Vectos

Project overview

CCC and TfW are providing considerable investment to meet the ambitious 26% cycle modal share target for Cardiff by 2030. As part of CCC’s ambitions for sustainable growth through its LDP with a need for 20,000 new homes, the objective is for all trips in the city to achieve a 50:50 modal split by 2030. CCC’s Transport White Paper also sets out an ambitious 10-year plan to see 26% of commuter trips by bike, 49% by other sustainable modes and 25% by car.

At Vectos, we have been helping to make this a realisation with a radical 10,000 stand cycle parking strategy. To put that into perspective, the well-known Cambridge CyclePoint has almost 3,000 spaces and the largest cycling parking in the world at Utrecht Station has 12,500 spaces.

Over the next 20 years, Cardiff is expected to be the fastest-growing major UK city, so even if the post-COVID target of 30% of people working from home is achieved, the growth alone means a radical plan like this is still necessary.

Our Approach

When CCC and TfW approached Vectos they did not want a mediocre solution, they wanted us to think big and innovatively, understanding that achieving the required modal shift will require radical ideas and significant investment. Vectos assisted on two linked but separate projects: CCC commissioned Vectos to look at Cardiff City Centre and Cardiff Bay and propose locations for placement of cycle parking facilities in this study area, and to identify the most appropriate tier of facility to appropriately service the area. The TfW’s project looks specifically at cycle parking requirements for Cardiff Central and Cardiff Queen Street railway stations.

For both projects we assessed the existing cycle parking provision to understand the shortfall and then used the Vectos Vision & Validate approach to project future demand in the study. We developed a four-tier approach to cycle parking to meet the needs of all areas.

• Tier 1 Sites (bespoke, modern buildings with high quality cycle facilities and large hubs)
• Tier 2 Sites (medium to small hubs)
• Tier 3 Sites (converted shipping containers)
• Tier 4 Sites (various simple parking options)

We expect the projects to start with some pilot sites in strategic locations and for them to grow substantially over the next 10 years.