WEST Dunbartonshire Council has said it is examining spots where widened pedestrian walkways and cycles lanes would be beneficial.

The announcement follows calls from the Scottish Green party to take action as a temporary measure to help maintain social distancing.

The Scottish Green party has urged the council to move widen pedestrian walkways and implement cycle lanes as a temporary measure to help maintain social distancing.

The Scottish Government recently announced they would fully-fund a £10 million infrastructure project to introduce pop-up walking and cycles routes as they urged Scots to continue to adhere to two-meter social distancing guidelines.

Ross Greer, West Scotland MSP, welcomed the infrastructure programme, claiming the measures will allow workers to commute and shoppers to access their local high street without cars.

He said: “This pandemic has changed how we go about our lives and it will continue to do so for some time. Streets that were once choked with cars are now largely empty, with more and more families walking or cycling.

“It’s vital that the council makes use of this important support as quickly as possible, looking at where pavements can be widened or pop up cycle routes can be installed, to ensure as many people as possible can travel by foot or by bike safely, and that necessary social distancing can take place.”

Recent statistics have revealed a significant drop in the use of cars, rail and bus travel across Scotland which has had a dramatic reduction on pollution.

However, the RAC revealed that in the week commencing April 27, there was an 11 per cent rise on vehicle usage than on week commencing March 30.

Around 23 per cent of those surveyed said they did use their car for the purpose of grocery shopping.

Mr Greer urged West Dunbartonshire Council to move quickly to offer widened walk and cycle paths as narrow pavements, with government funding offered to local authorities with immediate effect.

He added: “Scottish Greens have been calling on the Scottish Government to seize the opportunity and support West Dunbartonshire to help make the area healthier, so I warmly welcome this new package of support.

“While this support has been announced in response to a national emergency, we’ll likely want some of these initially temporary measures to become permanent, once we realise how beneficial they are.”

A spokeswoman for West Dunbartonshire Council said: “We are committed to active travel and are currently developing proposals to access this funding.

“We will liaise with the community and Sustrans to identify locations where additional space would be most beneficial.”