Worried parents living next to a busy road have called on Caerphilly County Borough Council to protect their children.
Residents on the Castle View estate in Caerphilly town want a crash barrier erected outside their properties after a spate of accidents on Caerphilly Mountain Road.
Medical secretary and mother-of-four Rhiannon Williams was prompted into launching a Facebook group and online petition calling for a barrier after reading about the latest road crash in Caerphilly Observer.
The 36-year-old, whose children are aged one, eight, 13 and 16, said: “In 2008 a car lost control when speeding down the Mountain Road and crashed into the back of our houses, taking out five fences.
Then three years later it happened again taking out three fences. Luckily both times no-one was hurt. My neighbours and I have been too scared to let our children play in our gardens.
“We would only feel safe with a crash barrier behind our fences.”
A crash on Mountain Road, near the Traveller’s Rest, last month prompted an online debate on caerphilly.observer.
While it is unknown whether the latest crash was caused by speed, our online readers questioned whether speed restrictions would be a good idea on the road.
This prompted Mrs Williams to start the online campaign.
She added: “The council have said it’s not high risk enough for barriers and they’ve basically said that someone has got to die before something is done about it.
“The cars just bomb down the mountain – especially if it’s a nice summer’s day.”
So far the Facebook group has attracted almost 400 members and the online petition at Change.org has more than 560 names.
Caerphilly AM Jeff Cuthbert is set to meet residents on the issue alongside Morgan Jones ward councillor James Pritchard.
Mr Cuthbert said: “I’m aware that a number of collisions have occurred on this stretch of road and this gives me cause for concern.
“I will be meeting with local residents shortly to discuss these issues in greater depth and to consider proposals to help reduce the number of accidents in the future.
“I understand a review of this latest incident is still on-going and it’s important to get to the bottom of what happened before considering all the options.”
Cllr James Fussell, who represents the St Martin’s ward, said he had previously spoken with residents and the council’s highways department on the issue.
He explained how the council has to follow a set criteria for certain safety measures to be implemented.
He said: “We’re stuck between a rock and a hard place and I’m frustrated with the process.
“I feel despondent for the residents in how the highways department is relating to this and how they’re not wanting to do anything positive in light of what the residents want.”
A spokesman for Caerphilly County Borough Council said: “Ensuring safety on our county borough’s highways network remains of the utmost importance to us, and we acknowledge residents’ concerns in relation to this incident. We are awaiting the outcome of investigations into this incident before we are able to determine whether any remedial measures are appropriate.”
It's such a shame that councillor Fussell just left it at that and didn't push for more. I'm sure had he kept on something would have been do e as it's such a dangerous area.
They should take a look at van road too… i work here and the speed some of the cars go past the church up the hill is unreal plus there are kids crossing here during the day , accident waiting to happen
Thankfully as soon as we started the campaign just over a week ago we were contacted by Councillor James Pritchard. He has given us his full support and really helped us move forward in such a short space of time. We actually have some hope now that something will be done.
That's the problem when some councillors allow things to slide. Others will step in cause it's their duty to do so. Working in behalf of the public! If only all were willing to grab onto things and not stop until something happens!! Caerphilly would be a much better an safer place to be!