Heol Isaf / Llantrisant Road

Cllr Rod McKerlich

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Here is a statement from our County Councillor, Rod McKerlich, outlining the steps he has taken to try and mitigate the traffic problems experienced at the Heol Isaf / Llantrisant Road junction:

Traffic Lights to east of junction of Heol Isaf and LLantrisant Road

Permission to operate temporary traffic lights is, rightly or wrongly, a matter where the local County Councillor has no formal voice. It is determined by a meeting of council officers, the contractor and the developer. I made several suggestions on the need to prevent the roundabout being blocked by queuing traffic coming from the west; I also questioned the hours of work, particularly as they are almost non–existent at weekends when traffic is light. I suggested doing the work in school holidays and asked for consultation with nearby residents to see if 24 hour working could minimise the duration of the work. As the scheme was approved in its current form, I pointed out that little traffic was able to exit from Heol Isaf onto the roundabout; I demanded an arrangement to control the queues from the west as these were blocking access to the roundabout. This was done and traffic movement from Heol Isaf improved.

This week the contractor stopped deploying the man who controlled traffic from the west. I was not either consulted or informed; I have informed council officers of the consequent huge delays in traffic movement and I have sent them a selection of the huge number of justified complaints I have received. I was told, unofficially, that the traffic controller was removed on grounds of safety. Since then, I have requested an alternative system to ensure that traffic coming from the west is constrained to queue west of the roundabout. I was advised that a meeting arranged for today, 14th November, would resolve matters. Failing a workable solution, I will demand that Cardiff Council revokes the permission to operate temporary lights.

I make two supplementary points:

• It is lamentable that the local County Councillor is not formally consulted over such major traffic issues; this means that no voice is permitted to represent the local population who suffer the predictable huge delays. 
• Despite wild allegations to the contrary, I opposed the local development plan (LDP) at all stages and in every possible way; in this, support came from many local people and organisations such as R+MCC and RMA. The LDP was forced through by the ruling Labour Party in Cardiff Council, urged on by the ruling Labour Party in the Assembly.

County Councillor Rod McKerlich, 7am on Thursday 14th November

PS: As I write this, I can see traffic queuing from past the centre of Radyr aiming for the roundabout.