With the poorest air quality in Wales and high rates of preventable health conditions, Cardiff Council transformed how people move around the city and unlocked multiple benefits.

The challenges:

• High levels of congestion and busy roads making active travel unattractive and inaccessible

• Air pollution impacting our health and the environment

• High obesity rates impacting current and future health

To address these challenges, Cardiff Council set out to transform their public transport system and promote active forms of travel. Some of the schemes they introduced to support Cardiff grows in a resilient way include:

Greener Grangetown

To support communities in Cardiff with the poorest health, Cardiff Council collaborated with Arup, Dŵr Cymru and Natural Resources Wales to create greener streets.

Through creating sustainable drainage systems in Grangetown, they also cleaned and greened concrete spaces, made cycle lanes and footpaths more accessible and attractive, and removed 40,000m³ of rainwater a year from the sewer, reducing risk of flooding.

School Streets

During peak times, roads around 14 primary schools in Cardiff were pedestrianised to reduce pollution levels and allow students and their families to walk and cycle safely to school.

Through School and Eco Councils, active travel officers in Cardiff Council supported staff and pupils to develop their own travel plans, helping embed long-term behavioural change to improve health and reduce impact on the environment.

Castle Street

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cardiff Council closed Castle Street to traffic, a high pollution area in the city centre, to make active travel more accessible and support local businesses during lockdowns.

Through the setup of an al-fresco dining area on the closed street, people could order from local restaurants while social distancing; more people could use the road for cycling and walking, leading to improved cycling infrastructure; and working with local creatives, Patternistas, bright designs were installed on the street to welcome people back to the city after lockdown.