Abergavenny Town Council’s Active Travel Response July 2021 

It is proposed that the following general and detailed comments are submitted regarding the walking proposals: 

• Pen y pound (MCC-A09B) – the pavement here is too narrow for this to be classed as a primary route that meets the standard. It is only sufficient width for one person so cannot accommodate a parent with child(ren) or a wide pushchair. 
• Monmouth Road (MCC-A03D) – there is a requirement for a pedestrian crossing on the A40 so that residents from Ysbytty Fields and from the meadows can cross safely. A small island in the middle of a busy trunk road is not sufficient and not safe. 

3.2 It is proposed that the following general and detailed comments are submitted regarding the cycling proposals: 

• The Town Council welcomes the inclusion of more routes to schools, hospital and industrial areas. However, the Town Council disagrees with a number of routes that have been categorised as primary routes that meet standards and ones that require improvement. We presume that the assessment of the route has been done looking at streetview and google maps rather than physically looking at the route which has led to the inclusion of ‘safe routes’ that are not safe or have dangerous access issues.  
• Specifically, there is a need for a route into Abergavenny from the south but identifying the A40 Monmouth Road as a primary route is flawed. A primary route by definition is a key corridor where the greatest number of people converting to active travel can be achieved. The Town Council cannot see how this conversion can come about if the A40 is promoted as an active travel route either with a segregated cycle lane or cycling on the carriageway. HGVs as well as a high volume of traffic use this road. 
• Park Avenue (MCC-A23B) – this has been categorised as a primary route that meets standards. The Town Council would disagree. Park Avenue has a problem with speeding vehicles which has led to SIDs being installed and a 20mph speed limit. Park Avenue is used as a shortcut for motorists. There are also parked vehicles on the highway. This does not make for a safe active travel route. 
• Lower Castle Street (MCC-A20E) although this street may be a primary route that meets standards the access for cyclists onto this street from the east is extremely dangerous. It requires the cyclist to cross the A40 trunk road at a right hand bend. For the cyclist approaching from the south then it is less dangerous but still hazardous as motorist dart across the A40 into Lower Castle Street. In their haste to get across to Lower Castle Street they could potentially not see a cyclist. This route should not be considered to meet standards when access is so dangerous. 
• Pen y pound (MCC-A08C) although this street may be a primary route that meets standards the access for cyclists onto this street from the east is extremely dangerous with poor visibility. This route should not be considered to meet standards when access is so dangerous 
• Stanhope St (MCC- A30A) is narrow with a continuous line of parked cars. It is gets very busy at school drop off and collect times and is not wide enough for a bike and car so if a cyclist was cycling up Stanhope Street, motorists would have to wait behind with a temptation to try to push past. 
• Western Avenue (MCC-A45C) this route does not link to another route at its western end. This cannot be part of a network if it doesn’t join to another active travel route.