The new road junction constructed at Newtown Mountain Ash and the A4059
The new road junction constructed on the A4059 at Newtown Mountain Ash to serve the long-awaited Sothern Cross-Valley Link is proving to be a big problem for commuters. Many have taken to Social Medea to vent their anger and frustration of the new road layout and the bad drivers not helped by the design of the new road layout.
As we said many have taken to Social Media to vent their anger and frustration but the council has said, “The new junction layout has been operating for five months and during this time the Council has been monitoring its usage. The draft RSA3 acknowledges issues with driver behaviour, suggests monitoring for six months and potentially additional signage. In response, the Council has arranged for additional signs to be installed to advise motorists to use both lanes and merge in turn.”
Many commuters will remember the council tinkering with the traffic lights on Mountain Ash Bridge but it never solved the problems of the bottleneck that exists on the A4059 at Mountain Ash. So what will extra additional signs achieve for the new junction? It’s the merging lanes are the problem plus impatient aggressive drivers don’t help. Is it a case of giving some motorists the opportunity to drive dangerously with the poor road layout?
The council said, “Highway improvements have progressed at Cardiff Road, along with a major scheme to increase the capacity of the A4059/Cwm Cynon Industrial Estate junction – which has been widened, re-surfaced and line marked. New traffic lights have been installed”. All commuters continuing on the A4059 towards Aberdare have a single carriageway and another set of traffic lights at Mount Bridge, the new road layout just gives the impression of extra capacity in the short term but then the problem of merging lanes a few meters away from the new road layout.
The council has spent on improving some parts of the A4059 but nothing in the bigger scheme of the road there are some bad road junctions that have been ignored. The Quarter Mile Junction labelled on social media as lethal, a member of my family also witness a woman getting killed at this junction. We at AberdareOnline have called many times for the Northern Cross Valley Link to be built in Mountain Ash, houses shops were demolished for the new link road.
“REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF HIGHWAYS AND STREETCARE SERVICES IN DISCUSSION WITH THE RELEVANT PORTFOLIO HOLDER, COUNCILLOR A MORGAN CABINET 15TH DECEMBER 2016”
“Policy NSA 20 includes specific reference to the Mountain Ash Southern Cross Valley Link and the Mountain Ash Northern Cross Valley Link. These road schemes are essential to improve accessibility for local residents to services and employment opportunities, improve the environment by removing vehicles from congested areas i.e. A4059 and B4275 and to attract investment into the area.”
This would improve traffic flows towards Mount Bridge from the north and also improve the road junction next to Mountain Ash Bowels Hall another bad junction.
The roundabout serving Asda and Coed Dyffryn is only going to get more congested with forthcoming developments planned? The council placing a set of pedestrian crossings, traffic lights, blights the new roundabout serving the new school again this causes tailbacks why not have a footbridge as they have serving Mountain Ash Comprehensive School? As for the roundabout serving Cwmbach Abernant, Robertstown, Aberdare College, Sobell Leisure Centre and the swimming pool, this is a planning joke placing a pelican crossing directly below a footbridge over a bypass next to a busy roundabout. I suppose its called planning in RCTC. If the footbridge was not fit for purpose why was it not thought of when planning the £50 million new school and the £22 million new college campus?
Aberdare deserves a decent bypass and a footbridge that has easy access for an older generation and disabled people to use.
I have gone on a bit lets not forget the Metro may be coming but also more and more developments planned and people need good roads with fewer holdups that can be avoided and a good public transport system.
