HOORAY and thank you to the Cardiff Harbour Authority for hearing the cyclist commuters’ call to remove the speed humps on the barrage.

These obstacles have caused accidents on the barrage, led to bicycle damage, and had the potential to result in long-term spinal injuries. To avoid them, cyclists frequently went over the much gentler gradients on the pavement, much to the annoyance of the barrage operators, who in turn proceeded to put up an ever increasing amount of obstacles and signs aimed at preventing cycling on the pavement.

Fortunately this nonsense and waste of resources has stopped now with the only sensible step: take away the needless humps that served no other purpose than to encourage cyclists to cycle on the pavement.

This step, reflecting planning FOR, rather than AGAINST the users of the structure resulted in an immediate change of behaviour: since the barriers are gone I have not witnessed a single cyclist going on the pavement.

So now everyone is happy – cyclists because they can ride unimpeded, walkers because they feel safer on the pavement, and barrage operators because the perceived illegality has been curbed via positive action.

Let’s hope for a similar positive approach and remove the dangerous barriers on both ends of the paths leading to and from Pont y Werin as well. They, too, serve no purpose other than creating a significant hazard, and have been erected without consultation.

It’s another task for Jeff James’ steering group, though fortunately one that can easily be dealt with immediately.

Marc Buehner Via e-mail