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Barmouth Bridge cycle walking pathPetition to save key Welsh cycling route attracts 20,000 signatures
A petition to save a key Welsh walking and cycling route from closure has reached almost 20,000 signatures.
The petition, titled Keep Barmouth Bridge open to walkers and cyclists, is seeking to save a strategic link across the Mawddach Estuary, and on both the National Cycle Network and Wales Coast Path. Petitioners argue its closure would mean an 18 mile detour for its 100,000 users per year, on busy, narrow A roads, as well as negative effects on the local economy.
Gwynedd Council currently pays £30,000 per year for the path's upkeep to Network Rail, as it is part of a rail bridge. This is one of hundreds of services being considered by the council in a raft of savings to be made in the face of government cuts.
Glyn Evans, Sustrans Mid Wales Area Manager, said: "If the bridge closes there would be an 18 mile detour for the 100,000 users per year on the bridge. In terms of the National Cycle Network and Wales Coast Path but in terms of Barmouth and Fairbourne it would be a very negative decision and have a much wider impact on the local economy, as well as the lost health benefits."
"All those people spending money there, staying there overnight, it would affect the local economy more than just that £30,000."
The petition describes the route as "a key transport link enabling local people and visitors to travel actively and sustainably on a safe and beautiful path".
Evans says a manned toll booth used to collect 50p from passing cyclists but this was closed a couple of years ago as there were not sufficient funds to bring the building up to modern standards. He hopes Gwynedd Council and Network Rail can come to some agreement but if that fails, he said, the Welsh Government may have to assist.
He said: "As part of the Active Travel Act the Welsh Government have to map and continually develop a walking and cycling network. Closing off a route that has a 100,000 users per year is a completely backwards step."
"We really hope that local people who have supported the petition are able to support the Gwynedd Council consultation [on services facing cuts and closure] when it opens in early September."
A Network Rail spokesperson told road.cc it is in talks with Gwynedd Council and is considering whether the annual maintenance fee could be reduced.
The spokesperson said: “An annual payment from Gwynedd Council contributes to the maintenance and inspection of the iconic Barmouth viaduct and means we can ensure the walking route is safe to remain open for the local community and tourists. This is a long-standing agreement, dating back decades, and we understand the council previously collected tolls to help cover this cost.
“We are discussing with Gwynedd Council our proposals to refurbish the bridge, which was built in 1867, and secure its long-term future, so that it can continue to play a crucial role for the local economy.
“We are still in the very early stages of planning this project and we are looking at whether we can reduce the amount of maintenance required on the bridge, which could reduce Gwynedd’s liability in the future.”
Laura Laker is a freelance journalist with more than a decade’s experience covering cycling, walking and wheeling (and other means of transport). Beginning her career with road.cc, Laura has also written for national and specialist titles of all stripes. One part of the popular Streets Ahead podcast, she sometimes appears as a talking head on TV and radio, and in real life at conferences and festivals. She is also the author of Potholes and Pavements: a Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network.
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15 comments
You'll be waiting a long time for the train, 2 hours between trains in each direction, and an hour between a train arriving and the return journey back across the bridge.
But worth waiting for.
How about rebuilding/refurbishing the toll booth set a reasonable charge (ie the 50p already quoted) and the bridge becomes self financing.
An iconic route, but why exagerate the facts?
It's 12.3 miles by road to get from one end of the 1.3mi causeway to the other, but quoted as an 18mi detour. My sums would make that an 11mi detour. (It's still 'only' an extra 3.2mi if avoiding the Penmaenpool toll bridge). The roads are busy by Welsh standards, so not good for families.
There's a train station at each end, so there is an alternative, though not much good for large groups of cyclists (without bike bags)!
So they're building fantastic new cycle bridges in the Netherlands and in Denmark. But here we're trying to close down genuinely useful and attractive routes, and in London they're building a Garden Bridge which you can't ride a bike on and will be closed for private functions.
It makes me want to weep. How have we gone so badly wrong?
because we are a selfish short term minded nation where all a lot of people think about is how to get somewhere quickly without realising they are the problem.
Simple really the more people cycling to work for example then the less on the roads, rail etc. building proper infrastructure is not only cost effective but traffic reducing.
If this was a road for cars the council wouldn't dare consider it.
I'm sorry, what? Austerity, I know, but what conceivable "standards" can it have been short of?
I guess that they are not really expecting walkers and cyclists to make an 18 mile detour. Either it's a process of bartering for a better price with Network Rail or there will be a private ferry service. There is actually already a ferry service across the estuary linked to the nearby miniature railway and presumably it could be extended to Mawddach. Still, going from a bridge to a ferry is clearly a backwards step so hopefully Network Rail will relent.
Oi, Cardiff bay assembly, cough up
Sorry, what exactly do the local council get for their £30,000 a year? It certainly doesn't cost that to 'inspect' the bridge. If the bridge is being inspected it's for Network Rails benefit. The profits the railway companies make, surely they should be made to maintain the footpath/cycle route as part of THEIR commitment to the local community. The BRIDGE is not going to close as long as the railways are making money out if it. So, come on Network Rail, stop lining your pockets.
I stayed at Fairbourne some years ago, and had to walk across this bridge to get to a cash machine, so it seems that closing the bridge could make an already fairly isolated community more isolated. (although I'm not sure how far it was to a cash machine in the other direction or whether there is now one in Fairbourne)
i've cycled this route and its wonderfull, must repeat must be maintained at all cost. Cyclists across the nation should start a nation campaign to maintain such routes for posterity. Why aren't Sustrans/CTC shouting louder??
Mawddach trail is a lovely route starting in Dolgellau running 10 miles down to Barmouth, my kids 6 and 8 did it all on BMXs last year. It post of SUSTRANS national route 8. Local government would be incredibly short sighted to close it off.
Good profile-raising for the area too: the more people know about it, the more people use it, the more difficult it is to close.