Llanelli’s MP and AM have called on Carmarthenshire County Council to trial switching off the traffic lights on Sandy Road to ease traffic flow on the busy bank holiday weekend.
Ahead of the bank holiday at the end of May, when tailbacks build up as people go out to enjoy the break, Nia Griffith MP and Lee Waters AM have written to the Council’s Head of Highways requesting a temporary switch-off of the Sandy Road lights to tackle the ongoing traffic problem.
Nia Griffith MP explained, “Ever since the County Council installed traffic lights at the junction of Sandy Road and Maesycoed back in 2017, the traffic has gone from bad to worse. This is causing serious problems and frustration for people on daily basis, but many will also be worried about the impact of the appalling tailbacks on their plans for the bank holiday weekend.
“In order to find solutions to the Sandy Road traffic problem that the Council could implement, Lee Waters AM, local councillor Penny Edwards and I organised a consultation last year. Many people suggested switching off the lights, and the time has come for this to be trialled on a temporary basis so that we can see what the impact is, and assess if it will work long-term.
“The Council have said repeatedly that their tweaks to the phasing of the lights have helped to improve traffic flow, but anyone who uses Sandy Road regularly or at peak times knows that this problem is not going away. We will keep pushing for the Council to take urgent action to sort this out.”
Lee Waters AM added, “Well over a year since we presented the results of our consultation to the Council, they have still not taken the action necessary to deal with the Sandy Road traffic.
“We are chasing the Highways Department for the results of traffic modelling work we were promised at a meeting last year, but it is clear that more needs to be done to tackle this problem in the meantime. That’s why Nia and I have suggested switching off the lights for the bank holiday – this is practical measure that will ease the burden on travellers and give us valuable information.
“The large numbers of emails we still receive about this issue show that not nearly enough is being done to tackle this, and frustration is only building as time drags on. People deserve better.”
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