Roads in Welsh county being considered for change back to 30mph
Anthony Lewis, Local Democracy Reporter
Four roads in a Welsh county are being considered for a change back to 30mph from 20mph.
Merthyr Tydfil council says it has received comments relating to 20 roads in the county borough and is now consulting on potential changes to four of these which have been identified as potentially suitable for a speed limit change back to 30mph.
They include Swansea Road, Aberdare Road in Georgetown, Cyfarthfa Road and Cardiff Road in Quakers Yard, Treharris.
Following the introduction of a statutory 20mph speed limit in September 2023, Welsh Government invited people across Wales to contact their local council with feedback on how this change was implemented in their local area.
This Welsh Government listening phase took place between May 2024 and September 2024.
Feedback
This feedback was needed to assess the changes requested against the revised guidance on setting 30mph speed limits on restricted roads, the council said.
It added that the 20 roads in Merthyr Tydfil which the council received comments on were assessed in line with the Welsh Government revised guidance on setting 30mph speed limits on restricted roads and now the council is consulting on four roads within Merthyr Tydfil.
The deadline to complete the on line survey on the council’s website is Friday, September 19.
The council received 53 individual comments which related to these 20 roads:
- Pant Industrial Estate
- Pant Road to Pontsticill
- A4054 – Cardiff Road Treharris/Quakers Yard
- Aberfan to Troedyrhiw
- A4054 – Plymouth Street
- A4054 – Old Hoovers factory to petrol station
- A4054 – Caedraw roundabout to road bridge
- College Boulevard – Merthyr College/gyratory to Vauxhall garage
- A4054 – Caedraw roundabout to Vauxhall Garage roundabout
- Bethesda Street
- Brecon road – St Marys Church to Cyfarthfa Arms
- Cyfarthfa road – Pandy Clock to Mormon Church
- Top of Galon Uchaf roundabout to 10th Avenue
- Penydarren roundabout to Pontmorlais
- Top section of Swansea Road
- Aberdare Road
- Winchfawr
- A4054 – Upper Cefn High Street
- A4054 – Full length of Cefn High Street
- Whole of A4054 to revert back except outside schools
Order
Any change in speed limits will need to be made through a traffic regulation order (TRO) and this process will take several months to complete.
Welsh Government said it brought in the 20mph default speed limit to reduce the number of collisions and severe injuries from them (also reducing the impact on the NHS from treating the people who are injured), encourage more people to walk and cycle, help to improve health and well-being and make streets safer.
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53 comments, 400k plus on a petition, yeah, petition doesn’t add up.
Generally, people seldom check consultation sections on council, Welsh Government, or UK government websites. Despite how important they are. And the reduction in the quality of local newspapers is exacerbating the issue.
The consultation document was probably only posted in the Merthyr council area, so the people who organised the petition in Sunderland, England, and many of its signatories world wide, were probably unaware of its existence.
200 identified roads in Cardiff , 3 changes ,which still hasn’t happened in 3 months . 143 identified roads in Monmouthshire , zero changes to any of them . That doesn’t add up to democracy either. Cardiff plus Monmouthshire combined population
is 475,000 ,same as the petition. Therefore huge majority of people ignored for all those millions spent on signs. Always two sides to a discussion.