Residents of the Castle View estate in Caerphilly town have again called for Caerphilly County Borough Council to consider road safety measures after a car overturned on Caerphilly Mountain Road.
Police were called on the morning of Monday, February 15 to a report of a single vehicle road traffic collision on Cae Cross Heol at the junction with Watford Road, Caerphilly.
A blue Vauxhall Corsa overturned and mounted the grass verge, smashing the rear garden fence of a Pant Llygodfa property.
The incident was the latest in a series of accidents along the mountain road stretching back to 2008, and residents have previously campaigned for the council to erect safety barriers on the estate side of the road to protect their properties.
Gareth Williams, a resident of Cwrt Nant Y Felin in Castle View, said: “The lack of action from the council is frightening really.
Their refusal to implement a barrier is almost like they want to protect motorists and not residents.
“The speed at which cars fly down that road makes it a death trap.”
Mr Williams’ wife Rhiannon launched a Facebook group and fronted the campaign after a crash in 2014.
In 2008, the garden fence in their family home was demolished after a car lost control when speeding, and Mr Williams said he remembers it well.
He said: “The sound still goes through me, and the smell of the smoke. The whole thing was an accident waiting to happen.
“We’ve spent a lot of time petitioning and requesting the council to do something about this. What we’ve presented aren’t theories – they’re facts. Unfortunately it could take a worse outcome for them to finally act.”
Cllr James Pritchard, who represents Morgan James ward for Labour, said: “The resolution we’re hoping for is that a barrier can be constructed. Clearly it’s very concerning for residents.
“We’ve been in touch with the council, investigating whether this latest incident will cause a change in criteria for Watford Road.”
Previous council assessments on the road have deemed it ‘medium risk’, meaning it did not meet the required criteria for a crash barrier to be installed.
A spokeswoman for Caerphilly County Borough Council said: “We are currently awaiting full details of this collision from Gwent Police, and following this a further assessment process will be carried out to determine whether or not any further safety measures on this section of road are warranted”.
Why buy a house adjacent to a main trunk road and then complain about the traffic that uses it, it doesn’t make any sense. Crash barriers are actually installed to protect the motorist and their passengers should the vehicle they are travelling in leave the road, and speed alone does not render a car uncontrollable, these minor accidents are purely down to idiot drivers not paying attention to what they are doing, I have driven this road many times and the main problem I have encounted is idiots pulling out in front of me from junctions because they can’t judge speed and distance properly. It would be interesting to know if the driver of the crashed Corsa lived on the estate where the complaining is coming from, and I dare say those doing the complaining pay little or no attention to speed limits themselves when they are out on the public highway.
They only have themselves to blame for buying a house by a busy road. If they want a barrier they can chip in to buy one.
Their situation is on the same level as idiots who buy homes on a floodplain but complain when the area floods, and the people who buy a home by an airport to complain about the noise.
Yes true, you pay your money and you take your choice.
Mr Oracle & Paul. What a pair of CLOWNS, I read your comments on here and one name comes to mind, VICTOR MELDREW, I have in the past suggested Speed Cameras which would deter idiot drivers driving at speed, but you would probably have negative comments for that too. I bet you to don’t even live in Caerphilly, you must be bored out of your little brains if that’s all you have to do is sit by your computer complaining, GET A LIFE !!! both of you, find yourselves a hobby.
By the way, I use my own photo as my avatar, you hide behind poultry little pictures, probably because your afraid to be identified after your negative comments.
We can choose whatever we like as our avatar, that’s what an avatar is – an image or icon that represents a person in a computer game or Internet forum, I chose an image from my favourite musical artists. My comments maybe negative in your view but they’re just comments and only my opinions, we’re all entitled to have our opinions, some folk may disagree with them and some may agree with them – that’s life. And it’s actually you’re afraid not your afraid, afraid doesn’t belong to me.
Oh my GOD Pual did I spell something wrogn, i’m so glad you you’re yor yur here to correct me, PLONKER !!
Why don’t you change your avatar to Victor Meldrew, it would suit you well
You are calling people a ‘plonker’ (not even a real word) yet you are an adult? What are you doing?
You are acting like a primary school child. This is embarrassing. People are reading this, they realise who you are, and they start laughing at you for making such childish insults from behind their screens.
Mr Oracle, if you care do a little research you will find the worg “Plonker” in the Oxford Dictionary
And I quote
“British
1 informal A foolish or inept person.”
As I said, PLONKER
I consulted the one on my bookshelf but could not see the word. However, there is no need for insults.
Buy a new one, its obviously out of date, and in your case it wasn’t an insult, it was a compliment…
Buy a new one! How dare you. I am going to write to Caerphilly Observer demanding the council buy me one.
What ? and waste their funds ? I thought you were against that ? lol, ha ha ha
Andrew; Paul is the man who, in past comments on other articles, declared his opinion that there are no such things as `dangerous roads`, only dangerous drivers`, so, it comes as no surprise that he would not want anything to interfere with drivers and cars and whatever level of ability they have to drive on dangerous roads, but there we go again, he hold`s the view that ALL ROADS ARE SAFE. I hold the veiw that private property which bounds roads need protecting from arrogant drivers, however safe they THINK they are.
Crash barriers are used to protect road users where there is an identified risk to them and where their use can be justified, both in cost and safety benefit terms. Safety barriers are only used where the consequences of a vehicle striking a barrier are considered likely to be less serious to the occupants of a vehicle than if that vehicle were to continue unrestrained. A crash barrier is not installed by the local council to protect anybodies private property, the responsibility of protecting private property is solely down to the property owner, we appear to now have adopted this pathetic blame culture mentality where nobody is prepared to take responsibility for their own actions anymore, buy a house on a flood plane and there’s a chance it will flood, buy a house near to a railway line and there’s a chance of being disturbed by noisy trains, buy a house alongside a major trunk road and there’s a chance one day that a vehicle may end up embedded in it. You pay your money you take your choice.
Triban-Wales I may be guilty of many things but what I am not is an arrogant driver, I am a safe, considerate, responsible driver who has undertaken a great deal of extra training because unlike most drivers I realise the danger and responsibility of taking control of a 1 tonne killing machine, perhaps if more drivers were to engage their brains before their gears we’d have a lot less death and destruction on our roads, driving is a privilege not a right of passage and should be treated with more respect than it is currently.
You say; “Safety barriers are only used where the consequences of a vehicle striking a barrier are considered likely to be less serious to the
occupants of a vehicle than if that vehicle were to continue unrestrained”
Given your assertions about the role of `Crash Barriers`, and given you are correct ( which you are not) the Ministry of Transport can pull down and remove thousands of miles of `Crash Barriers` from most of the near side of every motorway in the Country, any driver not paying attention, falling asleep, or reading a book at the wheel, would then up in a field, mostly in safety, but sometimes only injuring or killing themselves. or the odd cow or two, and NOT rebound into proceeding traffic. This would save tax payers a few million pounds a year.
Currently these thousands of miles of crash barriers protect fields. mostly PRIVATE PROPERTY
I think you’ll find that you are in fact wrong, 90% of the left hand side lane of a motorway, that’s the one which runs alongside the hard shoulder, does not have a crash barrier, only where the motorway passes over a bridge, under a bridge or passes a hazard into which the occupants of a vehicle may fall and hurt themselves is there a crash barrier. The crash barrier down the centre of a motorway is to stop a vehicle going into the path of the oncoming traffic should it leave the carriageway. Like I stated, safety barriers are only used where the consequences of a vehicle striking a barrier are considered likely to be less serious to the occupants of a vehicle than if that vehicle were to continue unrestrained, safety barriers are there for the protection of the motorist not the thing they may be placed in front of.
Wow! Call every newspaper in the country. You have your face as your avatar. Shocking!
Ultimately, an avatar has no impact on the validity of opinions.
Andrew I do really actually live and work in Caerphilly, and it wouldn’t bother me in the slightest if a speed camera was put up, I’ll come and dig the foundations myself as I’m not impressed with idiots who speed in built up areas, but do you yourself observe the speed limits when out on the road, passing a school, driving through a village or along the M4 motorway, do you practice what you preach? I can to a point sympathise with the residents, but if somebody is fortunate enough to be able to choose where they live why buy a house next to a major trunk road with a 40 & 60 mph speed limit and then spend their time and effort complaining about it, don’t buy a house next to a pig farm if you’re only going to complain about the smell. Why don’t the residents form a community speed watch, why not do something pro active rather than bombard the local council with complaints, they didn’t force anybody to buy those houses, it wasn’t their decision and they have more important issues to deal with.
Yes I do have a hobby, I’m a qualified member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists and my hobby is safe enjoyable driving.
Paul, I too am a qualified member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, and yes I do adhere to speed limits wherever I drive, and yes I do indeed practice what I preach. ( By the way if your you’re yur yor or yer offering to dig you can come dig my garden if your bored, keep you off the computer for a few hours at least )
Unfortunately not everyone is able to choose where they live, some have to purchase within their budget, if this means buying a house alongside a busy road then so be it.
People like you who are full of negativity (hope I spelt that currictly) need to give it a rest, people don’t want to hear your constant complaining and whinging.
Do you live alongside a pig farm then Pual ? or is it Pail, sorry Paul.
Andrew I am not full of negativity I am simply putting forward an alternative side to your argument, the way you interpret my view is entirely up to you, there are two sides to every story, and it’s always the way when one person is losing the argument or can’t come up with anything intelligent they resort to childish name calling and insults, it’s not big or clever as my teacher used to tell me. Believe what you want Andrew I honestly really do live and work in Caerphilly but it is fairly pointless saying where as I could pick any area in Caerphilly, this information is readily available online, and it’s not wise to put personal information on any Internet forum. Anybody who can afford to buy their own house has the choice of where to live, I do not want to live on a main road so I live in a cul-de-sac, and I would bet that you paid more for your property than I did for mine even though I’ve only lived in it for 6 months. If you are a member of the IAM you would know that a crash barrier is installed for the safety of the road user not the thing it is placed in front of, we do though agree on one thing and that’s speeding is wrong and more needs to be done to stop it, and yes you’re right Andrew I really should get out more but my job requires me to sit in front of my PC for most of the day, you may find that dull but it pays the bills and for my nice car. Now I’m off to walk the dog to Waterloo and back, the only time I get to leave the house and drag myself away from my beloved computer screen.
Paul, he is clearly losing the debate if he needs to go relating you to a pig farm and accusing you of being negative.
He should put forward a semi-convincing case involving the responsibilities of a local council, the pledges the council must fill to look after the local people, and why a barrier is a public good. However, he has failed to do this so it is best to ignore him until he rethinks.
There is no debate Mr Oracle, It just annoys me to see people like you having negative attitudes to others when they ask for help.
There is obviously a problem with dangerous drivers on that stretch of road, and has been since the road was opened. Every young driver on the road see’s it as a challenge when faced with an open stretch of road in front of them, so something needs to be put in place to slow them down, and protect the residents in the area.
Put up speed cameras, install speed bumps and/or barriers, would you have the same opinion if an innocent child was killed ? surely even you cannot be that unsympathetic.
Good on you mate, nice place to walk Waterloo, not exactly the heart of Caerphilly though is it, ha ha ha
Last time I checked the good folk of Waterloo paid their council tax to Caerphilly County Council, so that makes them just as much a part of Caerphilly as any other place within the Caerphilly border, and there are a large number of Waterloo residents who willingly give up their free time for the good of the community and put a lot of effort and their own hard earned money into projects for the good of others. They even have their very own Community Speed Check Group which I believe is the first one in Caerphilly. The people of Waterloo are prepared to get off their backsides and be pro active, they don’t sit on theirs hand and whine to the council, if there is something they want doing they just get on and do it.
This is a flawed comment. Castle View is hardly the most affordable place to live in Caerphilly so the people who live by the road did have a choice. The people living by the road could have easily purchased a house in Trecenydd, or another place where the property values are below Castle View.
Oh, I didn’t realise you were an estate agent too …..
Do you really believe Castle View is the cheapest place in Caerphilly to live?
I direct you towards numerous websites listing house prices across Caerphilly. Conduct some research.
Mr Oracle, give it a rest, support people in their time of need, that would be a more constructive way to spend your time.
By all means the people can have a barrier, however, they can pay for it. Can I demand a big canopy area outside in my garden to protect me from potential sunburn in the summer?
What ? you mean you do go outside in the daylight ?
Grow up mate, there is no comparison.
Besides this is Wales, WHAT SUN ???
Unlike some people who comment on this newspaper I do not create a past time out of insulting people.
Neither do I pal, and I’m not insulting you, its “just my opinion”, sorry I got that quote from you
Is that past time ? of pastime ?
Where’s your dictionary now ?
Paul, I don’t believe you live in Caerphilly, what area of Caerphilly do you live ?
What a ridiculous comment. Learn to debate, not fling insults about. A very bad attitude to have.
It is not up to the council to provide barriers for the homes. A speed camera may work but that is up to the police, not the council.
Mr Meldrew, oh sorry, Mr Oracle, who’s the ridiculous one, is that all you have to do is sit in front of your computer and make fun of other peoples problems, get a life you sad individual.
Oracle ? I think not…
You are sitting behind a screen making fun of people by calling them names.
How miserable does one’s life have to be to spend time insulting strangers on the internet? Go out, meet new people, have fun with friends, and enjoy life, do not sit at home, alone and lonely, whilst insulting people.
I do mate, I spend 12 hours every day in front of a computer supporting a very good cause, but I think you need to take a bit of your own advise “Go out, meet new people, have fun with friends, and enjoy life” stop writing negative comments about other peoples misfortunes.
This problem has been going on for some time. The residents want a barrier, there is evidence that one is required. Why not just give them what they want? The cost is equivalent to about five weeks expenditure on the wages of the suspended council officers. We have been paying this for just about three years. Makes me think, does anyone agree?
Yes I agree
The cost of the suspended officers is not going to be recovered. No matter how you look at it, the council would still have to spend the cost of the suspended officers plus five weeks of their salary.
Using a past example is a ridiculous thing to do. Using that logic the UK government should be saying WWI cost £1.6trn in today’s money, it was a pointless expense, therefore, let’s have huge government spending because it is nothing compared to money we have wasted in the past. See how ridiculous the comparison is?
Mr Oracle, sounds like you support the suspended officers ?
Your comparison to WWI is a little pathetic..
I take your point that the comparison is on two totally diferent and unrelated areas and may not be a good one for that reason. What I was trying to point out is that the council wastes an enormous amount of money. Without increasing anyone’s tax I think it would be possible to place reinforcing along the reresidents boundary fence. I would prefer this to someone getting hurt in their own garden.
The real problem is greedy house builders took advantage of poor planning decisions and were allowed to build right next to a trunk road to cardiff. If they (The planners) had insisted on a 50m green boundary then we would not be talking about this. The road also could have been left with a 60mph limit to allow a better traffic flow.