Forthside Way sees 34% rise in the number of people cycling over the first three months of 2025 vs the same period in 2024
National cycle counter data has revealed growth in the number of people travelling by bike in Stirling. It’s among 34 locations across Scotland seeing increases of over 30% in the number of cycle journeys in winter 2024-25 compared with the previous year.
Forthside Way in saw 1,927 cycle journeys in January, February and March 2025, compared to 1,435 in the same period in 2024 – a 34% increase.
Other areas that saw increases in cycling from one winter to the next include a 32% increase in cycle journeys on the Cambusbarron Footbridge over the A9, and a 40% increase in cycling on Pike Road in the southeast of Stirling.
The increases in cycling come alongside completion of the ‘Walk, Cycle, Live Stirling’ project, which officially opened in May, contributing to an improved network of safer cycling routes within the city.
In addition to the growth in cycling, peaks at morning and evening commuting times indicate that people in and around Stirling are predominantly travelling by bike for everyday journeys, like commuting to and from work.
Significant year-on-year increases in cycling were observed at urban and rural locations in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Clackmannanshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, Edinburgh, Glasgow, the Highlands, Inverclyde, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Perth and Kinross, South Lanarkshire and Stirling.
Data was captured through more than 800 automatic cycle counters managed by Cycling Scotland, local authorities and partner organisations.
Convener of Stirling Council’s Environment, Transport and Net Zero Committee, Cllr Jen Preston said: “These figures confirm the growing shift to cycling and active travel across Stirling. We are committed to meeting this demand by making it easier and safer for people to cycle, walk or wheel to their destinations by creating world-class seamless travel corridors in our communities that connect to the wider region.
“Along with the landmark Walk, Cycle, Live Stirling project that officially opened in April this year, several active travel schemes are under construction in the area, while routes that will connect communities to the north and south of Stirling city centre are being developed in consultation with our residents.
“This new infrastructure will be a key part of a fair and clean future transport system that will deliver a wide range of environmental, social and economic benefits for the people of Stirling and the wider region.”
Nick Montgomery, Monitoring and Development Manager at Cycling Scotland, said: “To see significant winter to winter increases in cycling is very promising, especially as the growth is close to locations that have seen improvements for cycling in recent years. The peaks in cycling recorded during morning and evening rush hours also show that people are using these routes to get around by bike for everyday journeys, such as travelling to and from work.”
“What we see from the data is that where local authorities are investing in protected cycle lanes and improved networks of cycling routes, there are big increases in people travelling by bike. Future improvements would support even more people to benefit from cycling as a healthy, affordable, and environmentally friendly way of getting around.”
Explanation of methodology:
- The findings follow a comparative analysis of data from more than 800 automatic cycle counters covering all 32 Scottish local authorities across Scotland, including 100 counters managed by Cycling Scotland through the National Monitoring Framework. Cycle counts from January, February and March 2024 were compared with counts from the same period in 2025, to identify locations seeing significant increases in cycling from one winter to the next. Data from February 29th 2024 was excluded to ensure that each time period had equal number of days to allow for a comparative analysis.
- Further data on cycle rates in Scotland can be found on the Cycling Open Data portal.
