Children will be allowed to play on closed roads and streets across Barry as part of a trial to encourage more outdoor activities and reduce traffic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Vale of Glamorgan Council has chosen two streets in the town to temporarily close this Sunday to allow children to play safely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201cPlay Streets\u201d initiative has already proved popular in cities across the UK including Cardiff, Bristol, Bath, and London where residents can apply for their streets to be closed temporarily. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Romilly Park and Dunraven Street will close for two hours a month for the next twelve months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The council hopes the scheme will encourage children to be active and help to improve air quality by reducing carbon emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mother of three, Saar Lanaret lives on Romilly Park Road and supports the scheme. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said: “It is a great opportunity for people in the community to reconnect with each other and creates a really nice atmosphere.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking when the scheme first launched, Cllr Gwyn John, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Wellbeing believes streets are for everyone and not just cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said: \u201cNot everyone has access to a garden and some children can\u2019t get to public parks or open spaces so easily.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But some people have raised concerns about how it could increase traffic in other areas, especially during busy summer months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
George Edwards lives near Barry Island and claims Romilly Park is a popular cut-through road when the traffic is bad on the weekends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said: “I can see myself sitting in loads of traffic just to pop to the shops. It is a nice idea but in practice could make things difficult for local residents.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Residents partaking in the scheme receive signage, hi-vis wear, a small play-kit, and information cards to carry out the road closure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the pilot proves successful, it could prompt street closures for play across the Vale.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Children will be allowed to play on closed roads and streets across Barry as part of a trial to encourage more outdoor activities and reduce traffic. The Vale of Glamorgan Council has chosen two streets in the town to temporarily close this Sunday to allow children to play safely. The \u201cPlay Streets\u201d initiative has already proved popular in cities across the UK including Cardiff, Bristol, Bath, and London where residents can apply for their streets to be closed temporarily. Romilly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1053,"featured_media":34103,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,6,18],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1139],"class_list":["post-34094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest","category-news","category-slider-story"],"yoast_head":"\n