Frustration grows as new cycle route remains locked and unusable

Richard Youle, Local Democracy Reporter

A new cycle path to a train station remains unusable where it’s behind a locked gate, and it’s causing some frustration for local cyclists.

Swansea Council has built the shared-use path linking Fairwood Terrace, Gowerton, to Gowerton railway station, but it’s closed off at the train station end because CCTV and lighting have to be installed as well.

This has involved discussions with Network Rail, which owns railway lines and stations, and requires the use of specialist contractors.

The council is keen to open the shared-use path as soon as it can, and a cyclist said he and others would much rather use it than pedalling the longer route to the westbound side of the station.

Confident

The cyclist, who has asked not to be named, said some cyclists did not feel confident of the longer route because it meant pedalling along a very busy stretch of Victoria Road under a railway tunnel before turning left to access the station on the westbound side a few hundred metres away.

“The Tarmac is complete and set, so people are asking why the (shared-use path) extension hasn’t been opened, and what the purpose of the locked gate is,” he said in an email to the council. “This link is going to make such a difference to so many people and we can’t wait for it to open.”

The council has responded to the cyclist, and told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that it was continuing to work with Network Rail to get the shared-use path open as quickly as possible.

“While the completion of walking and cycle routes on council land are usually straightforward, the development of similar infrastructure within a live railway environment requires additional permissions from Network Rail, as well as sourcing specialist railway contractors to complete specific works,” said a council spokesman. “These factors have contributed to delays in the completion of the scheme.

“We are aiming to complete the remaining works before the end of summer, which includes the installation of path lighting and CCTV. Once completed, we are confident that residents will see a huge benefit in terms of public access to and from the station.”

Improvements

Network Rail said it had nothing further to add.

A five-mile length of single rail track either side of Gowerton was doubled in 2013, along with improvements to Gowerton railway station. The £24 million project removed a pinch point on the network and allowed more services to operate.

Meanwhile, a new car park with 50 spaces has been proposed on the eastbound side of the station as part of new 216-home development on land at the rear of Fairwood Terrace. The fate of the housing development is in the hands of a Welsh Government-appointed planning inspector after the council’s planning committee rejected it and applicants Persimmon Homes West Wales appealed the decision.