The co-founder of a Cardiff cycling campaign group\u00a0says a culture change is needed from motorists towards cyclists.But Gwenda Owen, from Cardiff Cycle City has praised an initiative from South Wales Police that aims to protect cyclists from dangerous driving.<\/p>\n
Operation Close Pass is a scheme where plain-clothed police on bikes equipped with video cameras can radio ahead to colleagues if they spot dangerous motorists.<\/p>\n
“It’s a relatively low cost initiative that raises awareness among motorists about the impact that driving too close to cars can have,” said Ms Owen.<\/p>\n
West Midlands Police started the scheme and say it has reduced the number of cyclists being killed or seriously injured by a fifth.<\/p>\n
There are now 22 police forces involved across the UK.<\/p>\n
Alun Michael, Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales says the scheme will be in place by the New Year.<\/p>\n
But Ms Owen says more needs to be done to improve cycling in Cardiff.<\/p>\n
She says cyclists are seen as “getting in the way” and often get abuse from motorists.<\/p>\n
Ms Owen says that a “them and us” attitude between cyclists and drivers means many cyclists do not feel safe on the roads.<\/p>\n
A survey released by sustainable transport charity Sustrans says only 34% of people think cycling in Cardiff is safe.<\/p>\n
Close Pass needs to be accompanied by better infrastructure and an increase in prosecutions if cycling culture is to change, according to Ms Owen.<\/p>\n
“In cultures where there is a good relationship between cyclists and motorists, it’s where people ride bikes”.<\/p>\n
At the moment just 7% of people cycle to work in Cardiff.<\/p>\n
Cardiff City Council say they are planning to build two “cycle super-highways” which would reduce congestion and help people be more active.<\/p>\n
Cardiff City Council leader Huw Thomas says he wants 50% of journeys to be made by bike, foot or public transport by 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The co-founder of a Cardiff cycling campaign group\u00a0says a culture change is needed from motorists towards cyclists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[743,744],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/cjsnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17902"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/cjsnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/cjsnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/cjsnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/cjsnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17902"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/cjsnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18057,"href":"https:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/cjsnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17902\/revisions\/18057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/cjsnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/cjsnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/cjsnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}