Parking restrictions to be introduced near Merthyr Tydfil school

PARKING restrictions are set to be introduced near a Merthyr Tydfil school after  a fire engine couldn’t get there because it was blocked by cars.

The council’s cabinet agreed at its meeting on Wednesday, July 14 to introduce a traffic regulation order to prohibit waiting at any time near on Ebenezer Close in Trelewis near Trelewis Primary School.

Ebenezer Close is the access road to Trelewis Primary School from High Street.

A request has been received from the headteacher of Trelewis Primary School to improve access into and along Ebenezer Close from High Street following
an incident at the school when South Wales Fire & Rescue were deployed to the site.

The fire service were unable to drive towards the school building due to
cars blocking the access road from the main High Street.

The headteacher referred to the possibility of yellow lines being installed to prevent cars from blocking the route to the school and highlighted this is a regular problem with both delivery drivers and staff regularly having to navigate through very narrow openings to get to the school building, the cabinet report said.

Parking restrictions were recommended for health and safety and accessibility reasons and the report added that the junction with High Street would also benefit from the introduction of parking restrictions due to parked cars affecting access into the street and overhanging the junction.

The exact are the order is set to cover includes the eastern side of High Street from its junction with the northern side of Ebenezer Close for a distance of 15 metres in a northerly direction and the eastern side of High Street from its junction with the southern side of Ebenezer Close southwards to the common boundary of numbers 81 and 82.

It would also cover the northern side of Ebenezer Close from its junction with High Street eastwards to the railway bridge and the southern side of Ebenezer Close from its junction with High Street eastwards for a distance of five metres.

As well as parking restrictions, bollards were recommended along the pavement in Ebenezer Close to prevent vehicles parking on the pavement and narrowing the road.

The Council has contacted local residents with a letter sent outlining the proposals and safety concerns but a number of responses were received opposing these proposals due to concerns with a reduction in parking.

Parking restrictions are proposed outside the properties and at the junction with High Street leaving the opposite side of the road unrestricted.

High Street is also unrestricted in the vicinity of the junction.

Consultation was carried out with emergency services and other groups.

No objections were received and the next stage of the traffic order process is to give public notice of the council’s intention to make the permanent order including an objection period giving the opportunity for objections to be received from the general public.

If no objections are received, the order can be made but if objections are received a report would be presented to the appropriate committee for consideration as soon as possible.

The report said there are administrative costs relating to the publishing of traffic regulation order notices and placing of road markings.

here is also a cost associated with installing bollards and £4,500 is to be met from the traffic management budget.

Councillor Chris Davies said: “I think this is a really really important report. You can’t put a price on a life.”

He mentioned the comments back from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service of the challenges and inability to get to that school site safely in a timely manner and said there could have been a fire.

He said: “I appreciate the challenges for local residents. We have them up and down the county borough but when it comes to safety of our children, young people and staff at the school it’s not something we can compromise on.”