Table 3 Informants’ quotes illustrating categories
Cardiff | Kenilworth | Southampton |
|---|---|---|
Expected use and impact | ||
Utility perspective | Utility perspective | Utility perspective |
The bridge will enable commuters to travel from Penarth into Cardiff and vice-versa, trips for leisure to the sports facilities, ice rinks, shops and other Bay facilities… (C3) | The main commute is going to be the lecturers and other staff at the university who live in Kenilworth. (K1) | …and as I said before, business, people going to work, to college, to the university…(S2) |
Recreational perspective | Recreational perspective | Recreational perspective |
The bridge will enable……. people to go on leisure rides. (C3) | The main use will be recreational. But there is a link that we’re always pushing between recreational sites and then cycling as the transport choice, it’s helpful if folks grow up cycle-friendly and know how to make the wheels go around and that’s the first step for any of us, getting on a bike. And also somewhere for people who used to cycle that are trepidatious about the roads and understandably, so re-finding their cycling legs. (K1) | I think people will use it because it’s along the river and the river is a big attraction for people to just, you know, use it for recreational purposes. (S3) |
Perceived need for the schemes – utility | ||
Challenges faced by pedestrians and cyclists | Challenges faced by pedestrians and cyclists | Challenges faced by pedestrians and cyclists |
Currently there are three routes to get into Cardiff from Penarth. None of these routes are user friendly for pedestrians and cyclists. (C1) | It will give mainly a traffic-free and it will give a continuous option whereas at the moment what exists is broken at Crackley [area] and it’s then severed at Gibbet Hill and you can’t actually access traffic free; this road [existing segregated route alongside the A429] is quite undulating, it’s got a couple of hills, they’re not steep but they might put some people off. This [the Connect2 infrastructure] does have a rise in it, but it’s gentler than that. (K5) | At the moment it, it feels very surrounded by busy road that area of St Denys, so having that nice link out is going to, I think it’s going to make people feel “oh yeah, you know, I could go on a cycle ride”. (S4) |
Existing options for walking and cycling | Existing options for walking and cycling | Existing options for walking and cycling |
Currently cyclists and pedestrians can use the Barrage, but this route doesn’t go into the Bay, it goes into east Cardiff. (C4) | I think [there will be a migration of existing users from the A429 route to the Connect2 route] certainly for getting to the main campus yes, for getting to Gibbet Hill campus, no. I think the most direct route will be up to the lights and down the Kenilworth Road. (K3) | Not identified |
Challenges faced by other road users | Challenges faced by other road users | Challenges faced by other road users |
The Cogan Spur, Penarth to Cardiff Bay, is always busy and has queues of traffic at all times of the day. (C2) | …and as I say, ties in with other initiatives you know [e.g. removing free parking], in terms of increasing or decreasing the incentive to drive on to the campus. (K3) | Not identified |
Perceived need for the schemes – recreation | ||
Lots of people currently complain that they can’t get around the bay, so the bridge will be that missing link for circular walks and cycle rides around the bay. (C4) | …it’s a fantastic place for people with their young kids to go out, let them learn to wobble and fall off in a safe environment, which actually in a town like Kenilworth … it’s very difficult to find those places actually. (K5) | ….there is a green area on the river that will now have a bench so it will be beneficial to people to sit and view the river; there are the views, visiting it to access the waterfront. (S1) |
Scale of environmental change | ||
The main problem is that those who live near Penarth Town Centre, they don’t have a good route to the bridge. The Windsor Road from Penarth Town Centre is very narrow and extremely busy. It’s not a nice road to cycle along and doesn’t feel safe. (C2) | At the moment there is still a problem when you get to the Gibett Hill Traffic lights and turn left on their [leaving the A429 segregated shared walking & cycling path]. (K3) | I think there will be an improvement but it is not going to be in measurable terms. I don’t think it’s going to be huge, I think it’s going to be fairly marginal… (S4) |
Design features of the schemes | ||
The bridge will have integral lighting which will make it safe for vulnerable groups at night. (C3) | …because what you’d got before was a dust stone surface, and we’ve widened it and sealed it so that it’s clean. So you think there are small tangible benefits that a mum will push her pushchair down there, she won’t get the wheels covered in muck… (K6) | The current development has a promenade around the perimeter, on the waterside, and there’s antisocial behaviour and damage that occurs there, and they were concerned that the boardwalk would increase the antisocial behaviour. (S1) |