January 2024 on the detailed designs for Routes 1, 2 and 5, and to open up discussion on options for a further two routes:

• Route 4 – Wallyford to Newcraighall, via QMU
• Route 6 – A199 to City of Edinburgh Boundary (A6095)

The possible alignments of Routes 3 and 5 were consulted on during development of the Masterplan in 2018. At that point Route 3 was proposed to run between the River Esk and the B1348 north of Levenhall Roundabout and Route 5 between the Old Craighall development site and Shorthope Street. A local connection to be developed at a later date continued north from Shorthope Street. The Masterplan document which includes a summary of the consultation feedback is available here:  Future Proofing Musselburgh's Infrastructure for Sustainable Modes of Travel | East Lothian Council  

During 2021, further to various new considerations including the emergence of potential alignments for the MFPS, feedback received from Spaces for People measures installed during Covid and the declaration of by the Council of a climate emergency, a review of the Masterplan commenced. The first outputs from this were the proposed removal of much of Route 1 originally intended to run through the town centre and extension of Route 5 northwards to Goose Green, connecting with Routes 2 and 3.

Consultation seeking input to the concept design of Route 5 was undertaken in May and June 2021. This is reported on in the document ‘Consultation Report’ available here:  Musselburgh Active Toun | East Lothian Council 

The revised Masterplan which incorporated feedback from the 2021 consultation was published in March 2022. This also included a change to the proposed alignment of Route 3 to follow the coastal flood defence measures, link a number of trip attractors and provide an onwards connection to Prestonpans. The ‘MAT Masterplan Addendum’ is available here:  Musselburgh Active Toun | East Lothian Council  

The MAT project team attended three consultation events organised by the MFPS project team in February and March 2022 at The Brunton Theatre. The MFPS website ( www.musselburghfloodprotection.com ) includes full details of the events, materials presented, and consultation reports summarising the information presented and subsequent discussions. The ‘MAT MFPS Consultation Report’ prepared by the MAT project team provides a summary of the events and the feedback we received in relation to active travel proposals. It is available here:  Musselburgh Active Toun | East Lothian Council  

In June 2023 the MAT project team attended a 2 day public consultation event organised by the MFPS project team at Eskmills Venue. Feedback we received on the sections of Routes 3 and 5 within the footprint of the MFPS was provided to the MFPS project team to be incorporated into their consultation reporting.

Detailed Designs for Routes 4 and 6 have now been drafted and are being shared with the public in October 2024. These designs have taken into account feedback that was received in the previous stage of engagement.

A Consultation Report was produced, detailing how the feedback was considered within the designs. You can  view and download  the reports on the Council website.

You can also view a summary of how the feedback was used in the ‘Previous Route Engagement’ section of this site.

Routes 1, 2 and 5 were selected to be progressed first as they are the main strategic routes in Musselburgh. They link key attractors including the town centre and High Street, Fisherrow Harbour, schools, Musselburgh Racecourse, Wallyford Park & Ride, new development sites, Queen Margaret University and Musselburgh Railway Station.

Following feedback received and the effects of other projects, the Masterplan Addendum proposed that the Route 1 alignment was revised and developed in tandem with local links.

The streets included in the routes were selected based on other projects in Musselburgh, the nature and type of the street, and the location of destinations and trip attractors. We undertook detailed route appraisals to ensure we selected the most appropriate streets for the routes to follow. 

It is likely that your street has not been included because another street or streets better linked the destinations and trip attractors and / or were more appropriate for siting new walking, cycling and wheeling infrastructure. 

Proposals for routes 1, 2, and 5 are now at Detailed Design Stage and any changes to these designs will be limited. The route alignment will not change.

The proposals for routes 4 and 6 are at the Concept Design Stage and the alignment of these routes is still to be decided through feedback from the consultation process.  

This stage of the project is fully funded by the Transport Scotland Places for Everyone Fund which is delivered by Sustrans. People sometimes have concerns that new projects will take funds away from other areas of the Council where they were previously committed, but this is not the case.

No. The Places for Everyone funding that the Council was successful in obtaining has to be spent on the Musselburgh Active Toun project. 

The timeline is as follows:

• November to December 2023: Stakeholder and public engagement on Concept Design options for Routes 4 and 6 and Detailed Design options for Routes 1, 2 and 5.
• April to May 2024: Development of Detailed Design Tender Package (Routes 1, 2 and 5)
• May to September 2024: Completion of Concept Design and completion of Detailed Design Package (Routes 4 and 6)
• April to May 2025: Construction Contracts awarded for All Routes
• March 2026: Construction Commences on All Routes         

The project is legally required to comply with the Equality Act 2010 and an Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) will be carried out at every stage to ensure this. 

Pedestrians and people who use mobility aids including wheelchairs will benefit from new crossings including raised tables, widened pavements (at certain locations) and improved public spaces.

At locations where it is safe and appropriate to do so, raised tables are proposed to make it easier to cross side-road junctions. Raised tables are sections of road that are at the same level as the pavement so that there is no step down and so that vehicles are encouraged to slow down and observe the highway code by letting people cross. They are only appropriate and proposed in certain situations. 

A separate cycle lane, or segregated cycleway, is a cycle lane that is separated from the road by a kerb or similar and from the footway by a level difference. This allocates vehicles, cyclists and people travelling by foot or wheelchair their own space and minimises conflict between these users.

We have assessed all of the streets on the routes, looking at the most appropriate options to accommodate all road users safely.

Some streets carry high volumes of traffic and are bus routes which means they are not suitable for on-road cycling for everyone. Separate cycle lanes / segregated cycleways mean cyclists of all abilities can travel safely and comfortably.

A quiet street is a street that has low vehicle numbers and low traffic speeds, where cyclists of all levels of experience would be comfortable. A quiet street can include measures to reduce vehicle speeds and provide improvements for other people using the street. Improvements include raised tables and pavement widening. 

Yes, cycle parking will be provided at key locations along the route. We would like your feedback on where those locations could be. 

The existing bridges at Goosegreen, Shorthope Street and the footbridge south of Olive Bank Road (Ivanhoe footbridge) are not suitable for shared use by people on foot, cyclists and wheelchair users.

The bridges are going to be replaced as part of the Flood Protection Scheme. We are working closely with the Flood Protection Scheme project team to ensure that the replacement bridge(s) provide suitable connections for people walking, cycling and wheeling. 

Improving public spaces means making certain spaces in the town more attractive and pleasant to spend time in and travel through. This can be achieved through materials, planting, art and providing space for activities, amongst many other possibilities. 

This is the first stage of the Musselburgh Active Toun project. Over time, further routes and local links to and from them will be developed to provide Musselburgh with a comprehensive network of active travel routes.

Reallocating road space to people travelling on foot or by bike will have an impact on parking at certain locations. We are attempting to retain as much parking as possible, especially where we know that this is important to local people. However, there could be changes to parking and loading on streets such as Linkfield Road and Stoneybank Terrace.

We have undertaken parking and loading surveys during Spring 2022 to understand where people park and load currently, and for how long they undertake these activities for. This has  helped us understand what space is needed for parking and loading. 

Loading will still be permitted but there may be changes to where and when loading is allowed. The specifics of this will depend on which option is taken forward as the preferred design.

We have undertaken parking and loading surveys during Spring 2022  to understand where people park and load currently, and for how long they undertake these activities for. This has given us an appreciation of what provision of parking and loading is required.

Any proposed changes to loading and unloading will be subject to its own statutory consultation. 

We are aiming to improve walking, cycling and wheeling in Musselburgh, and improving pedestrian, wheelchair and cyclist movement to shops and local businesses, and between different shops and businesses, is an important part of this.

We expect a well-connected town to attract people to use the amenities and create a more vibrant and prosperous town for businesses. There is evidence from many other schemes that improving public spaces can boost retail sales, and that cycle parking delivers five times the retail spend per square metre than the same area of car parking.

Local businesses will be consulted with throughout the development of the project. The Council will work with local businesses to understand their concerns. With them, the Council will assess the impacts of the works and mitigate them where appropriate 

Buses will be able to operate as they do now. The proposals will not mean any changes to services are needed. Depending on which option is taken forward following consultation, the number of bus stops may need to be reduced to accommodate the improved walking, cycling and wheeling infrastructure. We are working with the bus operators in developing the scheme and will continue to do so.

Yes. There are a number of planned developments and planning proposals in the area which were considered when we developed the network of routes and concept designs. We have liaised with planning officers at East Lothian Council and will be providing opportunities for links to be created between the routes and the new developments. 

There are several other projects / proposals in Musselburgh that are planned or in progress. The Flood Protection Scheme is looking at measures to protect Musselburgh from flooding from the coast and River Esk. The Musselburgh Active Toun team is working closely with the Flood Protection Scheme team to ensure the measures proposed in each project will be complementary.

There are several proposals in the Local Development Plan and Local Transport Strategy that affect various locations across the town. The project team are aware of these and they will be borne in mind throughout the design process to ensure that the proposals are complementary. 

Yes. We know there is an existing Town Centre Strategy. The design team will develop landscape concept designs for public spaces with input from the East Lothian Council Town Centre Regeneration Officer and Heritage team. The town centre is a high-profile conservation area and has to be treated sensitively. 

Yes, it is the Council’s intention to take forward the other strategic and local connecting routes.