A woman is said to have sustained "significant facial injuries" after tripping over controversial bollards on Wellfield Road.
The woman, who had crossed over Wellfield Road from one side of Wellfield Road to the side closest to St Andrews URC Church, tripping over a bollard on that side of the road.
A two-way cycleway on Wellfield Road in Roath was introduced last year as part of a pilot scheme that also saw the road made one-way. Footpaths were widened and parking was removed from both sides of the road last summer to allow social distancing. You can read more about these changes here.
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However, there have been reports of people tripping over the bollards on either side of the road. Last year, Cardiff council said that they would use spray paint to increase the visibility of the bollards after receiving two reports of people tripping in August, and said that they had received no previous reports of the issue before then.
The council has said that it is looking at options to improve the visibility of the base units on the street, given the concerns raised about them.
A tweet by I Loves The 'Diff on February 17 read: "Another day, another fall in Wellfield Rd due to bollard barrier trip hazards. A poor young woman received significant facial injuries just now. Awful to see."
Chris, from I Loves the 'Diff, said that he went over to check on the woman, who was being helped by others, as he drove past and parked his car.
"I've seen people trip. I've seen it several times over the last couple of years since they put them in. People crossing the road, they're looking left, they're looking right, they're not on their phones. They're looking at hazards in the street that are coming at them and they don't look down," he said.
He added that the lady had tripped over a bollard where the old turning was from Pen-Y-Lan Street when it was previously two-way.
"It was there to block cars going in there or almost maintain the kerb that goes along Wellfield Road, so it's probably a temporary thing," he said.
"This is a pilot scheme, so it's temporary. I dare say that if they decide to keep what's there now, the permanent solution might look a bit different, it might not have these trip hazards. I hope that's the case."
Chris added that he has seen people trip at the bollards that run along the cycle lane as well.
"There's a solid white line and it camouflages the white feet of the bollards unfortunately. If the feet were in bright orange or bright yellow, they'd stand out against this white line.
"I've seen people do it and I've nearly done it myself. I'm so paranoid now, myself, to look where you're going. Obviously, they've not intended to cause this problem. It's an unforeseen hazard of creating this pilot scheme with the cycle lane."
He added, "it was a really nasty fall".
Chris, who is a cyclist himself, says he "really likes" and is not against the cycle scheme.
"I just felt really sorry for this woman. She was so shaken up, as you are when you go down and you're not expecting it. It was really horrible to see, I was upset by it as well," he said.
He added: "I like cycle lanes and I agree with progressing our streets to make them safer and nicer and have fewer cars on them.
"It's great to see all these cycle lanes going in, it's going to be brilliant... But I think with this it's important because there are too many people getting hurt."
Last year, a man fell over the cycle lane and broke his wrist. Kaivan Forouzan, owner of Luxor clothing store on Wellfield Road, witnessed that incident, as well as the accident that happened on February 17.
"It's been happening all the time. If you walk through some shops, it's impossible that they haven't seen an accident," he told WalesOnline.
"There's so many accidents on this road, it's unbelievable."
Kaivan says he has "challenged" the council about the accidents that have happened on the road.
"I think I have about five or six [accidents] on my phone that I could show."
Kaivan's CCTV had captured the accident, and he says he showed the footage to the woman's partner, along with other footage of accidents. He also captured an accident that occurred on on Saturday, February 26.
"You can see how badly these people are falling over these bollards," he said.
One business owner, who did not want to be named, on the street said they were in favour of the cycle lane, but that they have witnessed people falling over a number of times.
The business owner told WalesOnline that they, along with other business owners on the street, had attended a meeting with Cardiff council last year about the safety of the cycle lane.
"We suggested that maybe the kerb should be highlighted, or the cycle lane should be painted blue to be more visible to elderly people, because they can be confused when they cross the road - especially in these weather conditions," they told WalesOnline.
"The council agreed with us and said they were looking for ways to improve."
The business owner said that they had witnessed accidents on the cycle lane, and even called an ambulance themselves to help an elderly lady who had fallen.
"Personally, I have witnessed five accidents over the last two years. On three occasions, when people have fallen and hurt themselves, I've helped them and given them water," they said.
"One elderly lady, I washed her face, I gave her a chair outside to wait for an ambulance."
The business owner witnessed the accident that happened on February 17. They added that the woman had left with her partner in a car after the incident.
"I'm in favour of the cycle lane, but I just want to make sure that it is safe, especially because people cycle on the lane both ways. When people cross the road, they have to check both ways, plus the road," they said.
"I'm not against the cycle lane, but it needs to be improved safety-wise."
A council spokesperson said: “These wands have been used extensively on all pop-up cycleways across the city and while we have no reports of any issues with them elsewhere, we are aware of a few occasions where people have tripped or stumbled on Wellfield Road.
"Given the concerns raised on Wellfield Road, the council is looking at options to improve the visibility of the base units on this street. The manufacturer of the wands has told us that it is bringing more brightly-coloured base units to the market and the council will be looking at purchasing these to try to help people navigate safely.
“This pop-up cycleway is part of a wider strategic route that – once fully installed - will have these wands removed. We would ask the public to take care when travelling on Cardiff’s roads and footways especially around any temporary measures which have been installed.”
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