South Wales Evening Post - 8 May 2007
Thousands are to fight possible plans to route Swansea's new bendy bus along part of the promenade between Blackpill and West Cross.
Swansea Conservatives say they have collected a petition after Swansea Council revealed an idea to dig up part of the foreshore area to make way for the buses was still on the cards.
Council Leader Chris Holley has denied the route is set in stone, and insists the public will have its say.
But the row over the idea is growing.
The giant 60ft long buses are part of a £10 million scheme aimed at revolutionising public transport in Swansea. However there are growing accusations that digging up any part of the foreshore area to make way for it in the future amounts to organised vandalism.
Mr Holley said: "We commissioned a report to find out where the bus could run - that was to look at what was possible in engineering terms.
"The consultants identified Mumbles as one area that could be served by the bus, but there is no decision to say it will be done.
"We have released the full report for public consultation, not just parts, because we want genuine consultation.
"This petition gives us one view, but there are other views as well.
"At the moment we do not have the money from the Assembly, so any proposals are at least four or five years away.
"The idea that we are about to rip up the promenade is just not true.
"The problem is the roads are grid-locked and we are not going to be able to build any more so we need to consider alternatives to ease congestion."
Swansea Council is looking at plans to run a dedicated bus lane along Swansea Bay foreshore, next to the pedestrian and cycle path.
It would eat into a patch of green land and mature trees between Blackpill and Mumbles.
Clive Atkins, aged 54, lives close to the proposed route on Mumbles Road and said the only news of the plans had come through the Evening Post.
He said: "We have had no communication from Swansea Council about this, which is disappointing because it will affect us more than most.
"I do not know exactly where it will go.
"I am not against the idea per se. Something certainly needs to be done to ease traffic on the road, but the question is, will people use them?
"It would be a shame to build a road on the green area here, especially as the council has done so much to get it in the first place.
"There needs to be safety measures in place because a lot of people use the prom.
"A lot of children currently walk or cycle along the prom, so it has to be safe."
Conservative group leader on Swansea Council, Councillor Rene Kinzett, said opposition to the plans was very strong.
"We have collected thousands of signatures on a petition which will be handed in to Swansea Council later this month," he said.
"It is completely ludicrous to even suggest that a bendy bus should run along the Promenade and we want make the LibDems think twice before ploughing up our city promenade.''
