Eight in 10 back safer cycling in Cardiff, survey shows

Cycling needs to be made safer in Wales' capital city, according to a new survey.

The Bike Life report for Cardiff showed eight in 10 people support improving cycling safety around the city.

The study was based on the Copenhagen Bicycle Account, which helped make Denmark's capital one of the world's most bike-friendly cities.

It was developed in partnership with transport charity Sustrans and covers seven UK cities.

The aim of the report was to "report on progress towards making cycling an attractive and everyday means of travel".

Jane Lorimer, the national director of Sustrans Cymru, said the response had been "overwhelmingly positive".

"Here in Cardiff - and Cardiff is one of seven cities included in the study - 78% of the population think Cardiff would be a better place if more people got around by bike," she told BBC Radio Wales.

"The other cities where this research was undertaken... broadly the results were similar but levels of cycling in Cardiff and levels of investment, the amount of money spent on cycle lanes, are less here."

Councillor Chris Weaver, assistant cabinet member for active travel and wellbeing, said: "Over the last ten years Cardiff's population has grown quicker than any UK city outside of London and this rate of expansion looks set to continue.

"The contents of this report and consultation we are currently running on our Active Travel Route maps will provide us with valuable information and feedback as we develop a comprehensive active travel network that will ensure the city has a sustainable transport network that is fit for the future of a forward looking European capital."

Cardiff Bike Life report

• 11.5 million bike trips in Cardiff in a year

• 28% increase in trips by bike between 2013 and 2014

• 28% of people ride a bike once a month or more

• Eight in 10 people support increasing the safety of cycling, more than any other way of getting around the city

• 78% of people in Cardiff want to see more spent on cycling

• £16m is the benefit to health in the city, in a single year, from the current level of people riding bikes