Highway developments planned by RCT Council in 2011 to ease traffic congestion scrapped
Absolutely, the effectiveness of a Local Development Plan is indeed contingent on the council’s commitment to implementing the proposed initiatives and adhering to the outlined pledges. It is crucial for local authorities to uphold their promises and execute the proposed projects in a manner that aligns with the community’s needs and expectations. Community engagement and ongoing dialogue between residents and the council can play a vital role in holding the council accountable for delivering on their commitments outlined in the Local Development Plan. Transparency, communication, and collaboration are key components for ensuring that the plan translates into tangible improvements and developments for the local area.
The council is asking you to take part in the consultation for the Revised Local Development Plan for 2022 – 2027 let’s take a look at what the council policy was on just three road construction projects that the Labour Party thought should be completed in an earlier development plan.
The council promised to deliver in 2011 for the Northern Strategy Area: Policy NSA 20 – Major Road Schemes for the area to ease traffic congestion.
In addition to those schemes identified in Policy CS 8 land will be safeguarded and provisions made for the development of the strategic highway network in the Northern Strategy Area, including in the schemes of the Mountain Ash Southern Cross Valley Link; the Upper Rhondda Fach Relief Road; and the Mountain Ash Northern Cross Valley Link road.
The council completed the Mountain Ash Southern Cross Valley Link but due to the bad design, the scheme failed to reduce traffic queuing by introducing another set of traffic lights instead of a large roundabout, adding more traffic lights in doing so has created longer traffic queues some days as far back as the A470. As the leader of the council said on social media any lights on the A4095 are bad news.
Many people have complained about the bad design of the new junction on the A4095 and the extreme width of the highway it has taken and produced such a large road junction. What the public forgets is the bigger the project the greater the percentage the consultants get.
RCT Council Policy NSA20 would only work to increase traffic flows and reduce traffic queuing if the council had completed the Mountain Ash Northern Cross Valley Link as the Mid Glamorgan County Council started and proposed to complete, unlike the current Labour administration.
The Upper Rhondda Fach Relief Road Policy NSA 20 pledged in 2011 was broken by RCT Labour the party who have held the majority of votes and retained control of RCT since 2004 without any opposition.
Transport schemes draft pipeline a City-Deal Cardiff Capital Reagen CCRTA MEETING 25 JANUARY 2018
Construction of a single-carriageway road between Pontygwaith and Maerdy as an extension of the existing Lower Rhondda Fach relief road
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1587683264923323/
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/612306
The public keeps voting for the Labour Party consequently they have a free hand and can control what the public is allowed to do, the council can spend where and when they want with no opposition to complain and keep raising council tax and cutting services.
Image from Relief Road Action Group – Upper Rhondda Fach