Park and ride to be dropped from Bay plan
A PROPOSED new park-and-ride facility is set to be dropped from plans to improve transport links between Cardiff Bay and Penarth.
Vale of Glamorgan Council has been considering ways to improve travel between the seaside town and the Cardiff Bay Barrage.
Among the options considered have been a park-and-ride facility at Cosmeston with buses running along the barrage, a new headland walkway and an upgraded railway station at Cogan.
But the council’s ruling body is set to drop the Cosmeston Park and Ride idea due to concerns raised by people in a consultation about the impact of buses on the Barrage.
The ideas to improve transport between Cardiff and Penarth are as follows:
■ Option one: Penarth headland link and active travel improvements
The council is considering building a headland link around Penarth – this would be a 1km pedestrian and cycleway between the Penarth Esplanade and Cardiff Barrage.
New cycle routes would also be set up in key routes throughout the town, including from the Merrie Harrier junction to Pont y Werin and Penarth Road, while 20mph zones and a bike-hire scheme would also be introduced to the town.
A council meeting heard the headland link could cost around £10 million.
■ Option two: Park and ride at Cosmeston and buses along the barrage
This plan involves a new 150space park-and-ride facility at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park.
Buses would then travel along the B4267, Westbourne Road, Stanwell Road, Albert Road, Clive Place, St Augustine’s Crescent, Paget Place and Paget Road, before continuing over the Barrage to provide access to Cardiff Bay and the city centre.
■ Option three: New “transport interchange” at Cogan
In this option, Cogan railway station would be upgraded with a new 150-space park and ride, a new bridge across the rail line, a taxi pickup and drop-off facility and improving nearby active travel routes.
Vale of Glamorgan Council’s cabinet will be asked to approve which of the schemes it wants to take further and produce a full business case on.
It is set to tell Capita, which has prepared the plans, to produce full business cases on the active travel plans in Penarth and the Penarth headland link separately, as well as the Cogan Transport Interchange.
The Vale’s Environment and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee was told the option of a park and ride at Cosmeston “did not perform well” in a consultation – with people expressing concerns about the impact of buses on the existing cycle tracks on the Barrage.
But the meeting on Wednesday heard that Cardiff council still wants the option of buses across the Barrage to be considered.
Cllr Ruba Sivagnanam said she would “personally hate to have buses” on the Barrage but urged the council to consider transport modes that would not exclude disabled people.
Cllr Vincent Bailey said: “It would be a shame to give up on some form of transport.”
The committee urged the cabinet to keep all transport options open.
Roger Thomas, chairman of the Penarth Headland Link Trust – a registered charity which has supplied the council with possible designs for the new walkway – told the committee people in the town think the project is a “no-brainer”.
He said: “This is a simple project that will have a transformational impact.”
Mr Thomas told the committee his organisation estimates the headland link would cost around £10 million – and has held “encouraging” talks with Welsh Government over the idea.
The cabinet is set to decide on a way forward on Monday.