Villagers on the ‘dangerous’ A487 in Ceredigion to host ‘Day of Action’ to demand safer cycling and walking routes

A day of action on Sunday 19th September will focus on the lack of safe cycling and walking options between Aberystwyth and Machynlleth.

A series of events will provide community members with opportunities to tell their stories about how difficult it is to walk and cycle between their towns and communities. One example will be families left stranded by the closure of Ysgol Llangynfelin in Tre’r Ddol – with children now unable to get to Ysgol Tal-y-bont safely without resorting to vehicles.

Using a safe route would improve their health and wellbeing as well as air quality – reducing noise pollution and carbon emissions at the same time.

The community events coincide with an electric vehicle tour of Mid and North Wales by Climate.Cymru, who are collecting people’s stories and contributing them to the international COP26 climate event in November.

Organisers say another reason to focus on this now is the opportunity to shape the ‘Active Travel Mapping’ in Powys and Ceredigion. These consultations will define the priorities of local authorities and others in trying to improve safe provision. The Trywydd Iach (outdoor health) project will be at the events, helping people have their say about what needs to be done for cycling and walking. This project is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.

Ecodyfi and partners are organising short events in Aberystwyth (Plascrug 9-10am) and Cletwr at Tre’r Ddol (11.30-12.30), and a longer event at Y Plas in Machynlleth (1-4pm). A family ride and walk from Derwenlas to Machynlleth at 1pm will celebrate what’s possible when government, agencies and communities succeed in building safe dual use paths.

Andy Rowland, Manager at ecodyfi said: “We want to be able to cross the road without fear; speak to our neighbours across the street; cycle or walk to school, work and our local shop; see friends and family; breathe clean air; and get around safely without needing cars. The remaining vehicles must be electric, and many of them could be shared. This is what a zero carbon future could be like – even in a rural area.”

The ‘Our Community Our Climate’ event in Machynlleth will widen out to include hands-on activities such as bike repair, heat loss from houses, family nature hunts and apple pressing. The new shared electric bikes and an electric car will also be on hand. More details are available from from andy@ecodyfi.cymru.

Image credit: OLU, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons