New crossing on dangerous road is underway

Over the years, there have been a number of near misses on the Cwmaman Road crossing and the upgrade has been welcomed by both Garnant councillor Kevin Madge and the county’s executive board member for engineering and transport Cllr Colin Evans.

Costs of the scheme, which will see the Zebra crossing upgraded to a controlled Puffin Crossing, have been shared between Cwmaman town council and the local authority’s traffic management revenue budget.

The scheme would not have been possible so soon without the match fund contribution from the town council.

The work will involve new traffic signals and traffic and pedestrian detectors.

The traffic lights change to green as soon as the crossing is clear, so drivers will not be stopped unnecessarily if there are no pedestrians on the road.

Traffic will not be stopped if pedestrians push the button and then cross the road before the lights change to red, or if they push the button then change their mind and walk away from the crossing.

The work will be completed before the end of March.

Cllr Colin Evans said: “Cwmaman Town Council have been extremely supportive of this scheme which the county would have found difficult to provide from its own budget for several years.

The speed at which this scheme is being delivered shows the benefit of collaborative working between the councils and officers and members on both sides are to be commended for their efforts providing this vitally needed traffic management safety upgrade.”

Councillor for Garnant, Kevin Madge, who has just stepped down as governor at nearby Ysgol y Bedol said he was pleased to see the crossing going ahead.

“We want to make it a safe route school for children and Ysgol y Bedol pupils,” he said.

“There have been a lot of accidents over the years and a lot of near-misses.

"Both the communities of Garnant and Glanaman will get the benefit of this crossing.”