17/05/2021
The Commonplace website is where you can find out about the active travel consultations underway across Wales.
Local Authorities are using the online consultation platform as they shape plans to improve towns and villages with the aim of making them better places to live, work and visit. By upgrading and creating new walking and cycling routes active travel can increasingly become the normal way to get around for local journeys. This cuts down unnecessary traffic and helps families get about safely, improves air quality and increases the attractiveness of places where we spend time for our daily journeys.
Everyone can have their say – if you are already someone who regularly gets about on foot or by bike, you’ll know where things are good but also where improvements are needed, but the project especially needs to hear from people who are yet to discover the joys of active travel. What changes and improvements might help you swap to walking or cycling, when using the car isn't really necessary? Maybe you know where a new cycle route is needed, or perhaps it’s a lack of safe crossing points, no dropped kerbs, or cars parked on the pavement that are the problem.
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17/05/2021
Construction of a new pedestrian crossing at Brecon Road in Hirwaun will start today, as part of the Council’s safe routes in communities work in areas which have benefitted from 21st Century Schools investment.
The new safe crossing point for the community will be located near Brecon Road’s junction with Cross Street, in order to create a safer environment for pedestrians who wish to cross the main road. The work will also include new streetlights, kerbs and paving to deliver further improvements at this location.
The pedestrian crossing is being funded by Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council to complement the new £10.2m, 21st Century Schools facilities for the nearby Hirwaun Primary School – which was a recent joint investment alongside the Welsh Government.
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10/05/2021
Monmouthshire County Council has confirmed that the traffic lights on Bridge Street in Usk will be removed today, Monday 10th May, allowing for the return to two-way traffic. The decision has come following a review of the traffic management system and feedback from businesses and residents.
As Wales now enters Alert Level 3 of its COVID plan, with schools and the majority of businesses having reopened, the short-term interventions introduced by the council in 2020 have been re-evaluated. When the measures were introduced last year, the COVID-19 case rates across the county were significantly higher and the vaccine roll out had not taken place. Now, with more vehicles on the roads through Usk once again, the council has taken a view that benefits of the temporary traffic measures are being negated by the issues experienced recently by motorists and businesses.
A spokesperson for the council said: “The easing of lockdown restrictions and the reopening of schools and businesses have resulted in increased traffic volumes in Usk and we have been aware of longer queue times and queue lengths along Bridge Street recently. We are concerned that with the increased traffic levels, the temporary lights are no longer operating effectively and have concluded that now is the right time to remove them. Although pollution levels remain well below trigger levels, we are also concerned that increased queue lengths could result in a potential impact on air quality, which we want to avoid.
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27/04/2021
A series of Active Travel walking and cycling routes are set to be developed in parts of Swansea to help improve the local environment and keep people healthy.
Swansea Council has received more than £3million from the Welsh Government Active Travel programme which will be used to construct a number of shared use paths in communities across the city.
The new paths will link up with existing cycle and walking routes and help expand the overall cycling and walking infrastructure throughout Swansea.
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19/04/2021
Further work has taken place on a temporary active travel scheme in Llangollen. As part of the scheme in the town centre white lines have been painted on either side of the temporary rubber kerbs and bollards to make them more visible.
The temporary scheme was introduced to facilitate social distancing and make it easier for people to travel actively within the town centre.
Emlyn Jones, Denbighshire County Council’s Head of Planning and Public Protection, said, “Following some concerns a site inspection was undertaken by road safety engineers which found no issues of concern, however further work to enhance the scheme has taken place. This has included the painting of white lines.”
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13/04/2021
Road safety works are underway across a bridge in a Swansea community in an effort to prevent accidents.
The railway bridge which crosses Pentre Road near Pontarddulais and is owned by Network Rail, is currently closed to traffic while maintenance work is completed.
Swansea Council has since been in discussions with Network Rail and has developed a road safety scheme to install a pavement across the bridge, helping pedestrians safely cross it once it reopens.
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09/04/2021
Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians will benefit from the replacement of old traffic lights on a busy Merthyr Tydfil road as part of the Council’s plans for improving Active Travel across the county borough.
Work began on Tuesday 6th April on the signals at the junction of the A4102 where it intersects the A4054 Cyfarthfa Road and Nantygwenith Street, near Cyfarthfa Retail Park.
The lights are more than 20 years old and will have smarter technology to improve vehicle flow. While the work is being carried out, the Council is also taking the opportunity to improve the shared use crossing facility along the Taff Trail.
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23/03/2021
Denbighshire County Council is launching a pilot scheme at a Rhyl school to improve road safety and reduce air pollution.
The School Streets project will see a temporary road closure outside Ysgol Llywelyn between 8.30am and 9.15am and 2.30pm and 3.30pm.
The closure will run between March 22 and 26 and April 12 and 16 and the reduction in traffic and parking issues outside the school gates will improve safety and air quality around the school site.
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20/03/2021
Active travel schemes announced today will receive a funding boost of more than £53 million this year as part of further efforts to encourage healthy travel - with more than £20 million to follow.
The dedicated budget for active travel has risen from £5 million since the start of this Welsh Government term, which Lee Waters has described as evidence of Welsh Government’s commitment to delivering the vision in its new transport strategy.
44 larger schemes and packages of schemes in local authorities will be funded through the first tranche of the Active Travel Fund this year, worth £47 million. Included in this sum is also a £14 million ‘core allocation’ shared among all local authorities.
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12/03/2021
The road safety team at Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council has recently been busy getting back to working with schools.
In the absence of being able to go outside for Kerbcraft and Child Pedestrian Training, the team has been piloting alternative methods of delivering road safety education.
An interactive film has been created which has been very well received by children and teachers alike. You can view the film here.
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