"Grŵp Beic Aberystwyth was formed in 2005 when some cyclists who regularly cycled to work and in our everyday lives came together to talk about the lack of facilities for bikes in the town.
We agreed that no-one was promoting the environmental and health benefits of cycling. So, we chose the name Grŵp Beic Aberystwyth and became a coalition working together for physical and social space for cycling.
At our very first meeting we agreed two lists of objectives we wanted to achieve, one short-term and one long-term. You can read these objectives on our website. We don't have members; anyone who supports our objectives is part of the Grŵp.
Since 2005, Grŵp Beic have promoted cycling through staging events during Bike Week, participation in Ceredigion Cycling Forum, and lobbying on issues such as cycle lanes, lowering speed limits, and better provision for taking bicycles on public transport.
We contributed to the master-plan for Aberystwyth. A monthly critical mass bike ride in Aberystwyth has attracted many cyclists as well as sympathetic nationwide press coverage. In 2007, Grŵp Beic joined the Transition Town Aberystwyth initiative and we contribute to the work of the Transport Group.
In his book Heat, Machynlleth resident and leading environmental journalist, George Monbiot notes that in Britain in 2004 we cycled 6 per cent less than we did in 1992. Many of us now use cars for short trips where we used to walk or ride a bike.
One quarter of all car journeys cover less than 2 miles. Excluding international air travel and shipping, road transport accounts for about 20 per cent of our carbon emissions. And the government expects the carbon produced by road transport to rise by around 7 per cent this decade.
Yet, they continue to build more roads, at a cost of more than £11.4 billion, knowing they'll be filled by cars. Promoting cycling could help solve Britain's pollution problems, meet our transport needs, and improve our health, particularly in the face of the so-called obesity epidemic.
The average Local Transport Plan capital spend on cycling in England and Wales is about £1 per head per year. According to Lyn Sloman, National Cycling Strategy Board member, evidence from European cities that have successfully increased cycling suggests they have typically spent around £5 per head per year for an intensive 10 to 15 year period, making cycling easy, convenient, safe and attractive.
On 26th September 2007, Huw Morgan (Director of Highways, Property and Works Cyngor Sir Ceredigion) responded to an enquiry from Grŵp Beic Aberystwyth: 'Basically, we have no annual County capital spend on cycling.... We'd like to do so very much more in terms of promoting cycling and other car alternatives, but with such a small staff base it is difficult to make real progress in these areas.'
Aberystwyth does not have a single cycle lane The County Council no longer even has a cycling officer. With respect to cycling as anything other than a marginal leisure activity, Ceredigion is back-pedalling. Which must surely be contrary to Wales' constitutional commitment to Sustainable Development?"
Article by Kelvin Mason
