P-04-426 Introduce a mandatory 40mph speed limit on the A487 at Blaenporth Ceredigion

P-04-426 Introduce a mandatory 40mph speed limit on the A487 at Blaenporth Ceredigion

Petition wording:

 

We, Aberporth Community Council call on the National Assembly for Wales to urge the Welsh Government to introduce a mandatory 40mph speed limit on the A487 at Blaenporth Ceredigion.

 

Supporting Information:

Blaenporth village straddles the main South/North coastal road; the A487.  Roughly two thirds of the village live to the South of the main road; the remainder of the population are mostly clustered around the local Church to the North.  As far as Aberporth Community Council can ascertain this village is the only one without a mandatory speed limit from Fishguard in the South to Porthmadog, Gwynedd in the North, the length of Cardigan Bay.

 

Historic Data to April 2012: -

Numerous letters and e mails have been sent to the Mid Wales Trunk Road Agency (MWTRA) and Ceredigion County Council (CCC).

Submissions to the MWTRA elicited no replies.  Ceredigion Highways Department letters and e mails replies but no support for the change.

October 2009 came the Welsh Government Circular 24/2009; Setting Local Speed Limits in Wales.  For 2 years CCC did nothing and then in a Cabinet Meeting 25/10/2011 a moratorium on the introduction of new speed limits was put to CCC cabinet members this was Page 8 of 9 being considered by Cabinet, a fait accompli!  CCC Officers decision to start the process 2 years after the date of the circular and then take 3 years (until December 2014) to implement it seems to stretch the credibility of the process.

 

This decision prompted Aberporth Community Council to write to the Chief Executive of CCC, the reply just supported “The Party Line”.

During this period Ceredigion AM Elin Jones was also attempting to implement a mandatory speed limit with no effect.

 

May 2012 Onwards: -

After the May Local Elections Aberporth Community Council felt it had a fresh mandate from the electorate to try once again for the mandatory speed limit at Blaenporth.

The start of the campaign was a site meeting with CCC Cabinet Member for Transport Cllr Alun Williams who supported our case and emailed CCC Highways Department and the Go Safe initiative.

The chair of Aberporth Community Council Highways Committee met with Ceredigion’s MP Mark Williams and he also offered full support.

The opportunity was also taken to “Copy In” Mid and West Wales Regional Assembly Members.  Rebecca Evans AM, finally had a reply from Mr Deio Evans MWTRA with the same mantra i.e. end of December 2014 before new speed limit decisions will be made.  William Powell AM had suggested the petition’s committee as a place of last resort.

 

Addition Safety Information: -

At the end of Summer Term 2012 CCC closed the local school; Blaenporth CP along with several other schools and opened a new school T Lewis Area School at Brynhoffnant Ceredigion, some 5 miles North on the A487.

 

As stated in the background paragraph two thirds of the homes in Blaenporth are on the south side of the village.  These pupils and their parents have two options open to them for their children to attend their new school.

 

  1. Take their primary school children in the morning across the road to the Bus Stop in what is an advisory speed limit with a legal speed of 60mph (more than half the traffic is estimated to exceed this National Limit).  School pick up times also coincide with commuter traffic. or
  2. Take them by car to the now closed Blaenporth School car park so that they can safely get on the bus.  This option also has risks in that there is a finite time window to meet the school bus unlike previously when the School was open.

 

Of course children on the North side of the village will then have to cross this dangerous road at the end of school.

This situation has been highlighted in the local press Tivy-Side Advertiser 25th September 2012 edition.

 

Summary: -

Aberporth Community Council is at a loss to why there is no mandatory speed limit in Blaenporth and the lack of support by MWTRA and CCC to implement one.  Ceredigion is not a large County and 3 years to check speed limits on Class A and B Roads seems an extraordinary amount of time for this exercise.

 

Just one village with no speed limit on the A487 within the County should be relatively easy to implement.

Petition raised by:  Aberporth Community Council

Date petition first considered by Committee:  16 October 2012

Number of signatures:  Aberporth Community Council

 

 

Business type: Petition

Reason considered: Senedd Business;