At a time when Cardiff Council is encouraging more of us to ditch the car for the bike, the illegal parking in cycle lanes on Canton’s, Cowbridge Road makes it miserable to cycle.
Charlotte Cox, a psychology assistant said: “You don’t know when they are going to pull out, or open the door and if you go round them you might be knocked off by a bus,” she said.
Mike, who commutes to lecture at Cardiff University said: “Cowbridge Road is just getting worse. I commute every day and I have seen a traffic warden twice.”
Natalia Parslow, who cycles her young son to school before continuing to work said: “To be honest Cowbridge Road is so bad now, I’ll go out of my way to avoid it. I don’t care if it takes me longer.”
Canton Councillor, Cerys Furlong, who cycles up the road each day to work said: “The cycle lanes are a bit of a joke. I just stay with the flow of the traffic it is much safer.
The Council has added a further 10 traffic officers, and in a statement pledged to plough money from parking fines back into parking enforcement.
“Let’s see if they can back their words up with actions,” Coun Furlong said.
Councillor Richard Cook, a keen cyclist, would like to enforcement to be the beginning of a clearer cycling plan. “Enforcement is the beginning. A barrier or curb like in France may help, but for me ‘peletons’ of commuters, with experienced cyclists at the front and rear and less in the middle, sharing the road safely is the best option,”he said.
This is Canton 