The First Minister has agreed to join Clwyd West MS Darren Millar on a visit to rural Denbighshire to see for himself the road safety issues on the A494.
Darren has long been calling for road safety improvements on three parts of this stretch of road, and in Questions to the First Minister in today’s meeting of the Welsh Parliament he raised the issue again and invited Mark Drakeford to come and view the danger spots.
He said:
“You'll be aware that road safety data from 2022 suggests that the vast majority of serious and fatal accidents do occur on rural roads, and that many of those roads are being disproportionately over-represented when compared to the volumes of traffic on them.
“In the rural parts of Denbighshire that I represent, there are three areas on the A494 trunk road that do need some urgent attention, and, of course, the trunk road network is the responsibility of the Welsh Government. I've raised on numerous occasions the need for speed reduction and a crossing for pedestrians in the village of Pwllglas, in order for residents and children to be able to access the facilities that are there safely.
“And there are two other projects on the A494 - the Maes Gamedd junction in Gwyddelwern, and Lôn Fawr in Ruthin - which also urgently need some attention via some re-engineering in order to make them safe.
“First Minister, will you join me on a visit to rural Denbighshire to see these particular locations for yourself, so that we can work together to address these road safety issues in my constituency?”
In his response, the First Minister agreed to a visit.
He said:
“Darren makes important points about safety on rural roads and the Welsh Government's responsibility for the trunk road network. I have followed his pursuit of the Pwllglas issue here on the floor of the Senedd.
“I thank the Member for the invitation to join him, and, no doubt, others with an interest in these matters, and, subject to the usual diary constraints, I'd be happy to do that.”
A date for the visit will be set in the coming weeks.
Watch Darren’s contribution in the Welsh Parliament below:
