RESIDENTS want the speed limit around Radyr Primary School to be cut to 20mph after near-misses involving children.
Park Road where the near-miss occurred.
Earlier this month, a car mounted the pavement on the corner of Park Road to avoid a bus. It narrowly avoided two adults and two children, aged four and six, walking there at 3.35pm. CCTV footage is with the police.
This latest incident was raised at a Police and Communities Together meeting by people who have been campaigning for some time for the 30mph limit there to be reduced.
Radyr Primary has 429 pupils between the ages of four and 11. Lots of the pupils walk to school, whose entrance is on Park Road.
Resident Steve Boyd told the PACT meeting: “Radyr Primary School should be a 20mph area, there have been plenty of near misses. Back in February someone went off Heol Isaf by Park Road at 3pm, if that was at 3.45pm someone would have been killed.”
Mr Boyd said the needs of Radyr were being ignored by Cardiff Council’s ’20’s Plenty’ policy which has already introduced reduced speed limits to Cathays and Plasnewydd following a UK-wide initiative.
“All the next areas are Labour voting areas,” said Mr Boyd.
In response, Ramesh Patel, cabinet member for transport, planning and sustainability, said: “What we have done is logical. You start in the city centre and work outwards. Work started in Cathays and it goes out from there. If you go around the country it is the same.”
Other areas of the UK have already introduced 20’s Plenty
The Canton councillor added: “We started in Cathays and it is a mixed ward between Labour and Liberal Democrats. The allegations are factually incorrect.”
Resident John Dorrington told the meeting that Heol Isaf was also of concern. A speed test performed from September 23 to 29 showed 85% of drivers were travelling over 40mph. Ten cars were driven at 80 to 90mph and one recorded a speed of between 90 and 100mph.
Although speeds recorded during school-run hours were generally lower, there were 23 recorded speeds of over 60mph going south towards the primary and secondary schools.
Radyr councillor Rod McKerlich, said something needed to be done across the entire ward, but indicated Heol Isaf was the highest priority.
“I would like three more pelican crossings on Heol Isaf but each costs £80,000,” he said.
