Sustrans – Supplementary evidence to the Enterprise and Business Committee on the Active Travel (Wales) Bill

The below to be considered as a response to Question 8:

Active Travel Routes

We have concern over the viability of a single definition for an “active travel route” – this would be an even more serious issue if there were minimum mandatory standards for the routes, as we advocate.

Much of the provision that currently exists falls below best practice standards.  This would mean, in practice, that the existing route map could contain a very low number of routes.

Alternatively, and in particular if the standards are only issued as guidance, Welsh Ministers could sign off the existing route maps as agreed “active travel routes”.  Therefore, in theory there would be no need for them to be improved as part of the Integrated Travel Map, because they would already have been signed off as an appropriate route.

Sustrans believes these sections in the Bill (which fall within sections 2, 3 and 4) need to be revised and clarified.  One solution would be for the existing route map to be published including those that meet standards (an “active travel route”) and those that are routes but fall below standard (a new category of “provisional active travel route”).  Come the publication of the Integrated Network Map, these provisional routes would have to be highlighted alongside other gaps in the network.