- 06/10/2013
- Posted by: Joyce Watson MS
- Category: Media
Road safety campaigners from the village of Llanddewi Velfrey have welcomed news that plans for further improvements to the A40 are underway.
Welsh Government officials are working to progress the next stage of the project – improvements west of St Clears – to follow on from the Penblewin to Slebech Park improvement work, which was completed in 2011.
Three years ago, Llanddewi Velfrey Community Council appealed to the Welsh government to widen the pavement along the southern side of the A40 between Llandaff Row and the east end of the village. Their 154-signature petitionalso called for the speed limit around the village to be reduced from 40mph to 30mph.
In March, Pembrokeshire-based AM Joyce Watson, a member of the Assembly’s petitions committee, met residents to discuss traffic in the village.
Following Mrs Watson’s visit, transport minister Edwina Hart confirmed that her department was working to progress the project.
The Mid and West Wales Labour AM welcomed the minister’s announcement, and said: “I frequently travel on this stretch and it is very busy with lot of heavy goods traffic, so I understand residents’ concerns. The road is improving section-by-section. This next stage of work will make this stretch better and safer still.”
Llanddewi Velfrey Community Council also welcomed the announcement, but cautioned that speed limits and pedestrian safety was still an issue. In a letter to the petitions committee, the council clerk, Linda Hill, wrote: “I had circulated the minister’s letter to members of the community council for their views. They have asked me to say that they are pleased with any initiative that moves forward the plans to build the by-pass around Llanddewi Velfrey and agree that the sooner that is done the better.
“No mention in the letter from Ms Hart was made of the improvements to speed limit signage on the existing A40 that had been promised before November 2013. Nor has any mention been made of the improvements to safety on the pavements and crossing detailed in our original petition.”
The committee has agreed to ask the minister to respond to the petitioners’ comments.
