Case studies

Near Swansea, two new bridges have opened around Blackpill where the Celtic trail splits branching north east to Swansea and south to The Mumbles and north west to the Clyne Valley. Sustrans conducted surveys in 2001 and 2004 and in the intervening years, a significant amount of promotion was conducted by The Health Authority to advertise the route.

What does the local community think?

The additional use highlighted by the statistics below shows how the local community benefited, they wouldn't be using the route unless it made a difference to their lives:

• Cycling trips increased by 161% between 2001 and 2004

• The proportion of women using the route rose from 30% to 40% in the same period.

• 18% of cyclists are either new, or starting to cycle again, this group represented only 5% in 2001.

• The number of trips made by children increased from 16,652 to 62,100 and the number of trips made by disabled people nearly trebled from 5,335 to 15,438 over the study period