Funding for controversial cycle path is being reallocated

Richard Youle, local democracy reporter

Funding for a controversial cycle path which would also have benefited pedestrians is being reallocated, but the scheme is not being ruled out completely.

Swansea Council had secured £1.4 million from the Welsh Government towards a segregated cycle route from Sketty, through Uplands and along Walter Road, but it called a halt to it last September before any work got under way.

The decision followed public feedback and what were described as policy and priority changes by UK and Welsh ministers on economic growth and transport.

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Disruption

Many businesses along the proposed 1.2-mile route were worried about disruption the work - spread over three phases - could cause, and some people questioned how much use the cycle path would actually get. Swansea Bay cycle campaign group Wheelrights said the evidence from the UK was that cycle paths generated extra income for businesses, and that nearly a third of cyclists it surveyed over a 10-hour period on Walter Road used the pavements because they felt unsafe on the road.

Councils generally have to spend "active travel" funding, as it's known, in the year they receive it from the Welsh Government. Swansea Council secured £2.55m for 2024-25, with £1.4 million for the Walter Road and Sketty Road project.

Discussions have taken place with the Welsh Government, and a report going before cabinet next week said all but £51,000 of the £1.4 million sum would now be spent on other active travel projects. But it left the door open for the Walter Road and Sketty Road scheme in the future.

"The original allocation was intended to commence construction of this multi-year scheme; however, the programme has been paused in order that further preparatory work be undertaken to establish mitigation measures to potential disruption caused during any construction period in the future," it said. The £51,000 will pay for project management and survey fees to date.

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Segregated cycle path

The council had envisaged a segregated cycle path on the south side of Walter Road, Sketty Road and Gower Road - up to the junction with De-La-Beche Road - with upgraded pavements, new landscaping, and narrowed carriageways. Some parking bays would have been retained but restrictions on some right filter lanes and the introduction of some one-way side roads were proposed.

Speaking in February last year, Cllr Andrew Stevens, cabinet member for environment and infrastructure, said it was a key route in and out of the city centre linking communities including Uplands and Sketty. "These communities, along with the city centre, offer a wide range of facilities and it’s vital we do what we can to ensure residents can access them by which ever mode of transport they choose – whether that's by car, walking, cycling, or using public transport," he said.

Feedback from a meeting organised around a year ago by the then Swansea West MP Geraint Davies indicated a large majority opposed to the project. Comments received by Mr Davies included one person saying: "Not everyone can cycle and large shopping usually needs car travel. Will this not just make more people shop out of town making the city centre even more unattractive as a place to shop?" Another resident who said they regularly cycled, walked and drove along the route said they supported the proposal, subject to some tweaks, and that the impact on drivers would be "negligible".

Clyne Valley shared-use path

The council would now like to spend £685,000 of the freed-up £1.4 million upgrading sections of the Clyne Valley shared-use path, which runs from Blackpill to Gowerton, and £195,000 doubling the width of a 1.5m path from Brunel Way, Landore, to the Landore park and ride site.

It also plans to invest an extra £90,000 improving cycling and walking facilities between Gowerton and Loughor on top of the £38,000 it was already spending this year. The rest of the £1.4 million would go on other active travel upgrades, including between Penclawdd and Gowerton, and on designing new schemes. A new zebra crossing would also be created at the Mumbles Road and Newton Road junction, Mumbles.

Cabinet members will be asked to approve the grant funding variation when they meet on February 20, subject to any further Welsh Government approval.