‘Small changes’ can make big differences says Wales’s Deputy Climate Change Minister as he unveiled where £58m would be spent on active travel routes. Welsh Government has been under fire in North Wales in recent months after scrapping a number of road projects.
But the Government says it wants to help move people onto public transport and active travel (cycling and walking) – although minister Lee Waters admits services are not yet to scratch. More on that here.
To get more people walking and cycling the Government has announced an extra £58m into routes. A full list of how that will be spent in North Wales in 2023/24 is at the bottom of the story.
The Deputy Minister was speaking on a visit to Flintshire where he saw first-hand how people were making the most of the new Sandy Lane to Saltney Ferry active travel route.
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He said: “It is about making small changes to encourage people to think about jumping on a bike for short local journeys. If we keep going through the barriers people face, one by one, then cumulatively that will help create the change in culture.
“We are spending 20 times more per head on this than in England, we are putting our money where our mouth is. We believe it will help reduce congestion, as well as reduce emissions. It will help cut out some everyday car journeys people make as 10% of all car journeys are under a mile. If we can get 10% of people to change the way they behave that could make a real difference.
“We appreciate not every journey can be done by public transport or active travel but some are, let’s look at these first and then learn about what the barriers are to going further. We know one barrier to cycling is about people feeling safe, routes that are traffic free are shown to be effective at driving up cycling and walking, particularly for those that are less confident on a bike.
“If we all start to make little changes to our everyday lives then over time that makes a big difference. It has taken 40 years to get the situation to the way it is now so this is not going to happen in a couple of years, it is about a significant long term change.”
He added: “The Active Travel (Wales) Act puts pressure on us to deliver on high-quality active travel networks that encourage more and more people to regularly walk and cycle for journeys instead of using a car. Today’s funding is another substantial investment that will help us deliver ambitious plans across Wales that have all been designed to connect people with where they love and where they need to go.”
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Flintshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Streetscene and the regional transport strategy, Councillor Dave Hughes said: “I am delighted to receive confirmation of Welsh Government’s further funding for two very important Safe Routes in Communities schemes which aim to improve accessibility within Holywell and Flint. With these proposals we aim to improve conditions for walking and cycling by reducing traffic speeds, improving pedestrian priority and widening footways. With the addition of green infrastructure these areas will provide an attractive and safe environment, encouraging more people to walk and cycle more frequently.”
The new £58m will see the construction of 37 new active travel routes and the detailed development of a further 22. It will also be spent on 30 local authority Safe Routes in Communities schemes, with £3m for the Strategic Road Network.
Additionally, as part of this pot all 22 local authorities will receive a minimum of £500k which can be used for future scheme developments and minor works such as new crossing points, promotional work and new cycle parking.
How the latest cash will be spent:
Conwy
Active Travel Fund
Marl Lane phase 2, Llandudno Junction: £490,500
Llandudno Station Active Travel Connections (Route 10 Craig Y Don): £1,038,200
Dolgarrog Phase 1: £85,000
Core allocation: £582,000
Denbighshire
Active travel fund
Grove Road to Colomendy Industrial Estate, Denbigh (Phase 3): £500,000
Penisadre Road, Prestatyn: £150,000
Core allocation: £500,000
Safe Routes in Communities
Ysgol Llewelyn: £100,000
School Streets Feasibility Study: £50,000
Flintshire
Active Travel Fund
Lower Aston Hall – Shared Use Path: £25,000
Sandycroft to Broughton shared use path: £55,000
Core allocation: £712,000
Safe Routes in Communities
6 Flint Schools: £300,000
Holywell Urban Area: £487,800
Gwynedd
Active Travel Fund
Tywyn to Aberdyfi: £28,000
Penrhos/Penchwintan Road: £1,200,000
Core allocation: £500,000
Safe Routes in Communities
Bala: £280,000
School Streets Feasibility Study: £50,000
Isle of Anglesey
Active Travel Fund
Malltraeth – Newborough (A4080): £250,000
Holyhead – Trearddur Bay (North Wales Metro): £1,344,662
Llanfairpwll Package: £158,441
Core allocation: £500,000
Wrexham
Active Travel Fund
Mold Road Corridor Active Travel Enhancements (Phase 1): £121,000
Wrexham Town Connections / Transforming Towns – Holt Road and Borras Road: £200,000
Rhostyllen Shared use Path: £520,500
Core allocation: £649,000
Safe Routes in Communities
School Streets Feasibility Study: £50,000
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