Capturing Cardiff : Pont y Werin : Bridge of the People

[Thomas Frost]

CAPTURING CARDIFF :

PONT Y WERIN: BRIDGE OF THE PEOPLE

Last time I rode into Penarth from Cardiff on my bike I was genuinely scared. I was wearing high visibility clothing and a helmet, but the sheer weight of traffic as I crossed the carriageway meant I felt very vulnerable. I wish there had been another way.

Cut from Cardiff by the Cogan Spur and separated by the river, Penarth is truly a detached settlement. Access to the town is crowded, dangerous and impractical.

Neil Fox, local delicatessen owner, explained that getting too and from Penarth and into Cardiff in rush hour can often take half an hour. He said: “Penarth has no transport network, during the busy times of day Penarth Road (A4160) is impossible.”

Student and lifelong resident of Penarth Augusta Tilney reinforced this (see audio). She said: “The Cogan Spur isn’t really suitable for walking and I don’t think you would really want to cycle across it either.”

Miss Tilney also added that she felts some people might be put off buying flats in the marina area and moving to Penarth because of the horrific traffic and access problems.

In April of this year, council leaders reached an agreement to fund a 3.2 million-pound, 140-metre commuter bridge connecting Penarth marina to the International Sports Village in Cardiff Bay.

The funding would be made up by 1.15 million-pounds from a televised lottery bid where various projects competed in a public vote to win funding. The rest would be made up from a variety of sources including Vale of Glamorgan and Cardiff council’s. It was agreed the bridge would be called, "Pont y Werin”, which translates as Bridge of the People.

On December 11, the sustainable transport charity Sustrans who backed the bid under the banner Connect 2 was the winner in ITV’s programme, The Big Lottery Fund’s Living Landmarks: The People’s Millions. The project polled 42% of the overall vote and won 50 million-pounds of Lottery funding to spend on 79 projects designed to improve walking and cycling routes nationwide. One of these is the Pont y Werin bridge.

This was a huge victory for Penarth and Cardiff. Council leader Rodney Berman said: “I am thrilled we have won and think its fantastic how the people of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan got behind the bid to bring about a change in providing more sustainable forms of local transport.”

This significance of Pont y Werin lies in its eco-friendliness. The bridge is specifically designed for walking and cycling to reduce the disproportionately dense area of traffic around Penarth Road (A4160). The bridge acts as a standard bearer for Cardiff’s drive towards improved city sustenance. Sustrans have stated they hope the development of various sustainable projects will be a catalyst for a UK wide initiative in achieving healthier living standards and encouraging higher levels of active behaviour.

The aesthetic of Pont y Werin is also important when discussing its cultural place in Cardiff. The chic modern design is colourful, futuristic and safe, incorporating a drawbridge for larger boats to pass through. Forward thinking and in keeping with Cardiff Bay’s plethora of architecturally innovative buildings and constructions, the bridge is effortlessly in-keeping with the area.

Pont y Werin is also another example of Cardiff’s continual drive to modernise and develop the bay area for its residents. Placed firmly within the bracket of cultural regeneration, Pont y Werin will take on an even larger role with the London Olympics in 2012.

The International Sports Village will almost certainly host the Olympic canoeing course. When completed by 2012 the village should also offer a 50-metre swimming and leisure pool and a state of the art indoor skiing, snow boarding and ice sports centre. There will also be a rock climbing wall as well as facilities for gymnastics, judo, wrestling, boxing and fencing. It will also have shops, bars, restaurants, homes and offices, a regional casino and hotel as well as conference facilities.

This massive development on Penarth’s doorstep makes the bridge vital. The new activities available in conjunction with the building of the bridge shows the residents of Cardiff and the wider area that the city intends to be a spearhead in the drive for a healthier standard of living.

Mayor of Penarth Gwyn Roberts said that Lorraine Barrett, AM for Cardiff South and Penarth, was committed to the Pont y Werin project but also keen to promote a project in conjunction called “Safer Routes in the Community.”

Mr Roberts explained this project is looking to improve walkways to schools, access for older people and improving local bike routes. He said: “We need better biking access onto the carriageway and access to Penarth centre from the marina is especially important in the future.”

Mr Roberts was keen to point out that the Vale council had last year rejected a project to create a complete cycle and foot walkway network from Penarth esplanade, across the headland and into the marina due to spiralling costs. He hopes the construction of Pont y Werin will mark the first piece in the jigsaw in making Penarth a more accessible and safer place to commute.

The logistics of the bridge are also incredibly simple which adds to the allure of the project. The construction of the bridge completes a 6.5-mile circuit round Cardiff Bay making movement to and from the bay’s key sites easier for the residents of Penarth. The same works the other way. Businesses in Penarth will directly benefit from better access to the town.

Margaret Knight owner of The Washington Art Gallery in Penarth said: “The bridge will bring Penarth much closer to Cardiff. It means a lot more people will come to Penarth for the day, which has got to be good for business.”

Neil Fox said that the Cardiff Bay's lack of specialist shops means that people might be more inclined to take a leisurely stroll into Penarth instead of going to into Cardiff centre. Penarth is home to over 80 independent stores and for that reason the bridge represents a huge coup in terms of trade.

Work is due to begin on the project in January 2008. Founder of Sustrans, John Grimshaw MBE said: “We are immensely grateful to everyone who got behind Connect 2 to make their votes count.”

The Pont y Werin Bridge captures the true heart of Cardiff Bay and offers residents of Penarth and Cardiff a real opportunity to make the most of a whole new set of facilities soon available to them. It is truly a bridge for all people.

Pont y Werin (artist impression)

Penarth Marina: The incline of the hill shows how the marina is seperated from the town from the town

The mouth of the river Ely: The photo shows the seperation of Penarth flats from the bay

Distance: The short gap between the bay and the marina

Note: Sorry for the poor photo quality, I didn't have a Nokia as they were all out. Similarly I followed the instructions to embed my audio I'm not sure whether it worked. My audio is on my audio player.