Bodmin council admits getting more people to cycle, walk and take public transport is 'unrealistic' - so decides to build another road instead

Bodmin Town Council has said that it doesn’t think the town would be able to shift significantly to walking, cycling and public transport.

Although it has said this would be desirable, revitalising town centre trading and improving air quality, the council has said it is ‘unrealistic’.

According to This is Cornwall, the council is now exploring ‘other solutions’, including creating a northern relief road to bypass the town.

One commenter on the article wrote: “About time someone in authority admitted that once you've bought a car and are spending hundreds of pounds a month on VED, insurance, servicing, and most of all depreciation, you're not going to leave it at home and stand at a bus stop for 10 mins to spend another £2.50 per day getting to work.”

In the council’s Town Plan for Bodmin, published in October last year, it noted:

Currently Bodmin has a higher proportion of people walking to work than national averages, yet has a much lower proportion of people cycling to work (only 1% of journeys being made by bike). Hills, lack of suitable cycle infrastructure and busy roads are the likely causes for this low figure.

Currently only 1.25% of all trips in Bodmin are made by bus. This is set against a national average of 8%. However, this low usage in Bodmin can be attributed, in part, to the fact that there is a limited town service, which currently doesn’t visit all key areas of housing and employment.