Welcome to Road Safety Wales
13/12/07
A scheme which will improve cycling and walking routes across Wales is part of a winning bid for £50m from the Big Lottery Fund. It follows a massive telephone and internet vote by the public backing the Connect2 scheme put forward by the charity Sustrans.
The money will be spent on at least ten routes created across Wales, building bridges and crossing points. The Sustrans bid beat off three other schemes in the public vote.
The winning Connect2 scheme includes a long-awaited pedestrian bridge between Cardiff and Penarth, two bridges over the River Wye at Monmouth and Tintern, a link between Newport and Caerleon, and, in north Wales, a bridge linking Rhyl and Kimnel Bay. Altogether, 79 towns and cities across the UK will benefit.
Sustrans' founder John Grimshaw described the announcement as "fantastic". "To say I am delighted is such an understatement," he said.
"It is fantastic for the 79 communities and many other partners and local authorities across the UK with whom we have been working for the last two years. Ultimately the real winners will be those millions of people who will now be able to Connect2 their shops, schools and workplaces and each other every day."
The Sustrans bid beat off competition from the Eden project, Sherwood forest and the Black Country urban park. Also included in the winning bid for Wales are a riverside route for Carmarthen linking it to Johnstown, a pedestrian link between the University of Glamorgan sites at Treforest into the town of Pontypridd, a new route on the Afon Tawe bridge at Clydach, and new foot and cycle paths at Cwmafan and Afan Forest park for Port Talbot.
The bid will also see a path following the route of the world's first steam train to run successfully on rails, with the Trevithick Tail at Merthyr Tydfil's Penydarren tramway.
Sir Clive Booth, chair of the Big Lottery Fund which distributes lottery grant money, said Sustrans had won nearly half of all the votes cast in the competition broadcast by ITV.
"It really won hands-down. What did it was that public support was terrific," he said.
"Given there were four projects, getting half the vote was a big achievement. I think it has captured people's imaginations because it is going to affect their lives right across the UK."
Visit the Sustrans website
23/11/07
Twelve North Walian cycling enthusiasts from a variety of backgrounds recently successfully completed a four-day training course as part of their accreditation process to becoming National Standards Cycle Instructors.
The course held at Denbigh Rugby Club and organised by Cycle Experience www.cycleexperience.com was funded by a number of North Wales authorities in readiness for the gradual implementation of National Standards Cycle Training in schools and other organisations.
4/6/07
Bike Week includes the Bike2Work promotion that encourages car owners to try commuting by bike, especially for journeys of up to five miles in busy urban areas, when cycling can be faster than any other mode of transport. Cycling for just half an hour every day can provide enough aerobic exercise to make a real difference to your zest for life!
Bike Week is intended to promote all kinds of free cycling activities for cyclists of all abilities and ages with the overall intention of encouraging 'more people to cycle, more often'. Most events are free to enter and many were suitable for novices, in all some 1,717 local events attracted an estimated 261,226 participants in 2006.
Bike Week has two major effects in that it can help the green initiatives by reducing the amount of exhaust emissions from the motorised transport normally used, as well as helping the participant’s fitness.
Whether you want to organise, promote or participate in a Bike Week or Bike2Work event, visit the Bike Week website.
