People in Roath are calling on the council to introduce traffic calming measures near Albany Road because the streets have been “taken over” by drivers trying to avoid traffic congestion.
Peter Bell lives on Inverness Place and is frustrated by drivers “who want to shave a few minutes off their journey”.
He says the lack of traffic calming measures on the long and straight streets allows drivers to “just put their foot down” making “speeding a real problem”.
“The residential streets between Albany Road and Roath Park have become rat runs”.
“It’s especially dangerous as these streets are home to many young families, so there are lots of kids around. The streets simply aren’t safe for them to use unsupervised”.
“They’re seen as dangerous spaces for cars passing through. We want to change that and reclaim these spaces for the people who live there”.
The Roath Living Streets Group, who are a community-led campaign group , are also calling for traffic calming measures to deal with speeding drivers.
They say “over the last few decades, many previously quiet residential streets have been taken over by rat running drivers who are just passing through the neighbourhood”.
The group will be visiting London this Thursday for a tour of Waltham Forest’s “successful walking friendly neighbourhood”. Traffic calming measures have been in place there for years, with the group hoping to see “what lessons we can learn for Roath”.
People on Roath Court Road are also concerned.
In a statement, Cardiff Council confirmed that traffic calming measures are already in place in Roath. Inverness Place and streets like Roath Court Road are in a 20 mph zone. “Any restricting traffic measures have to be consulted with the public as a statutory requirement”.