The South Wales Central Regional Committee of the National Assembly for Wales discussed Integrated Transport Policy at a session in Cardiff in May, hearing contributions from transport experts and questions from the public.

Matt Price, from Sustrans, described the roles of walking and cycling in the local transport mix, the 2003 Welsh Walking & Cycling Strategy, successful work on regional cycling strategy in the South East Wales Regional Transport Consortium, the support of the Welsh Assembly Government for Safe Routes to Schools schemes, and extensions of the Sustrans National Cycle Route Network.

But, he pointed out, the expenditure was very small, about 5% of the overall transport budget, and there was no money in Transport Grant for this year and next. Also, integration of walking and cycling is not happening, not least in land use and transport. "In Cardiff", he said, "the St Davids 2 development will cut links and cause cyclists to go round busy distributor roads. There will be 800 car parking spaces, but nothing for cyclists."

Several Assembly Members who spoke were supportive of cycling, in particular Jane Davidson, Christine Chapman, and Jenny Randerson. Jenny was critical of the quality of cycle lanes in Cardiff, and asked about good practice design guidelines; she was also frustrated about St Davids 2: "It’s not just about cycling, but about access for disabled people including car passengers."

In response to my question about resources and progress with the Welsh Walking & Cycling Strategy – which should have been properly directed at the Welsh Assembly Government, Matt Price reported that the Transport Forum’s "Task & Finish Group" hoped to complete in July. He agreed with me that the WAG should offer specific support to ‘benchmarking’ good practice in designing for cycling. The quality was often poor, and cycle routes need improved width and surfacing. "Opportunities for cycling to be built into developments by design and developer contributions, such as the Cardiff Bay Sports Village, are being missed," he commented.