‘Walking my dog is like walking a barefoot child around,’ said one dog walker
BROKEN glass is sometimes left on the pavement for weeks on end, according to one fed-up Adamsdown resident.
Tony Griffin, 63, of Adamsdown, said he constantly worries when walking his dog as he has to constantly scan 10m ahead for litter – especially for more “worrying” items including broken glass.
Mr Griffin said broken glass has been outside the Adventure Rooms store, on Newport Road, for at least four weeks.
It is one of the routes he uses every day to walk his 18-month-old Chorkie named ‘Dwt’.
“It’s like walking a barefoot child around. It’s outrageous really,” he said.
Some mornings, Mr Griffin has swept the glass to one side. “But should this be the way? Surely there should be a service,” Mr Griffin said.
While some of the glass problem is caused by people, a main part of the problem, he says, is a lack of street cleaning services.
On October 15, Mr Griffin told The Cardiffian that glass had been lying outside the Adventure Rooms shop on Newport Road for four weeks. The Cardiffian visited the spot to confirm this was the case. Exactly two weeks later, we returned to find the same broken glass in the same place.
“I’ve seen no sign of improvement. There are very rare signs of sweeping the gutters let alone the pavements,” Tony said.
Another Adamsdown resident, David French, 42, was cycling on shift as a Deliveroo driver a few years ago when broken glass in the same location punctured his front bike wheel.
That sent him over the handlebars and hitting the ground, leaving the father of one with cuts on his leg and arm.
Mr French, who has lived in Adamsdown for nine years, said: “If I had fallen onto the actual road rather than on the cycle path, it could have been a lot worse.
“The problem has got worse. We feel abandoned. There is always glass there. The council is very slow to clean it up.”
The need to clean dangerous items couldn’t come soon enough. The Cardiffian found scattered glass in the same bike lane Mr French described years after his incident.
“I’m not shocked in the slightest,” Mr French said when we showed him the images. “I’m surprised there isn’t more there.”
Keep Adamsdown Tidy, a litter picking group, told The Cardiffian that glass is a problem in places.
“Glass seems to be more of an issue in places where there is higher footfall,” said a spokesperson.
“If we all took a little more time in reporting this that would be in some way a help to keep our communities cleaner. More bins would also go some way to help.”
A Cardiff Council spokesperson said: “Everyone needs to take responsibility for their own litter and to dispose of it responsibly.
“The council introduced the Love Where You Live Campaign, to create and engage with community groups. The council provides the equipment and bags for several voluntary groups and collects the waste afterwards to ensure that it is disposed of correctly.”
The Cardiffian asked the council why the glass has not been cleared by the council and how often they clean Adamsdown’s streets, but they did not comment.
Have you noticed broken glass on Cardiff’s streets? Email thompsonba1@cardiff.ac.uk.
