Clwyd West MS Darren Millar has this afternoon made fresh calls for the speed limit to be reduced from 40mph to 30mph in Pwllglas, near Ruthin.
Earlier this year, Darren met with representatives from North Wales Police, Pwllglas Community Council and local businesses, including a local nursery owner, to discuss road safety concerns on the A494 trunk road in the village.
The community is developing a new ‘fun and fitness’ park in the village for local residents and visitors of all ages to enjoy. The new facility is on the east side of the trunk road while most of the local community live on the west side of the road which makes access difficult and dangerous, particularly for young children and those with mobility issues.
The current speed limit on the trunk road through the village is 40mph but many motorists exceed these speeds.
In May, Darren started a petition calling on the Welsh Government to install a pedestrian crossing in the village.
He also wrote to the Transport Minister to request an urgent review of highway safety in the village.
Speaking in today’s Business Statement in the Welsh Parliament, he raised the matter again, imploring Ministers to reduce the speed limit.
He said:
“I call for a statement from the Government on road safety on the trunk road network. I've raised issues before about this, but in my own constituency, in the community of Pwllglas, which is on the A494 trunk road, that community has recently been successful in raising funds to develop a playground and fitness facility on one side of the trunk road, while all or most of the people in that village live on the opposite side.
“At the moment, the speed limit through the village is 40 mph, it had previously been 30 mph a number of years ago, but has been raised to 40 mph. There is also a nursery that fronts the road as well. It seems to me to be sensible to reduce that speed limit to 30 mph on grounds of safety.
“I would like to see this village road made safer with a reduction on that trunk road to 30 mph in order to allow people to access these new facilities. And I think we do need an update on what the Welsh Government is doing in order to ensure that villages like Pwllglas have appropriate speed limits that are safe for motorists and pedestrians.”
Speaking after the meeting, Darren said:
“In her response the Trefnydd, Lesley Griffith MS, recommended that I write to the Deputy Minister for Climate Change about the issues in Pwllglas, but I have already done this on a number of occasions without any progress.
“It really is astonishing that Ministers are forcing councils to reduce speed limits on roads while at the same time they can’t be bothered cutting limits on stretches of road for which the Welsh Government is responsible.”
