A councillor has accepted that the closure of a Penarth road during school hours to clamp down on dangerous driving may transfer the issue to other streets. The Vale of Glamorgan Council's cabinet member for education, arts, and the Welsh language, Cllr Rhiannon Birch, said she had been receiving complaints about traffic-related issues in Dryden Road for years before the council last month decided to close it during school pick-up and drop-off times.
It is hoped that the closure of the road, along which Fairfield Primary School is located, will help improve safety and encourage active travel. However some residents in Penarth fear the closure of the road may lead to other streets nearby becoming congested during the school run.
Cllr Birch said: "I accept that that may well happen and that it may spread the problem further afield but the traffic management problem on Dryden Road in the immediate surrounding area has been absolutely appalling – the number of near-misses recorded for children, the number of dangerous parking on corners." The road closure is intended to act as a pilot scheme and will be in place for about 18 months.
