Cambridge currently holds the crown as the UK’s top cycling city. However, as Cardiff looks to tackle its congestion and increase the number of journeys taken by bike, could it steal the throne, and how will this affect the design of office space in the city?

According to a recent article in The Guardian, 9.2 per cent of all commuters in Cardiff already cycle to work, a figure that is far above the UK average of 2.8 per cent (as reported by the Office for National Statistics). But Cardiff is looking to build on this further and has recently unveiled a new cycling strategy to double the number of trips in the city taken by bike.

The new initiative from the city council aims to get 18 per cent of Cardiff's commuters on their bikes by 2026 to ease congestion and promote better health.The city’s relatively flat landscape and the fact that 52 per cent of car trips made in the Welsh capital are under five kilometres means that it naturally lends itself to cycling, making this an achievable goal.

According to Savills What Workers Want research, 90 per cent of Cardiff office workers also rank their length of commute as important – turning to cycling may well be faster than driving when taking into account rush-hour traffic and help fulfil their expectations.

It’s not only the infrastructure of the city that will have to be adapted to cope with more bikes on the roads but also office buildings. Showers and changing rooms are already becoming more important to tenants looking to take space as they acknowledge that increasing volumes of workers need room to get ready for the day ahead.

Providing more secure bike storage will therefore become increasingly important in the design of Cardiff office buildings in the years to come. While these amenities have been included for many years in new and refurbished space, they’re set to be taken to the next level with more room given over to such amenities which will be fitted out at a much higher spec.  

Take Cardiff’s Castlebridge offices, for example: secure basement parking and impressive new shower and changing facilities have been incorporated into the building, which is also focused on its proximity to cycle paths and routes that run through the city, a major draw for new tenants.  

This is a trend that we expect to continue in the coming years. Cardiff’s occupiers are looking to take better quality space as new office developments complete and refurbished space becomes available and as such escaping the rush hour jam is likely to become a bigger issue. New ways of travel will become increasingly important and occupiers will therefore expect cycle provision to be a key consideration in their buildings.

Further information

Read more: Spotlight: Cardiff Offices