THE mother of a boy who was hit by a car on a road in Cwmbran has welcomed news that action is being taken to clamp down on speeding drivers.
Cwmbran Community Council has agreed to the installation of speed indicator devices on three roads in the town: Blenheim Road, Station Road and Llantarnarm Road. They will alert drivers if they are travelling above the legal 30mph speed limit.
A petition requesting the installation of chicanes on the St Dials road was rejected by Torfaen council in November, and just days afterwards 15-year-old Deacon Rostron was taken to hospital after being hit by a car on the road.
At a Cwmbran Community Council meeting on Monday, members agreed to installing the devices. The devices, costing a total of about £13,000, will be installed by Torfaen council.
Caroline Trinder, Deacon’s mother, said the new devices would “help a lot”.
“Something definitely needs to be done,” she said.
“There is still speeding up on that road, and if anything it’s got worse, not better.”
Ms Trinder says traffic has increased because motorists use the road to avoid speed bumps which have been installed on Greenmeadow Way. She says her son, Deacon, who suffered minor injuries, now does not cross the road and instead walks around it to use a bridge.
“I’ve seen a lot of near misses on that road. People go to walk across and then they have to jump back on to the pavement. It’s used by a lot of the elderly as well.”
St Dials councillor Elizabeth Haynes said the road “continues to be problematic”.
“I welcome the fact Cwmbran Community Council are concerned enough about speeding on the road, and have recognised there is an issue to do something about it. It’s a shame Torfaen council themselves didn’t recognise that because the council overturned the request for traffic calming measures.”
A council report considered by councillors in November said there had been a 23 per cent increase in traffic, and a slight increase in speeds on the road, but council officers said this was not enough to support additional road safety measures.
Councillor Mandy Owen, executive member for the environment, said: “We are happy to work with the community council to install speed indicator signs on Blenheim Road, which is a proactive way of helping to improve driver behaviour.”