Two of the most popular lanes for cycling, which connect Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan are being put under threat of closure by a road proposal that would connect J34 of the M4 and the A48 at Sycamore cross, with options being proposed that include a new link road or widening of the existing roads. There is a consultation is open until the 23rd of December, where you can register your objection through the links at the bottom of this article.
There are 4 possible routes, though no preferred option at this point in time. Routes A & B are new roads from Sycamore Cross to J34, one is East of Pendoylan and Clawdd Coch the the other is West of those villages. Both A & B will be 60 mph. Routes C1 & C2 are adaptations to the existing road - at 30 mph. One serious concern revolves around two of the new road options which would close two lanes running East/West from Cardiff north of the A48: The lane from Peterstone super Ely to Welsh St Donats, which would be closed west of Gwern-y -Steeple and the lane from St Fagans to Welsh St Donats through Clawdd – Coch, which would be closed just east of Clawd-Coch. Cyclists travelling between Cardiff and the Vale would be forced onto two busy A roads. The rationale being that the new road could not be built in a way enough to accommodate a bridge.
Development manager at Welsh Cycling, Georgina Harper noted: “Both these lanes in question are heavily used by cyclists, being two of the only rural lanes leading out from Cardiff to the West and into the Vale. We know our clubs, groups and members in the area regularly use them and heatmap data shows that these lanes are amongst the most well-used cycling routes in Wales. To lose access to the routes would impact massively on cycling in the area”
The image above shows the proposed development, but the full consultation and details of the scheme can be found here
The rationale for the scheme is to improve vehicle access to the airport and the growing enterprise zone around St Athan. A cycle path would be included alongside the road, running North/South – ticking a box for active travel, but all the data shows that most users would want to travel East/West – routes which would be blocked. Whilst Wales has some of the leading legislation around Active Travel, with an act that places a duty of Local Authorities to plan and prioritise improvements for walking and cycling, this scheme falls well short – and actually hinders community cohesion, blocking the majority of users chosen routes, it also fails to consider the current climate emergency and whether road building should be a priority.
Welsh Cycling are working with Cycling UK to submit a joint consultation response to the scheme, noting our objections to the route in terms of the loss of access to roads that impact on local cycling, but also to highlight also the impact on the local environment and lack of consideration for active travel.
There are several ways in which you can let the Local Authority and members of the Senedd know about your objection:
- Cycling UK have set up a portal where you can register your details and log an objection, the portal can be found here
- The community group, Vale Communities for Future Generations, have also set up an easy way to register your objection on their website, which can be found here
- Alternatively, you can register an objection on the road scheme via the consultation website, where you can email your objection to Junction34transportstudyconsultation@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk.
The consultation closes on the 23rd of December, so we would urge you to use one of the above mechanisms to respond and share your thoughts on the design, layout and need for the scheme with the decision makers.
