Cardiff Council Update: 26 October

Here is the latest update from Cardiff Council, covering: Westgate Street bus gate will be installed by October 31^st; Percussion and Play - Bute Park to come alive with the sound of music; Cardiff's COVID-19 case and test numbers; vaccination totals for Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan; and travel advice for Wales vs New Zealand on October 30^th.

Westgate Street bus gate will be installed by October 31^st

A new bus gate will be installed on Westgate Street by October 31^st- to support the prioritisation of bus travel and sustainable modes of transport to improve air quality.

The change will mean the road cannot be used as a through route in either direction for any traffic apart from buses, taxis, cyclists and pedestrians.

This change is a key component of the council's Clean Air Plan, agreed with Welsh Government following a legal directive to ensure air quality in and around the city centre were kept below legal limits.

The road layout in the city centre is undergoing significant change at the moment, so that more space is allocated for buses, cyclists and pedestrians, as the council continues to encourage the use of public transport and active travel to reduce the reliance on private cars so as to decrease carbon emissions and improve local air quality.

As Castle Street re-opens to private vehicles by the end of October, controls are being put in place to manage traffic flow in this part of the city centre. The new bus gate on Westgate Street will help the control room manage this traffic flow, along with additional controls to junctions on adjoining streets, on Cathedral Road, Dumphries Place and North Road. Additional traffic flow and air quality monitors have been installed in nearby residential areas.

Residents living on Westgate Street will be able to access their properties from the north, via Castle Street and if motorists do enter Westgate Street by mistake, diversion routes will be in place to ensure motorists have options to turn around, so they don't have to drive through the bus gate.

From the north, motorists will be required to loop back via Guildhall Place, St Mary Street, Golate and back on to Westgate Street

From the South, motorists will be required to use Wood Street, Scott Road, Park Street and Havelock Street.

What is a bus gate?

A bus gate is installed on a street that effectively creates a short cut for buses and restricts motorists using the specific route or road. If a private vehicle drives through a bus gate, it is a moving traffic offence, similar to driving in a bus lane, or stopping illegally in a yellow box junction and the motorist is liable to a Penalty Charge Notice of £75. Enforcement cameras will be put in place to stop Westgate Street being used as a through route.

Percussion and Play - Bute Park to come alive with the sound of music!

Bute Park has announced its newest improvement project to enhance the Cardiff city centre park.

‘Percussion and Play' has been selected as the next fundraising project after user feedback suggested visitors to the park would like to see enhanced play equipment to complement the existing woodland balance trail, numerous play sculptures and natural play opportunities.

The new accessible learning and play area will include:

fully interactive and accessible musical play equipment (drums, xylophones and other percussion pieces)
interpretation boards which will display information in a vibrant and inviting way whilst educating visitors and guiding use of the equipment
magnifying posts to allow visitors to investigate the form and beauty of items collected during their nature walks
accessible bays off the path

Donations can be made by visiting the Bute Park website or by scanning a QR code, stickers and posters throughout the park. Alternatively, donations can also be made via telephone payment during the park's office hours. All money raised is ring-fenced for the scheme, see Terms & Conditions for more information.

Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure, Cllr Peter Bradbury said: "We know that Bute Park is a very special place for many of our residents and visitors. This exciting new project will allow children - and adults - to come together to make music, play and investigate their natural surroundings.

"Our ambition is for Cardiff to be recognised as a Child Friendly City and as a great place to grow up, so I'm delighted that we will soon be able to offer these new accessible and multisensory opportunities in our flag-ship city centre park.

"Furthermore, music can have such a positive impact on mental health so to be able to access these amazing sounding instruments in such a beautiful setting as Bute Park, could also support visitors' well-being."

The play equipment will be located along a route adjoining the woodland balance trail, near the Summerhouse café, which is a popular area of the park with families.

The Bute Park Improvement Project Donation scheme has been developed completely in-house and is designed to be fully self-financing.

The fundraising target for the Percussion and Play campaign is £18,106.90. There is an opening balance of £575.30 for the project.

For more information, please visit www.bute-park.com/donate

Cardiff Cases and Tests - 7 Days Data (15 October - 21 October)

Based on latest figures from Public Health Wales

Data correct as of:

25 October 2021, 09:00

Cases: 2,897

Cases per 100,000 population: 789.6 (Wales: 719.9 cases per 100,000 population)

Testing episodes: 11,736

Testing per 100,000 population: 3,198.7

Positive proportion: 24.7% (Wales: 23.6% positive proportion)

Cardiff & Vale University Health Board Vaccination Status Update - 20 October

Data provided by CAVUHB

Based on the figures available at the time of publication.

Please note that there may be minor amendments to data as it is validated over time.

The total number of vaccination doses given by the Cardiff & Vale University Health Board so far, in both local authority areas: 749,888 (1^stDose: 374,110 2^ndDose: 344,060)

80 and over: 20,357 / 94.6% (1^stDose) 20,158 / 93.7% (2^ndDose)
75-79: 15,002 / 96.4% (1^stDose) 14,842 / 95.4% (2^ndDose)
70-74: 21,407 / 95.8% (1^stDose) 21,278 / 95.2% (2^ndDose)
65-69: 21,967 / 94.2% (1^stDose) 21,721 / 93.2% (2^ndDose)
60-64: 26,064 / 92.4% (1^stDose) 25,738 / 91.2% (2^ndDose)
55-59: 29,435 / 90.3% (1^stDose) 28,927 / 88.8% (2^ndDose)
50-54: 29,113 / 88.1% (1^stDose) 28,458 / 86.1% (2^ndDose)
40-49: 55,476 / 81.8% (1^stDose) 53,433 / 78.8% (2^ndDose)
30-39: 61,135 / 75.9% (1^stDose) 57,235 / 71.1% (2^ndDose)
18-29: 81,023 / 77.2% (1^stDose) 72,435 / 69% (2^ndDose)
16-17: 4,034 / 73.6% (1^stDose) 304 / 5.5% (2^ndDose)

Care home residents: 2,151 / 98.2% (1^stDose) 2,119 / 96.8% (2^ndDose)
Clinically extremely vulnerable: 11,265 / 94.4% (1^stDose) 11,068 / 92.8% (2^ndDose)
Underlying Health Conditions: 46,180 / 90.2% (1^stDose) 44,558 / 87.1% (2^ndDose)

Travel advice for Wales vs New Zealand on October 30^th

Wales will be taking on New Zealand on Saturday, October 30^that Principality Stadium.

With the kick-off taking place at 5.15pm - there will be a full city centre road closure from 1.15pm until 8.15pm to ensure all ticket holders are able to get into the stadium safely.

Those attending the rugby match are strongly advised to leave large bags at home and pay attention to the prohibited items listed at principalitystadium.wales before they travel into the city.