Proposed design

Funding has been secured through ‘Places for Everyone’ for the design of Academy Street, with the aim of making it a more attractive and healthier place for people.

‘Places for Everyone’ is a scheme funded by the Scottish Government through Transport Scotland and is administered by Sustrans. 

People and public transport are at the heart of the design proposed for Academy Street, which aims to:

• Provide a seamless connection of the East to West Active Travel Corridor, through a coherent city centre link
• Improve the public realm, making Academy Street a more attractive place to spend time in, whilst being respectful of the architectural history, identity, and importance of Academy Street within Inverness city
• Make Academy Street safer and more accessible for walking, wheeling and cycling 

The central focus of the design for Academy Street is to widen the pavement and increase space for pedestrians. We will also be considering plans for an alternative cycle route to Academy Street in the city centre.

The proposed design for Academy Street is part of the overall vision for the city centre, which is to create an attractive, greener, high-footfall place that people can comfortably live, work and visit for a wide range of services and facilities and to spend their leisure time. Inverness city centre should be a safe place that is easy to walk and wheel around, where public transport is accessible, and vehicles do not dominate available space. 

This website will be updated regularly throughout this process, and you can sign up to receive regular updates and details of forthcoming events.

Updates

Click here for the latest update on Academy Street proposals.

Any further feedback on the plans should be emailed to activetravel@highland.gov.uk.

As we approach the start of the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO), which is the formal public consultation for this project, we are analysing all the comments that have been received on Commonplace since the project first went live in 2022. 

Ahead of the TRO, we will publish the details of how any member of the public can provide feedback on the proposed design for Academy Street as part of this consultation process.