6. Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport: Active Travel Integrated Network Maps

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:10 pm on 27 February 2018.

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Photo of Vikki Howells Vikki Howells Labour 6:10, 27 February 2018

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Cabinet Secretary, I'd like to welcome your announcement today, particularly the boost in funding available centrally for infrastructure investment. During recess, I and my colleague Dawn Bowden had a wonderful day trip where we were actually allowed to go through the Abernant railway tunnel that links our two constituencies, and you'll recall that I raised a question with you on this just prior to recess and you spoke about the funding you've allocated to Merthyr council to look at developing the Abernant tunnel in particular. The main barrier, as other people have said, to more use of active travel is the perception of danger from traffic, so do you agree with me that the use of disused railway tunnels such as Abernant could overcome this significant barrier as well as significantly improve the east to west links in our northern valleys to complement the north-south links that will be improved with the metro? If the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013 is to become more than a paper exercise, is it time for Welsh Government to act more boldly and invest in these railway tunnel infrastructures that we have on our doorsteps?