Work to begin on Pencoed active travel route second phase

Work on the second phase of an active travel route in the Pencoed area is set to start next week.

As part of the £580,000 scheme, existing networks in Pencoed will be connected at Felindre Road with the installation of a three-metre wide footway/cycleway. This section completes the missing link between Felindre Road to the east of Pencoed Cemetery, and the existing network in Pencoed that goes as far as Felindre Roundabout/Pencoed Technology Park.

The network will also be connected to Ty Merchant and Penprysg. This will see a new footway/cycleway created on both sides of Penybont Road, a new toucan crossing to the west of Ty Merchant, and cycle ‘wheeling ramps’ installed on the footbridge that connects Ty Merchant over the railway. Carriageway resurfacing will also take place along Penybont Road.

Work will begin on Monday 19 July and last for around 13 weeks.

The scheme which will provide enhanced safety and convenience for pedestrians and cyclists will also improve connectivity for active modes of travel into places such as Pencoed town centre, the Pencoed Campus of Bridgend College, and both Rhondda Cynon Taf and the Vale of Glamorgan via Felindre Road,as well as the wider Bridgend network into Coychurch, Bridgend Industrial Estate and Bridgend town centre.

It follows the first phase which was completed earlier this year. It included a new toucan crossing on the Pencoed College roundabout, the widening of the footway alongside the A473 to allow for a shared use footway/cycleway, and pelican crossings on the Felindre roundabout upgraded to toucan crossings.

While work is underway over the next 13 weeks, temporary traffic lights will be in place to ensure the safety of those working on site, and every effort will be made to minimise disruption and inconvenience.

These improvements tie in with the council’s efforts to develop the wider active travel network over recent years, which have created a high quality route from Pencoed through to Bridgend.

Bridgend County Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities Stuart Baldwin

The works are in line with requirements of the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013 and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and are funded by a Welsh Government Active Travel Grant awarded to local authority.

Active travel means walking or cycling for everyday short-distance journeys. It covers trips to school, shops, work, services and transport hubs. It can include the use of electric wheelchairs or mobility scooters but does not include journeys made purely for recreation, or social reasons.