Aberystwyth gets £1 million for green transport
The £1 million must be spent this financial year and includes:
Parcyllyn bus and cycle lanes and pedestrian facilities £20,000
Public rights of way £10,000
Walking and cycling infrastructure improvements at Parcyllyn / Boulevard St Brieuc £80,000
Pedestrian islands £60,000
20mph speed limit for roads on the seaward side of Aberystwyth town £75,000
Aberystwyth town centre accessibility scheme £40,000
Additional Park & Ride facilities £304,000
Aberystwyth to Penrhyncoch cycle route £45,000
Llanbadarn Fawr to new government buildings cycle route £20,000
Improvements to Rheidol cycle path £15,000
Bus service improvements £40,000
Electric bus purchase £190,000
Aberystwyth to Penrhyncoch cycle route £45,000
ReplyDeleteThis makes me very happy :-)
Be even better if a little of the money was taken from some of the 20mph speed limit on sea front bucket, after all how much can a few signs cost, to extend the cycle route to Bow Street.
Alun, if you had a finger in this pie, well done.
I wonder what £40,000 buys for bus service improvements? Persuading Arriva to extend their inadequate service rather than competing with local providers on the same route at the same time would be a good idea for starters and needn't cost anything.
ReplyDeleteA reliable and extensive bus service into the town is the only thing that will get people out of their cars. But I suppose that the whole £million could be spent on that. And why not?
That's great, particularly looking forwards to more cycle lanes.
ReplyDeleteGood to see that a cycle path is going over to Penrhyncoch, the roads are pretty treacherous for cyclists. Like Clive said, it'd also be great in the long term to see the paths all the way up to Bow Street and beyond. Ynyslas would attract the tourists.
The electric bus also looks really innovative.
Yaayyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
ReplyDeleteDoes this mean that cycling around the town centre will become possible?
And will the Rheidol route funding provide a way round the A44 section?
On the other hand (sorry to sound pedantic), why is roughly 1/3 going on park and ride, I wouldn't say that's the greenest scheme in the world?
But the other 2/3 is a brilliant steal, especially in the funding climate at the moment; with lots of good improvements getting funding. Great stuff :)
Is there any info about this anywhere else, I'd love to see Aberystwyth pushing forwards as an Eco Town, there seems to be the political will.
ReplyDeleteIs there anything in the public domain where people can see the plans etc?
Cycle stuff is fantastic, puts Aber on the map and opens up all of those places you can only reach via car. It has really astonished me how many people use those cycleways. I agree with the above. Keeping the routes off of roads is really important if you want to encourage children and adults to use them.
Would like to see the buses run on bio-fuels.
Where is the money to get Arriva to put cycle racks at the front of their buses? As a non-car-user who looked into buying a bike recently to combine with public transport I was annoyed to realise that bikes can't go on buses and it is not easy to use them with trains either... even folding bikes can be refused by Arriva drivers, since it is 'at their discretion'. So feasibly a (folding)bike adventure could fail at the first hurdle of using a bus. Or, worse, you could get somewhere, spend a day cycling, then be refused access to the bus home with the bike, leaving you stranded in the middle of nowhere. Until Arriva either puts bike racks on buses or guarantees that folding bikes are allowed it means Ceredigion is not connected. Some of the money could have gone on this...
ReplyDeleteAnon 2 - You can find out more background info at:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ceredigion.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=15348
Click on "Highways, Property & Works Departmental Reports" and then go to item 7 on pages 16-18
Funnily enough their are some buses that will take your bike on the back. I doubt that the ones that drive around Aber circular will, not much point really, but look up - ceredigion bike buses - on Google, I suppose that bikes = tourists. I think the Cardi Bach does and you often see the ones fom Aber to Cardigan with the rack on the back of the bus.
ReplyDelete@Alun
ReplyDeleteWhen I tried to open the HPW file it said:
"The file is damaged and could not be repaired."
Tried on different browsers, same result.
@alan Chamberlain
ReplyDeleteThe racks on the back of Arriva buses have tricked a number of people. You are not allowed to use them (this was confirmed by Arriva). The two reasons given were: the driver can not make sure the bike is secure without leaving the bus (and the money); many bus stops are on a main road and they considered it a health and safety issue that a passenger could be hit by a car from behind. So basically Arriva fitted all the racks without any thought, then decided they could not be used. That is why front racks are required, or a guarantee that foldign bikes will be taken on the bus.
Ah right, sorry for mis-informing you on that, I would have thought that anything that is allowed on the London Underground would be allowed on a bus/train - Brompton, Birdy and Mezzo all fold down small. I suppose the tourist office would have the official line on this.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ceredigion.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=15348
Works fine for me
I'm surprised how interested everyone is in this
"When I tried to open the HPW file it said:
ReplyDelete"The file is damaged and could not be repaired."
Tried on different browsers, same result."
I tried it before making the comment and it worked. Maybe it then broke down temporarily. I tried it just now (8.15pm) and it was OK again.
However I can send a hard copy to anyone if they e-mail me their address(alunw@ceredigion.gov.uk).
Good! I think it's great they are spending money for more green transportation.
ReplyDeleteIts great Aber has got the money and hopes to be a green transport town. Do you think the money will noticeably reduce transport carbon emissions in Aber? I think it is sad it all has to be spent this year in a rush. Better decisons take time.
ReplyDeleteWe have traffic congestion so £300+k on Park and Ride maybe sensible but for me has little to do with saving carbon/being green. Same for electric bus which will be a one off and do very little to change behaviour.
I live in hope the money may enable more cycling and walking in Aber but I won't hold my breath.
David O
I'm not sure it's been done in a rush. Council officers have been working on much of this for some time. It's just that it's only now the Assembly money has been agreed.
ReplyDeleteWhilst Park & Rides are certainly good for helping town centres be more people-friendly, I do take the point that there is a debate as to how useful they are in pure green terms, i.e. do they lead to a reduction in carbon? My feeling is that they do (by cutting down on traffic circulating slowly around looking for street parking spots and by eliminating the last car mile of journeys) but only slightly.
I feel more positive than you about the electric bus though. I hope it's the first of many.
£1 million sounds a lot but it's surprising how little you can buy for that at this level. I'm under no illusion that it's going to create a green transport revolution in Aberystwyth but it is another incremental step in the right direction.
Can't wait for the cycle route from Penrhyn to Aber!!! Where exactly will it be?
ReplyDeleteThey're working out the route now. I understand it will go through University/IGER land.
ReplyDeleteI noticed today that apparently an Aber to Penparcau service will be cut. Is this the case? I thought that there was supposed to be a commitment to more public transport?
ReplyDeleteDidn't know about that. I'll find out.
ReplyDeleteAny news on Penrhyncoch cycle route? I've had a look but can't find any information online. I was just wondering how flat it will be and whether I will actually be able to use it!
ReplyDeleteTanwen,
ReplyDeleteDon't know why the above comment didn't appear straight away...
The Council's Highways Dept say funding has been delayed for the Penrhyncoch cycle route. However they still expect it and are are pressing ahead with negotiations with landowners along the route about the exact line the path will take.
The route will be flat tarmac along the Bow Street - IGER - Comins Coch section, then rising upwards towards Waun Fawr.
More positively, the extension of the Rheidol trail from the green bridge, along the river to Parc yr Onnen on the east side of Llanbadarn is due to be finished by the end of May.