Would a car-free city work for its residents? We took to the streets to ask the question, how would you feel about living in a car-free city?
Linette Johnson, 48, Unemployed
“I could do it yes, I use buses or I walk. I don’t have a car and I do enjoy walking.”
Terry Morris, 52, Retail Assistant
“I walk around so it wouldn’t bother me. I walk to work and I could use the buses if I needed to go further I guess, so yeah I think it would be a good idea.”
Michael Allpress, 28, Freelance researcher
“I think that it’s a nice idea but practically it probably isn’t feasible, I pretty much get by without a car now but things like transporting things around can be difficult and also biking in the rain is pretty annoying.”
Bethan Muxworthy, 24, S4C journalist
“It would be good and environmentally friendly, but buses are unreliable and it would annoy me having to rely on them to take me places. It’s just convenient having a car.”
Joe Blundell, 26, Production manager
“They’d have to make public transport perfect wouldn’t they? It would be good though. I cycle to work every day but sometimes have to drive if the weather isn’t good. Sometimes I have to be in early, so if I had a good public transport option then that would save me money using my car too.”
Nicole Stacey, 24, Planning consultant
“Restricted, it would make multiple journeys difficult because public transport can be inflexible. It could be positive encouraging walking and cycling, which is easy for the younger population but not practical for older people and those with children.”
Plans are in place for some suburban areas of Cardiff to become car-free, but could this also lead to a car-free centre?
Cardiff is a relatively compact city, so would appear to be the ideal place to road test the UK’s first no car zones. Councillor Ralph Cook hopes that some developers outside the city will agree to car-free suburbs, as he believes it will save residents money.
The Cabinet member for transport sees no reason why areas of central Cardiff couldn’t eventually follow suit, explaining that it would be easier, because they’re already covered by public transport, “If you can achieve this in the suburbs, you can certainly achieve it in the centre.”
We took to the streets to find out how people felt about living car-free.
Would a car-free city work for its residents? We took to the streets to ask the question, how would you feel about living in a car-free city?
Linette Johnson, 48, Unemployed
“I could do it yes, I use buses or I walk. I don’t have a car and I do enjoy walking.”
Terry Morris, 52, Retail Assistant
“I walk around so it wouldn’t bother me. I walk to work and I could use the buses if I needed to go further I guess, so yeah I think it would be a good idea.”
Michael Allpress, 28, Freelance researcher
“I think that it’s a nice idea but practically it probably isn’t feasible, I pretty much get by without a car now but things like transporting things around can be difficult and also biking in the rain is pretty annoying.”
Bethan Muxworthy, 24, S4C journalist
“It would be good and environmentally friendly, but buses are unreliable and it would annoy me having to rely on them to take me places. It’s just convenient having a car.”
Joe Blundell, 26, Production manager
“They’d have to make public transport perfect wouldn’t they? It would be good though. I cycle to work every day but sometimes have to drive if the weather isn’t good. Sometimes I have to be in early, so if I had a good public transport option then that would save me money using my car too.”
Nicole Stacey, 24, Planning consultant
“Restricted, it would make multiple journeys difficult because public transport can be inflexible. It could be positive encouraging walking and cycling, which is easy for the younger population but not practical for older people and those with children.”