Plaid Cymru councillors are calling for pedestrians to be accommodated in improvements planned to the Pwllypant roundabout in Caerphilly.
The scheme will see the road system at the roundabout improved with more lanes and traffic lights to improve the flow of traffic.
Cllr Colin Mann, leader of the Plaid Cymru group on Caerphilly council, said he welcomed work to improve the traffic blow at the busy pinch-point in Caerphilly.
He said: “At the same time it is very important that officials planning improvements do take into account the needs of pedestrians and residents who live in the Pwllypant area.
“I submitted a large petition to the council several years ago, signed by most of the residents of this area and have received several assurances since then that the needs of pedestrians of Pwllypant will be taken into account
“Officials are consistently calling for people to lead a healthier lifestyle of which walking is an important part. We need some joined-up thinking on this one.”
Cllr Mann added: “There is a footbridge but that only goes into the industrial estate and most residents and pedestrians prefer to use Pontygwindy Road.
“So it is important that safe and easy pedestrian routes are provided as well as improvements which will make flow easier for motorists travelling north and south as well as east and west into and out of Caerphilly town centre.”
Caerphilly County Borough Council is currently carrying out ground clearance works in the area which will continue for the rest of this month.
about time this roundabout had lights, I often wonder how many people have been killed or had near misses at this roundabout
Roundabouts were introduced to keep traffic flowing, if motorists used them properly there wouldn’t be as much congestion. Most drivers haven’t a clue how to negotiate a roundabout correctly, they’re in the wrong lane and never use their indicators. Traffic lights have no place on roundabouts, putting lights on this roundabout will only cause more congestion and cause more accidents with drivers trying to beat the lights before they change or not even seeing the lights at all. Lights will also cause more pollution and wasted fuel as they will force drivers to stop even when the roundabout is clear.
a very valid point you have my friend, the problem is that as you say people do not know how to use a roundabout. The trouble today is that there are more and more vehicles on the roads thus leading to congestion and this roundabout has at least six lanes going into it. Having lights could improve the flow, adding cameras would also deter people jumping lights. of course the obvious solution would to build underpasses and overpasses and do away with roundabouts all together however the costs would be very high to build them so this would not be viable.