STOP PRESS: We have been advised that due to the very poor weather forecast for this weekend (3 October   the road closure and resurfacing work will not be going ahead. We will update you when a new date has been decided.


We have been sent a copy of a letter sent from Griffiths Civil Engineering and Construction, to local residents.

The letter refers to the resurfacing work currently underway at the junction - and describes how this work will intensify this weekend and next. They will also be working through the night, up to 5.00am, during the week commencing 5 October. 

As the letter states, there will be some noise disruption during those hours, for those living nearby.

Temporary traffic lights will be in place during the work.

It looks, therefore, as if the construction of the new junction is coming to an end - following which we will have traffic lights to navigate, rather than a roundabout.

We will, of course, be interested to see how this affects traffic movement at the junction.

Here's the letter, or click here to see a clearer copy:

STOP PRESS: Residents will be aware that the poor weather last weekend led to the postponement of this work. We have now been informed that it will take place this coming Sunday (11 October).  

We have been informed by Cardiff Council's Network Management team that there will be a road closure on Heol Isaf (sic) at its junction with Heol Syr Lewis this Sunday (4 October) from 9am until approximately 6pm.
 
This will be to facilitate the planning and resurfacing of the new raised table crossing being constructed. The footways will remain open during this work for pedestrians and cyclists (dismounted).
 
The following maps show the extent of the closure. It is marked in red, which is quite hard to distinguish from the diversionary route, marked in purple. 

​It seems, however, that it is part of Ty Nant Road that will be closed from its junction with Ffordd Treforgan (according to the map - although Cardiff Council told us it was from Heol Syr Lewis) to its junction with Springfield Gardens. The recommended diversion will take you a long way around - past Danescourt, via the old BBC site, through Llandaf North and Whitchurch, around the Coryton roundabout, through Tongwynlais, up to the turn-off for Radyr.

So you may want to avoid that journey on Sunday!

Higher resolution copies of the maps can be seen here and here.

Keen readers will remember that we conducted a survey last year to ask residents about their experiences with regard to mobile 'phone coverage in Radyr and Morganstown.

The survey showed that, in general, signal strength across Radyr and Morganstown can often be described as 'poor or terrible'.

We met with Ofcom's Director for Wales - and she urged us to write to Mark Drakeford, our AS and Wales' First Minister. We did so, as you can see from this letter.

​We now have a response from Lee Waters MS, the Deputy minister for Economy and Transport (see below). In his letter, Lee explains that the Welsh Government has updated the Planning Regulations around Mobile Infrastructure to allow for mobile phone masts up to 25 metres (20 metres in protected landscapes), to be built under permitted development rights. However, the decision where additional masts and subsequent coverage improvement is situated remains within the gift of mobile operators.

We had asked Mark Drakeford to review the planning laws for masts - and Lee's response suggests that it should now be easier for mobile operators to install masts to improve coverage in Radyr and Morganstown.

In addition, Lee explains that the Welsh Government is working closely with the UK Government and the mobile industry around their announced £1bn deal to improve 4G coverage across the UK by creating a Shared Rural Network (SRN).

Significantly, Lee also explains that he is in discussion with UK Government and mobile operators to understand exactly which areas across Wales will be covered by the SRN and will, when in receipt of this information, highlight the areas that we feel need attention, including areas such as Radyr and Morganstown.

This should be good news for mobile phone users across Radyr and Morganstown - and lead to better signals.

Lee also pointed out that the installation of 5G supporting technology could see improved coverage should mobile operators decide to increase their 4G and 3G services during 5G building work.

Thank you, therefore, to those who took part in our survey - and helped us collect the evidence we needed to press for a better service for our residents.

​We will continue to monitor this - and seek an update from Lee in due course.

​You can see a clearer copy of Lee's letter here.

Keen readers will remember that we conducted a survey last year to ask residents about their experiences with regard to mobile 'phone coverage in Radur and Morganstown.

The survey showed that, in general, signal strength across Radyr and Morganstown can often be described as 'poor or terrible'. 87% of respondents agreed, or strongly agreed, with the statement that: The signal strength in Radyr and Morganstown needs to be improved.
Other responses showed that: 68% of respondents find the phone signal to be poor or terrible on Station Road; 77% consider the signal strength to be poor or terrible where they live - and 50% consider Radyr Station to have poor or terrible signal strength.

We met with Ofcom's Director for Wales - and she urged us to write to Mark Drakeford, our AS and Wales' First Minister. This we have done, as you can see from the following letter.

We will let you know what he says when he responds to our letter.

Our letter is copied below.

(And you can see a clearer copy of it here).

We've just received this pdf file from Transport for Wales (see below).

It's a newsletter outlining the work to take place in and around Radyr Station. There will be engineering work at night - which TfW reminds us can be noisy. But they promise to work with the local community to explain what they're doing and keep disruption to a minimum.

You can also take a virtual tour of the new trains TfW have commissioned, here (although we found the tour somewhat difficult to navigate).

​TfW also told us:

We have started to build the South Wales Metro, a three quarters of a billion pound project that will make travelling easier, quicker and more convenient for us all in the future.  In March this year, we took over the responsibility of the Aberdare, Coryton, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhymney and Treherbert lines from Network Rail.  We are about to begin major work to upgrade them so that we can run more services than ever before on the new, faster, greener  tram-trains we’re building.  This major work starts in August and will continue until 2023.

While we build this better transport network over the next few years, it will mean temporary periods of change to rail passenger journey plans. Where possible, we are scheduling the transformation work to take place during less busy times to minimise disruption and offering connections between rail services and bus services. 

The first phase of the transformation works starts on Monday 3 August 2020 with improvement work taking place on the Treherbert, Aberdare and Merthyr lines from Radyr station upwards. The work will take place late evening and overnight Sundays through to Thursdays during this period, with buses replacing trains on this part of the network from 2000 to 0500.  Rail replacement services will operate from Radyr train station during this time.

Of course, at the current time, all our train services are only for key workers and essential travel, but we are asking people to plan ahead if they need to travel with us, as our travel advice is frequently being updated.

Over the coming years, together with our partners we’ll be:
 

• Electrifying and modernising around 170 km of track – mostly installing overhead line equipment to power our new trains
• Upgrading all our stations and signalling
• Building at least five new stations in and around Cardiff
• Modifying bridges, level crossings and signalling equipment
• Cutting back overgrown vegetation alongside the existing railway corridor

A lot of the work on the railway will be done at night because our work either on, or very close to our railway lines can only be undertaken safely when trains aren’t running.  We’ll endeavour to work responsibly, ensure our sites are well managed and that our people are considerate to our neighbours. ​

Here's the pdf file, in Welsh and English: