Approval for active travel route – despite objections
COUNCILLORS have agreed to introduce a new active travel route from Pencoed to Bridgend, despite objections.
Although two councillors and 19 residents objected to the new route for walkers and cyclists along Cowbridge Road, Bridgend council’s cabinet voted in favour of the proposal during a meeting on Tuesday June 22.
Cabinet member for education and regeneration Charles Smith said: “This is one more step towards what I think should be our ambition which is a complete alternative travel system covering the whole of our county.”
The project includes improved crossing facilities, widening footways and reducing the current speed limit along Cowbridge Road.
The new route will be permanent, joining National Cycle Network Route 885. It will provide access to local schools and colleges, the railway station at Bridgend, and the proposed Brackla railway station at Bridgend Industrial Estate.
Two councillors and 19 residents objected to the proposed new route.
Conservative councillor Matthew Voisey objected to the plans, stating the original temporary route along Cowbridge Road was unsafe, there was a “lack of a risk assessment” undertaken for the new one and the consultation on the plans was a “sham”.
He said it would be better for the route to be installed along the other side of the carriageway, on the same side of the road as the college.
A report by council officers stated the temporary route was removed because of “parked vehicles”, road safety checks have been undertaken and the location of the proposed route is safer than the college side, where “overall safety may be compromised”.
Conservative councillor Lyn Walters also objected to the travel route, stating it is “an accident waiting to happen”.
A report by officers states the new route is “designed to be a dedicated shared route to enable pedestrians and cyclists to travel safely”.
The report also shows residents objected to the plans for reasons including safety concerns, limited vehicular access and visibility issues.
The council’s corporate director of communities Janine Nightingale said the new active travel route is “compliant” with health and safety regulations “no different to other schemes elsewhere”.
She added: “I would like to think there wouldn’t be any accidents because we feel our route is safe, but of course if there were issues, yes of course we would review the situation and we would look whether there’s more guidance, more signs or whatever we would need to do because we want to make sure our network is safe.
“This is about culture change now. This is about increasing the number of people who use bikes and travel on roads and it is about us all going on this same journey.”
The new route will be funded by the Welsh Government’s Active Travel Fund.