Children in the Gwendraeth Valley will soon have a safer route to school thanks to a grant from the Welsh Assembly to introduce traffic calming measures.

The Assembly has backed a scheme by Carmarthenshire County Council to transform traffic management in Cross Hands, Cefneithin and Gorslas by awarding a grant of £471,000.

The project, which will take over two years, will deliver a safer environment for pedestrians and cyclists across the communities, with engineering measures such as cycle routes, cycle paths and traffic calming.

The aim of the scheme is not only to provide a safe route to schools but also to shift the focus away from car use for certain journeys. This will help to reduce levels of congestion, improve the local air quality and provide an improved street scene.

The project has been driven by Maes-yr-Yrfa teacher Elgan Jones, who has helped develop a school travel plan, as there were concerns about the volume of traffic around the schools at start and finish times.

To enable the County Council to address these problems a successful bid for funding was written on the school’s behalf to the Assembly under the Safer Routes in the Community Project.

The public have their chance to have their say at the school with a public consultation event between 4-8pm on November 12 and 13.

County head of transport and engineering Trevor Sage said: “The long-term success of a safer routes in the community project is ownership of the project’s aims and objectives by the involvement of the school and the local community alike.

“As with any scheme of this size, extensive consultation is vital. Any comments or issues raised during this period will be noted and considered as part of the on-going development of the scheme. It may not be possible to accommodate all suggestions but we will ensure that all responses and proposals are thoroughly investigated.”

The project will be monitored with traffic surveys, including volume and speed, cycle counters, pedestrian counts and pupils and staff surveys.

Mr Sage said the projected targets for change included a significant increase in cyclists.