River Ely Cycle Bridge

Sat 22nd Nov 08 — admin

Cyclists wearing swiming gear beside the River Ely

Local group members try to cross the River Ely

** Campaign update **

The new bridge has now been built and is called Pont Y Werin.

This campaign is now closed. Thank you to everyone who took part.

River Ely cycle bridge protest

22 September 2006 was international “In town without my car day”. Yet people from Penarth who want to cycle to work in Cardiff or the Bay have looked in vain for a safe cycle route into town.

To protest at the lack of effort by the Vale of Glamorgan Council and Cardiff Council to promote commuter cycling, a large group of cyclists staged a protest in Penarth Marina on the day. They gathered at the site of a proposed pedestrian and cycle bridge across the River Ely, which would link Penarth with Cardiff.

They wore swimming gear to make the point that at the moment, to cycle safely to Cardiff, people would have to swim or use a boat to cross the river.

Cardiff Friends of the Earth campaigner, Dr Buehner, said: “At present, there is no safe cycle route from Penarth to Cardiff. The Cogan Spur dual carriageway is extremely dangerous. At present it is blocked for cycles. Penarth Road is a long and unattractive route. cyclists have to struggle amidst streams of lorries and other heavy traffic. The Ely Bridge would link Penarth with the Taff Trail, and thus provide a convenient route into the centre of Cardiff or the Cardiff Bay.”

In addition to allowing cyclist commuter access between Penarth and Cardiff, the Ely bridge would provide pedestrian and cyclist access to the multi-million development of the International Sports Village. It would also link the village with Cogan Rail Station. This would allow people from all over Wales to visit using public transport.

Plans for the bridge were dropped because no one is prepared to fund it despite massive development in the area.

Penarth resident and mother of two Mia Schmidt-Hansen said: “We desperately need this bridge. Without it congestion and pollution will continue to increase, and we’ll have the crazy irony that the only way we’ll be able to get to the sports village will be by car.”

Several politicians, among them Vale Council leader Jeff James and Lorraine Barrett AM, have expressed their support for the bridge in the past, but no one is prepared to take the lead in getting the job done. Dr Buehner hopes that this event reminds them of their promises and looks forward to seeing councillors take a lead on the issue.

See pictures of the day.