Health professionals and campaigners are warning a lack of safe cycling infrastructure could be undermining a push to get more people out on their bikes and improve their health and wellbeing.

Cycling UK says tackling ‘hostile’ road conditions should be a ‘priority’ if policymakers want to get more people pedalling.

It is calling for traffic volume and vehicle speeds to be cut and for cycle-friendly infrastructure to be expanded.

The call is among several submissions to a Holyrood inquiry on social prescribing that say dangerous road conditions are an obstacle to cycling initiatives that have proven mental and physical health benefits.

An Inverness social prescription project run by the charity that provides support to get people out on their bikes – including providing long-term loans for people who don’t have one – saw participants report a range of fitness, mental health and wellbeing benefits.

“Sometimes, I go out and think and other times, I just don’t want to think,” one participant said.

“I just want a clear mind and I’ll just take in the noises around me and it’s just quite nice...I just want to clear my mind and I’ve felt so much better this last couple of weeks. Honestly. Like, a different person!”

Another appreciated a “wee bit of freedom”, saying: “I think it gives you back independence that’s taken, you’re not having to wait on a bus. You’re not have to be dependent on others in that sense.”

Sustrans, which campaigns for changes to towns and cities to promote cycling and walking, says social prescribing schemes like this can nudge people into healthy behaviours they then stick to.

“It has been widely evidenced,” Sustrans Scotland policy and communications manager Claire Daly says, “that where individuals do exercise that is incorporated into their daily routine, such as walking or cycling to work, or exercising during the working day, they are more likely to maintain a long-term physical activity habit.

“However, for people to develop this habit, it must feel convenient and safe. Having quality walking routes, and safe, continuous, segregated cycling infrastructure are key to getting more people walking and cycling to work in a way that benefits their health.”

Katie Walter, a GP at Cairn medical practice who is involved in the Wheelness initiative, believes a road network that is still focused on driving is ‘probably the biggest barrier.’

The family doctor said she could not recommend someone cycle ‘if the streets or roads near them are not safe for that’.

She added: ‘This is a public health issue that needs political will to reclaim from local councils and their planning department. The infrastructure we live in is vital for a healthy population and for community building: it is time to entrench that in the laws of how we build our infrastructure.’