Infrastructure

NCN Signing
Partly due to pressure from Sustrans to improve the signing on the NCN in Swansea County and also because this was on the agenda of both Wheelrights and the Council the local Sustrans Rangers carried out a signing audit in the autumn of 2010. Its main purpose was to identify locations for fingerpost destination signs which in most cases will replace the Sustrans stick-on signs.
The audit was presented in three reports which include recommendations. Drafts as follows (pdf files) were prepared in October 2010.
NCN 4: Loughor Bridge to Blackpill;
NCN 4: Blackpill to County E. boundary;
NCN 43: Swansea to Clydach
. Sustrans and Swansea Council provided feedback on NCR 4 in the latter part of 2011. Their advice was to separate recommended infrastructure changes from the signing. (The two were combined in the draft reports.) Accordingly the first two draft reports were revised to cover just the signing and a new infrastructure report prepared. (It was restricted to the Loughor-Blackpill stretch as this was where changes were most needed.) These three new reports are as follows.
NCN 4: signing - Loughor Bridge to Blackpill;
NCN 4: signing - Blackpill to County E. boundary;
NCN 4: infrastructure - Loughor Bridge to Blackpill
To complement the last a short report of a site visit on 1 Dec. 2011 was prepared.
Most of the recommendations in these reports have been accepted (except for NCR 43 which, as at the end of 2011, has still to be considered).

Alexandra Road shared use path Audit
The contra-flow cycle/pedestrian path from near High St Station to Mansel St in the west has some shortcomings so to let the Council know what needs to be put right Wheelrights have prepared an Alexandra Road shared path audit. (It is a 2.3MB pdf file.)

Amazon Roundabout
The danger to cyclists using NCN 4 to pass this roundabout, especially to the east bound, featured on this page soon after it was opened in the Spring of 2008. Wheelrights then prepared a one page report (April 2008 report) to draw attention to this danger. This was sent to Neath Port Talbot County Council with the request that appropriate action be taken. Nothing was done.
Early in the summer of 2009 Wheelrights received e-mails from cyclists expressing concern about the junction. This prompted us to raise the matter again with NPT. The response was not satisfactory: apparently not a problem because the design had had three safety audits. We then (July 2009) produced our one page safety assessment. It is similar to the April 2008 one but goes into greater detail about the nature of the danger, not only around the junction but also at the entrance to the Shell filling station forecourt immediately to the east.
In due course warning markings were added on the path surface at the approach to the crossings. Also an alternative route to the NW which avoided three of the five junctions was added. But because it is longer it appears to be little used.

Fabian Way Corridor
Motivated by the Amazon Roundabout problem we are promoting two new routes which will enable cyclists to avoid it. The first, which is our top priority, is a northern route. This would continue the dead end spur of NCN 4 near the Tennant Canal to connect with the existing route at the underpass just west of Briton Ferry Bridge. This is essentially the route proposed by Sustrans in the late 1990s but which was blocked by land owners. It should have a link from near Jersey Marine to the proposed Coed Darcy "Urban village" to the north. We are not, however, aware of what is proposed, if anything.
The second is a southern route. This would be on the south side of Fabian Way and its easterly end would link with NCR 4 where it emerges from the underpass near the Briton Ferry Bridge. The plan shows it joining the existing cycle path on the south side of Fabian Way. It should however continue westward, keeping south of Fabian Way all the way to Swansea. It would pass through the proposed new University Campus, mid way between Swansea and Briton Ferry.

John Grimshaw's Seminar In 2009 Mr Grimshaw, Sustrans founder and President, came to Swansea twice: first for two days in April for meetings with Wheelrights and Swansea Council and then on 19 October to give a Seminar to Council Officers. John Grimshaw's visit is an account of the first visit. The photo, taken on 29 April 2009, shows a group of us from Wheelrights outside the Civic Centre. John Grimshaw is on the right. On that day we were interviewed by the Evening Post and an article appeared the next day. To view this click Evening Post article. Grimshaw Seminar provides a 9 page (5 MB pdf file) summary of his Seminar.

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Page updated on 30 December 2011.