A NEW bus lane in Pontcanna would cover 170 metres of road, saving 40 seconds off journeys but costing more than £300,000.

The proposed bus lane would run along westwards on Penhill Road, from the car park at Llandaff Fields to the junction with Llanfair Road.

Cardiff council is planning huge improvements to the city’s public transport, particularly along the northwest travel corridor to new developments like Plasdŵr, including new bus lanes.

But residents living on Penhill Road have complained about the loss of parking spaces, inadequate public consultation and little perceived benefit of such a “piecemeal” bus lane.

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Kathryn Walters, one resident, said: “We think there’s been a real lack of consultation with the wider community, including all of the people who use the park, many of whom drive here. The notices that went up were very poor.

“We don’t think it will deliver the benefits the council says it will.”

Several months ago, “incomprehensible” notices were put up on the road announcing the proposals, but replete with legal jargon and difficult to read. Stefan Nubert, another resident, described them as a “wall of text”.

He said: “The council staff were quite dismissive, and unwilling to answer questions. We went round door-to-door one week, and overwhelmingly residents were against it — but the vast majority of people weren’t aware of it.

“They’re spending a lot of money for very little.”

According to council documents sent to residents, the bus lane would cost £336,000 to install and would reduce bus journey times by 40 seconds. 30 parking spaces outside people’s homes would be lost, residents said.

Ms Walters said: “I’m supportive of the need to reduce car use. But they don’t seem to get there are still quite a few people who [need to drive]. I can’t do my job without my car. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to be able to park my car within a few hundred metres of my house.

“I would rather they spent the money buying electric buses instead. And I would have more respect if they did the whole of Cathedral Road, then it would actually make a difference.”

The council did not answer questions about when the bus lane might be installed, but said that Penhill Road will be part of a series of bus priority measures from the city centre to the northwest of the city.

Council leader Huw Thomas said: “As set out in the Transport White Paper, the council is committed to improving public transport infrastructure as a matter of priority, so that travelling by bus becomes a more viable and attractive travel option for residents.

“This stretch of Penhill Road will provide a dedicated bus lane, as part of a series of bus priority measures to link the city centre to the new housing developments in northwest Cardiff. When all of these bus priority measures are built, not only will journey times be reduced, but also crucially, they will become more reliable.

“Before Covid began, 4,000 people were travelling by bus along this route in both directions. As the city recovers and continues to grow, we expect the number of passengers travelling by bus to increase. It is vital that we build the infrastructure now, to ensure travel by bus is quicker, more efficient, and more attractive for the public to use.”