MANY will agree with your editorial which welcomed the easing of Covid -19 restrictions but also asks whether "wider freedom of public movement could be accelerated" ("Easing of virus lockdown to be welcomed, The Herald, May 23). Your warning that current restrictions on travel beyond the immediate vicinity of home could have an impact on both "public morale and crucial elements of the tourist industry" is timely. Some adjustments to Phase 1 of the Scottish Government's "route map" are needed to maintain public confidence and provide a better basis for economic recovery.
It is illogical and confusing to have different policies for different users of different parts of the UK road network. We have one Highway Code and we need one Covid Code for public use of all our roads. It makes no sense to say you can drive anywhere in Scotland to meet a relative, but cannot drive beyond your local area to go for a walk. What matters is what you do on exiting the vehicle, with advice and constraints applying to the activity, not the distance driven.
We also need to remember that Scotland, along with our Scandinavian neighbours, has a huge advantage over other European countries in the way we use the outdoors. This should be a key tool in Scotland's Covid-19 exit strategy. Our right to roam legislation established public rights of access to most land and water, subject to compliance with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC). This encourages dispersed rather than concentrated forms of access as we use all our paths, fields, woods, coastlines, golf courses, moors and mountains for public exercise and enjoyment. Such dispersed access patterns should give the Scottish Government the confidence to promote full use of our road network alongside public access rights to land and water, underpinned by the three main principles of SOAC: respect the interests of other people; take care of the environment; take responsibility for your own actions.
Full access to the road network plus promotion of SOAC must be supported by the opening up of all car parks and public toilets, associated with management and local advice provided by ranger services. Police Scotland have better things to do than acting as car park managers or dealing with the over-pressurised outdoor locations that have resulted from the current very limited access facility provision.
And the First Minister needs a better slogan – "Stay at Home, if at all possible" is too timid and confusing. Herald contributors have made clear that "Stay Apart" is the way forward. This slogan, keeping two metres separation between individuals and households, must be put in place this week, alongside full access to the road network and adjacent land and water. Together, these measures will boost trust and confidence in the Scottish Government's exit strategy. This will lay the foundation for re-energising rural tourism in the coming weeks and months, including future opportunities for people to spend the night away from home
Dave Morris, Kinross.
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