Llandrindod to Howey Active Travel Route: Phase 2
North & Mid Wales Trunk Road Agent
Welcome
What are we doing?
NMWTRA on behalf of Welsh Government is working to improve Active Travel in and around Llandrindod Wells to increase connectivity and provide safer walking and cycling routes for local communities.
The Active Travel (Wales) Act requires local authorities across Wales to continuously improve routes for walking and cycling. The aim is to reduce reliance on single-occupancy car use, and to increase the amount of people walking and cycling on a regular basis.
Active Travel aims to get more people walking and cycling for short journeys to benefit the health and wellbeing of local communities and reduce CO2 emissions from private cars.
Powys County Council (PCC) and Welsh Government have committed to reducing CO2 emissions with the aim of achieving net zero. Transport contributes approximately 30% of Wales emissions and reducing car travel can significantly contribute to this target. This is a Welsh Government Ministerial priority guiding how policies and strategies are taken forward and implemented.
In addition, undertaking more local journeys on foot or by bicycle can have significant health benefits for individuals. Walking and cycling for short journeys can also increase levels of physical activity, supporting both physical and mental health.
Currently, much of our road network is considered unsuitable or unsafe for cycling and many of our footways are too narrow to be used safely by all pedestrians, including vulnerable users.
This route has been identified as one in need of upgrade during extensive public engagement undertaken in the development of the Active travel network maps in 2020/22. It extends the existing network within Llandrindod, by providing a key link out to the communities towards Howey.
What is active travel?
Active travel means traveling in a way that makes you physically active, like walking, wheeling, or cycling. It usually means short journeys, like walking to the shops or local school, cycling to work or to see friends and family, or cycling to the train station. Many journeys people make using cars are under 5 miles, so there’s real potential to swap the car for walking and cycling.
Deputy Minister Lee Waters, Deputy Minister for Climate Change said:
“Walking and cycling provides a practical and vital response to help Wales meet its environmental and health targets.
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, connecting people with where they live and where they need to go.”
What are the design proposals?
Phase 1 of this scheme involved building a shared use, walking path on the eastern side of the A483, from Spa Road to Temple Avenue.
Phase 2 now looks to extend the shared use path southbound along the A483 to Ridgebourne Drive. Further phases would continue southbound, connecting Llandrindod Wells and Howey with a continuous upgraded path.
Due to the restrictions on the road corridor by the adjoining properties, it is not possible to build segregated walking and cycling facilities and still maintain 2-way traffic flow and on-street parking.
It was decided to return the narrow footpath to grass verge on the western side and convert the other footway to a shared use path to enable walking and cycling. Cycling is legally permissible on shared use paths.
Some features of the proposals for Phase 2 are:
- Widened footways to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists;
- Upgrades to footways to improve surfacing and provide pedestrian priority across side roads; and
- Upgrade to a signal-controlled junction on the A483 by Park Lane.
Benefits of shared use paths:
- Their use is more flexible - cyclists or pedestrians may be majority groups at different times;
- The wider widths better accommodate wheelchair users, disability vehicles and bikes; and
- Shared use paths are more cost-effective as less signing, street furniture, and markings are required.
Why are we doing this?
Increasing levels of active travel contributes to the achievement of all seven of Wales’ Well-being Goals. It was to reap these benefits that the then National Assembly for Wales passed the Active Travel Act (the ‘Act’) into legislation in 2013.
The act aims to make walking and cycling the most natural and normal way of getting about. For this to happen, many more people will have to choose walking and cycling as a means of transport. The provisions of the act therefore put in place the conditions that will allow many more people whose current mode of travel is the car to switch to more sustainable modes for shorter journeys and facilitate access to public transport as part of longer distance journeys.
Community event
During this four-week engagement period there will be an opportunity to attend a community drop-in event to view the proposals and discuss your feedback alongside the online survey. Come along to get involved:
Location: Pavilion Mid Wales, Spa Road, Llandrindod Wells, LD1 5EY.
Drop in any time on Wednesday 29th November between 10am - 8pm.
Tell us what you think?
Please respond to our survey on the proposals by following the link below:
Link to survey here: Llandrindod to Howey Active Travel Path (arcgis.com)
Contact us
If you can't attend the event but have further feedback or questions, please use the contact details below:
