A Wales where cycling is for everyone – Cymru lle mae seiclo i bawb

Cycling UK's Cycle on the Senedd in 2019
Today we launch our manifesto for cycling ahead of the Welsh Parliamentary election on 6 May. Our engagement officer in Wales, Gwenda Owen, explains how you can support our campaign

Cycling should be an option for everyone in Wales, but for so many people it is not yet a choice that they feel able to make.

We need whoever forms the next Welsh Government to change that – to invest and deliver across Wales so that cycling is an easy and attractive option for all, especially for those everyday short journeys.

 

Help make cycling for everyone: sign our petition

 

We know that investment in active travel routes and liveable neighbourhoods will improve the nation’s health, improve air quality, create jobs, support local economies and contribute to getting Wales back on its feet after the coronavirus pandemic.

Our Cycling UK Cymru manifesto (maniffesto yn Gymraeg) highlights the steps we think need to be taken to make this happen.

We know we are not alone in this, as over the past few months we’ve been working with others to try to ensure that active travel will be high on the agenda of every candidate in the Senedd elections. We have contributed to the Active Travel Act Cross-Party Group’s manifesto, joined in discussions with Transform Cymru, and as members of Healthy Air Cymru we share the sense of urgency addressing transport pollution and support the introduction of a Clean Air Bill.

Our manifesto aligns with those of Living Streets and Sustrans, because we’re all working together for a Wales where walking and cycling are prioritised.

Are the politicians and the hopeful candidates listening, though? We need you to help to get the message across loud and clear that cycling must be for everyone in Wales.

We are asking the next Welsh Government to move up the gears and put in place what’s needed so that everyone can cycle, as our manifesto outlines:

  • Invest – spend the money on infrastructure and behaviour change
  • Deliver – make it happen, by creating high-quality cycle lanes and liveable neighbourhoods
  • Across Wales – ensure communities are connected with each other and the countryside

It’s extremely important that we demonstrate to the political parties and candidates that a strong commitment to cycling is a promise they should make

Gwenda Owen, Cycling UK engagement officer in Wales

As the political parties finalise their own election manifestos – lists of promises of what they will do and the direction they will take the nation if they are able to form Wales’s next five-year government – it’s extremely important that we demonstrate to all parties and candidates that a strong commitment to cycling is a promise that they should make.

Our manifesto for cycling sets out the pledges that we would like to see incorporated in their manifestos and during election campaigning, but we know that politicians are more likely to make the right commitment to cycling if, as well as it being the right thing to do, they believe that it could win them votes.

We need to show politicians that there are many people in Wales who cycle, want to cycle more, and want safe and attractive spaces to cycle in and that this is something they think about when they go to the ballot box.

What can you do to help to influence the political parties?

Firstly, add your voice by signing our e-action to show political parties that you agree with our campaign messages. By adding your name it helps to show parties that there is huge support for cycling and increases the pressure for them to renew their commitments to cycling.

Later in the campaign, we will also be providing you with a way to contact your candidates and ask them to support our election asks.

We also need you to share this with your friends and family, with others who cycle and on your social media platforms. It’s important to share far and wide and encourage people to be part of a movement for cycling at this time when parties are desperate to promise support for things that they see will get them votes.

Please support our campaign by adding your voice and sharing our e-action (in English / yn Gymraeg). Together we can help create a better Wales – one that is healthier, happier, more attractive and less polluting. A Wales where cycling is for everyone. Cymru lle mae seiclo i bawb.