A new cycle path in Swansea appears to be popular with contractors, but not ones on two wheels. These photos show Wales & West Utilities vans parked on the path in Penllergaer and, on a previous occasion, Welsh Water and Utilitec Services ones.
The Highway Code says motorists must not drive or park on cycle paths marked by a solid white line. But there appears to be some sympathy for contractors working on the road in question, Gorseinon Road, because parking options were said to be limited.
Wales & West Utilities is upgrading the gas network to supply new homes being built nearby, and installed temporary traffic lights for a while on Gorseinon Road. Its operation manager for Swansea, Phil Whitear, said: "In order to try and minimise disruption to traffic on a narrow road, we parked our vehicles along the cycle path." The upgrade work began on November 21 and the next phase will involve a section of the cycle path being dug up. Mr Whitear said access for cyclists and pedestrians would be maintained and that work on the path should be completed by December 8. The rest of the upgrade, he said, should be finished a week a later.
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Welsh Water said it had been doing routine leak investigations when its van was parked on the path, in September. A spokesman said: "When working in communities, our colleagues are always expected to follow local parking rules however this appears not to have been done on this occasion. We would like to apologise for this and any inconvenience that may have been caused." Utilitec Services had not responded as of publication.
The new cycle path links Penllergaer with Gorseinon and is 1.7 miles long. It has come in for criticism among some people because the road has been narrowed to accommodate it and parking space on the south side of Gorseinon Road has reduced.
