Friends of the Earth Cardiff Cyfeillion y Ddaear Caerdydd

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

A cycling protest took place across the Cogan Spur on 22 April 2007 to highlight the need for the construction of a cycle and pedestrian bridge over the River Ely between Penarth and Grangetown.

The protest was partly organised by Marc Buehner of Cardiff Friends of the Earth.It was enthusiastically supported by Cycle Cardiff, Cardiff Cycling Club and the residents of Penarth and Cardiff. It was a great success, with an estimated 400 people turning out. Most were on bikes but some were on foot.

The bumper attendance helped to turn up the heat on Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan Councils.The protest secured an impressive amount of media coverage and was featured on the BBC and News Wales websites. It was also in the South Wales Echo and the Penarth Times.

The bridge, which would cost an estimated £3.5m to build, is badly needed to allow cyclists and pedestrians easy access to the International Sports Village from Penarth. At present, the only access route is by using the Cogan Spur, a road that is dangerous for cyclists and illegal to use for pedestrians.

The original plans for the bridge were shelved by Cardiff Council, and, while money has been pumped into developing the road infrastructure in and around the Sports Village, no additional funding from the developers for the bridge was secured.