Cardiff turns to bicycle power

The city of Cardiff will benefit from an exciting new concept radically altering the transport system into a modern efficient infrastructure.

If the proposed system is successful it will be set up through out the country.

The investment is coming from the Welsh National Assembly and Cardiff Council.

The sum of £28.5 million was announced by the Minister for Economy and Transport.

Ieuan Wyn Jones explained that the Sustainable Travel Towns Initiative will be started in the capital city and that would lead the way for more investment in the future.

Based on an idea first introduced in Denmark during the late 1970s, free bikes and buses are key to encouraging commuters away from their motor cars.

Copenhagen now has a third of its people travelling to work on their bicycles.

Over the next few years the transport system in Cardiff will change beyond recognition.

Measures will include a free shuttle bus, improved routes for cyclists and pedestrians and an increase ‘in park and rides’.

There will also be a new bridge built across the river Ely, to be called Pont-y-Werin.

Only bikes, and people on foot, will be allowed access and this is seen as a positive sign.

It should encourage the population to consider alternate transport methods.

The overall multimillion pound initiative will create fantastic potential for Wales’s capital.

Lee Waters, of Sustrans Cymru, believes that the vision for a sustainable travel city is within its grasp.

There are multiple gains that can be achieved, including improved health and positive affects on the environment.