Green light for £1.1m Treforest cycle route

Plans to create a traffic-free route that will link two South Wales valley communities have been given the go-ahead following a Welsh Assembly announcement. The new £1.1m vehicle-free route will link Pontypridd and Treforest for people wanting to travel by bike or on foot.

The scheme is part of the planned £16m Valleys Cycle Network project being coordinated by Sustrans which will see the creation of an extra 100 miles of routes, which a further 636,000 people in the South Wales valleys are set to benefit from.

The traffic-free route between Treforest and Pontypridd is one of the 79 Sustrans’ Connect2projects across the UK. There are another three in Wales – in Merthyr Tydfil, Port Talbot and Clydach.

Ieuan Wyn Jones, the Welsh Minister for the Economy and Transport, announced the final part of funding on earlier this month and it is hoped the Network will provide people with an attractive alternative to car journeys, cutting local congestion, reducing carbon emissions and helping people to travel in ways that benefit their health.

The Valleys Cycle Network is also being delivered alongside Sewta (the South East Wales Transport Alliance) and SWWITCH (The South West Wales Integrated Transport Consortium).