The Active Travel Network Map is being updated. The Council have to submit it to the Welsh Government by 1 December 2026. A 12 week consultation period is currently underway. It ends on 19 October. To take part click here. This link includes a map of the ATNM. The Council's SWA Route numbers appear on it if you enlarge the map (a lot!). The type and extent of the routes is however not made clear; it is on the four Wheelrights maps in the "Cycle routes in Swansea" section below, where the type, start and end of routes is explicit. They show routes which Wheelrights think should be on the ATNM. They are identified by an acronym, eg NG for the North Gower 'Missing Link'. Where a route appears also to be a Council ATNM route (often not apparent) its SWA number is included in the Legend. Thus NG is shown as NG (131) indicating that it is also the Council's route SWA131. Advice on how to complete the survey is given in Wheelrights Autumn Newsletter (in the article on P.4).
The ATNM was discussed at an Active Travel Stakeholders meeting on 2 September. This note
is a summary of the meeting prepared by Joe Muldoon using AI. He advises that it is an impression, not a formal record of the meeting.
This is Wheelrights response to the ATNM Consultation.

Cyclist and journalist Laura Laker has prepared a toolkit with advice for those involved in providing paths for non-motorised users. On 7 July 2026 she gave an hour long webinar about it. It was titled "People Power Creating Routes" and was organised by Cycling UK. In it Laura detailed the main thrust of the toolkit and answered questions from attendees (of whom I was one).
What follows is my account of her coverage and I apologise for any missing bits or personal bias that has crept in. Such snippets should however give you an idea of the coverage of her toolkit. There is no better substitute to reading it, but this webinar gives an insight into her research into the problems and solutions experienced nationally in route development.

Development of the NCN. Whilst earlier there were examples of serious route development, the Bristol to Bath in the 80's was a forerunner. In 1995 it was given a huge impetus with the £43.5m National Lottery award to Sustrans which was a contribution of around 20% to schemes. There followed for the next 15 or so years a rapid development of schemes that has more recently greatly reduced.

Land acquisition. Councils generally were not adept at negotiating for such schemes and many schemes were simply left stalled when a difficulty arose with the landowner. It was estimated that as many as 300 miles of route were thus affected. Compulsory Purchase, common practise for road schemes, was generally not even contemplated for these routes. Council support is hugely important but local influence can be vital in changing the narrative. If a relationship can be developed with the landowner, finding out measures that help them can resolve issues. Local groups can be very important in this respect. Building sections one at a time puts pressure on resolving issues for the next and shows the immediate benefits of scheme construction.

Local Authorities. It is important to build relationships with local authorities both officers and members, which can greatly help in developing and implementing schemes. And it’s not just about cycling, other groups, particularly walkers who generally comprise the majority of users, need to be involved. Local business experience benefits from these routes so they also should be included.

Raise the Profile. Give the scheme a name relating to function or locality and pursue support from all quarters with events, publicity and promotion. Show examples of the benefits from other schemes relating to Active Travel, health and the economy. Many schemes we are aware of have stalled for thirty years and more; it is time they were given real attention to get the process started again, but with real enthusiasm.

A key map to cycle routes in Swansea and also a journey finder can be found on this 'Bayways' website.
Over the years Wheelrights Routes Group have prepared reports on prospective cycle routes. Links to these follow. Some earlier ones are provided on our Infrastructure archives page.

A direct off-road route between Gowerton and, Gorseinon which would cross the railway line using the abutments of the old railway bridge by Gowerton Station (This photo shows the abutments.) has long been an aspiration. Now that an SUP has been completed north from the Station the need for a station bypass has become increasingly apparent. This note explains what is involved.

The west part of Route CS (shown on Wheelrights SW Swansea map) goes through this park. It uses existing paths which, being unsurfaced, would need to be tarmaced to make the route suitable for cyclists. Walking groups and others lobbied for these paths not to be tarmaced. The Council responded by deciding not to tarmac but instead to upgrade some paths, specifically the Old Carriageway Drive. Details of the west end of Route CS are shown on this map which also gives details of the Council's proposed upgrade.
The Council have already tarmaced some of the paths in this park. These include a south-north route connecting Blackpill to Olchfa. (Route CV on the SW Swansea map.) Wheelrights were not consulted and feel that this was a misuse of Active Travel funds. The short length of CS between CV and Rhyd-y-Defaid has however been tarmaced.
A form of tarmac suitable for both horses and cyclists is recommended for the remainder of CS.

This audit was prepared following reports of near-misses by Baldwins Bridge. It proposes measures to make the route safer.

Wheelrights in this report to the Council make a strong case for Carmarthen Road to be made an Active Travel corridor.

Cycle infrastructure has been provided on part of this section since Wheelrights prepared this report in 2015. However work on the section east from Llangyfelach to the valley is planned so this report still applies.

This note is Wheelrights response to the invitation to consult on the plans for improving cycle provision on this road.

This brief report summarises key points relating to the cross-section and layout of the proposed new path across Clyne Common. It has been prepared by a member of the GAP working group and is intended to assist Swansea Council provide a suitable path. This feedback was received during a public consultation on 1 July 2019.

Wheelrights lobbying to get the northern shared use path across Loughor Bridge widened and its eastern approach improved have at last borne fruit. This work was carried out early in 2020. Prior to this Swansea Council commissioned this 63 page 'Options' report. It includes recommendations for the above work (now complete) and also options for improving NCR 4 from Culfor road to Gowerton. This short summary covers the report's recommendations.

This proposal to provide a link from Mayals Road to the Toucan crossing at Blackpill updates the 20 July 2020 version to take into account the work that has been done on Mayals Road.

This report. proposes options for making the infrastructure in the vicinity of the Railway Station more cycle/pedestrian friendly. It was produced at the request of cllr Nick Davies at a CAP meeting.

Click here. for the report.

This brief report concerning plans to make Walter Road cycle friendly is based on a site visit on 16 October 2018.

Aware of the need for barriers on cycle routes to be navigable by tandems, tricyles, bikes with trailers and wheelchair users as well as ordinary bicycles Wheelrights have been checking them. This Barriers document lists barriers which do not meet the Welsh Active Travel guidelines. These require a minimum width of 1.5m between bollards, chicane barriers and gates. We have only applied this to staggered bollards noting that there are a some barriers in Swansea on well used routes which comprise a straight row of bollards with only 1.2m clearance between them which do not appear to have caused problems. As with the Missing links document the barriers will be removed from the list when they have been modified to meet the guidelines.

A convenient way of accessing the infomation on the Barriers document is to visit this map and click on one of the drop shaped pins. This gives you the number and id of the barrier and more detail about its location. The pins are colour coded to describe what's wrong with the barrier. This is explained in the (red) legend.

If you know of barriers which do not meet the guidelines please provide David Naylor (Webmaster) with details of them (specifically: an OS grid ref. or what3words reference to locate them and a photo) and he will add them to the list. Likewise let him know of barriers which are now acceptable and he will take them off the list. (David's email address is provided at the bottom of the "About us" page.)