Written by:
Dan Coast
South East Development Officer Welsh Cycling
Welsh Cycling
COVID-19 has changed the way we live in Wales and has made us think about how we take our exercise and view travel.
More and more people have turned to cycling – and local authorities are also embracing this opportunity with support from Welsh Government.
Cardiff is one of those local councils investing £10m into Active Travel over the next 12 months.
Whilst the boom saw people saddling up in the early stages of lockdown, the plans to grow cycling in the capital has been happening over the past few years. There have been more cycle routes, a bike hire scheme and partnership work between key stakeholders and most importantly local people.
Cycling as a sport in Cardiff has been thriving for years with clubs like Maindy Flyers developing young riders into Olympic Champions like Elinor Barker and Owain Doull, not forgetting of course Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas.
With the support of the local council and HSBC UK, there are programmes in place to encourage more people to cycle. Programmes such as Go-Ride take place in the city, plus the hugely successful Breeze programme which organises regular local women-only rides. All of this culminated in the annual “Lets Ride” event which saw the city centre closed to motorised traffic to allow thousands of people to enjoy a car free day by bike in May 2019.
With schools returning this month, around 25 of them are establishing car free streets around the ‘school run’ time to allow more people the safe space needed to cycle and to make a change from relying on the car.
So, can Cardiff ever embrace cycling to the same degree as Copenhagen or Amsterdam?
There is absolutely no reason why not if the will of the residents remains at the level seen during lockdown. Paris is one such city that has been completely transformed during what was a very strict lockdown. Embraced by the Mayor Anne Hidlago, cycling levels have increased massively – growing by 53% and it is a change that is continuing after restrictions have been lifted. Data from the Department for Transport in the UK has also shown cycling activity continues to remain over 100% higher than the rate at the point of the lockdown, peaking at 300% on weekends.
The future for cycling looks positive and with data showing that people travelling by bike statistically spend longer and more time in city centres – it could provide an economical lifeline to businesses at this time. We certainly hope more will be done to help more people switch to pedal power as we live with and emerge from the pandemic.
Source – Department for Transport – here
Welsh Cycling Choose Cycling campaign – here
