A three per cent increase in the number of people commuting by car has given fresh impetus to a Welsh Assembly Government push to end schemes inaccessible by foot or bike.
Statistics Wales's state of the environment report reveals that the number of people commuting by car rose three per cent to 82.6 per cent between 1999 and 2008. Across the UK the proportion has remained at around 70 per cent, while the proportion of journeys to work on foot or bicycle fell by three per cent over the same period to 10.2 per cent.
The figures come after Welsh environment minister Jane Davidson vowed to act if councils disregard planning advice to allocate sites for development that can be reached without a car.
Sustrans Cymru director Lee Waters said: "We have wonderful policies on integrating transport and land-use planning, but car-dependent developments still go ahead."
DLP Planning senior planner in Cardiff Matthew Hard added: "Planners are often not considering the provision of non-road links at the outset of developments. Too frequently they are an afterthought.”
The news comes as ambitious plans have been announced for Swansea Waterfront to make the city one of Britain’s major maritime centres, and improving the links between the waterfront and the rest of the city is seen as essential in reviving the fortunes of Swansea’s city centre.
As part of the plans, new cycling and walking paths are to be established along the Tawe waterside, which is also to be spruced up with statues, surfacing and lighting. The pathways will be networked to the rest of Swansea’s city centre as part of overall plans to create better links between the centre and its waterfront.
The council and the Welsh Assembly Government will jointly fund the project, which is seen as a major part of the council’s city centre framework, a blueprint for development of the city up to 2020.
The framework envisages a “European boulevard” leading from the middle of the city to the sea, and more connections between the city, its civic centre and the showpiece Swansea Waterfront.
Surely his Holiness must ride a Genesis Croix de Fer?
That's politics though. Everybody lies....
The lack of action is appalling. What kind of message does that send? Perhaps a complaint to the PCC is in order.
Here he goes again
The answer to more flooding is to buy a bigger car, which has more emssions, which makes climate change worse, which means more flooding, which...
Agreed to the latter part, very much. It's not about "cyclists" it's about active travel and independent mobility (and can be an improvement over ...
I don't think he's equating it. Had there been a cyclist locking their bike up they would have been dead. How can a COMPETENT and CAREFUL driver...
You are Boatsie and I claim my £5
My commute takes me past a very popular state secondary school (that was attended by a famous rock star and has his name on one of the buildings)....
Also, I shall always be grateful to her and Jason for recording a little "good luck" video to me when I was about to embark on my season of cycling...