Motorists using one of the busiest stretches of road in Carmarthenshire can look forward to less stressful journeys thanks to an improvement scheme which should be in place by the summer.
Enhancements to the notorious Sandy Road/ Maesycoed junction in the town will include a new right-turn filter lane improving the flow of traffic turning into the Parc y Strade housing estate, meaning less tailbacks on the A484 from the Llanelli direction and significantly improving traffic flow.
Confirmation of the works comes after extensive engagement with local residents and sustained lobbying by County Councillors for the Hengoed Ward Martyn Palfreman and Edward Skinner, who welcomed the Welsh Government’s announcement.
The funding will also allow investigation into the feasibility of further improvements in the area, including potential changes to the existing roundabout at the junction of Sandy Road and Denham Avenue.
Cllr Palfreman said: ‘We have worked tirelessly over the past 3 years with the County Council and its agents to secure resources for much-needed improvements along this stretch of Sandy Road. We also lobbied Welsh Government to provide funding for the agreed scheme, which will help alleviate the horrendous congestion experienced by local residents and so many others in the Llanelli area on a daily basis. We are delighted that this funding has now been forthcoming and are confident that the changes to the Maesycoed junction will deliver significant improvements. However, we will closely monitor the impact of the scheme once it is in place to ensure this is the case.’
Cllr Skinner added ‘We are grateful for the many residents who have taken the time to comment on the proposals over recent weeks. We have listened to specific concerns, notably loss of some parking along Sandy Road and are actively working with transport officers to mitigate this by providing alternative spaces nearby. We also know that the agreed scheme is unlikely to solve all the current problems and we will continue to push for further improvements along the A484 corridor. We will also ensure people are given further opportunities to feed into any future proposals.’
Save this post and let’s wait and see how much worse it gets , it’s a complete waste of money .
Best thing for this is to have traffic going in from the mini round about at Cawdor car junction and coming out from coop to the traffic lights in outbound traffic only so there no queuing traffic or hold ups at the lights
What are these 2 Cllrs. are talking about. They don’t live there and have no idea how dreadful this road and adjoining main roads are like.
Colin Jones don’t they live here? Surely they both live in Hengoed ward, don’t they?
Cheryl Jones no they don’t, one lives in the Parc Howard area and I think the other one lives in the railway station area.
The rules say that you are allowed to stand as a Cllr. if you live within 3 miles of any Ward.
Colin Jones wow, thanks for that, I didn’t know, our previous councillor lived in this ward.
Amateurs doing a Professional’s job. Clueless!
Just turn the lights of and relying on common sense 🤗 ok I see the problem with that idea 😖
What next? I cannot believe that the simplest suggestion hasn’t been trialled prior to throwing all this money at a scheme where no-one has any idea if it will help alleviate traffic congestion.
What on earth is this extra little lane holding 2 cars meant to do?
Why cannot removing the traffic lights be trialled first?
It only concerns flicking to the off-switch! Not £££££!
Karen Francis-Morris because they don’t listen! They’ll do what they want and spend shed loads of money for no reason.
Chris Baglole I agree. County do listen however, passively and then implement their own agenda!
Karen Francis-Morris we asked them that 8 years ago … they think they know better 🤭
Alison Smith I continually challenge officers at County, unfortunately, they only pay lip service to members of the community!
How are they gonna widen the road? There’s only narrow foot paths either side which they’ll need to eat into
Clarre Warren taking away the little front gardens that some people have
Aled Roberts no Aled they plan to take away some of your parking spaces
Alan James they are also taking away some of the frontage of the houses opposite the junction also and taking the pavement back closer to the houses .
Aled Roberts old plans Aled. The new plans are for several car park spaces near the junction to be removed to accommodate the right turn lane.
Alan James that was also in the old plans because they were also going to move the button further up too
Alan James well that won’t work you can only get about 2 cars into that right turn when there’s usually about 5 waiting to turn ? What a total waste of money . Cheepest possible and Expensive road painting exercise from the council .
Aled Roberts yes I think you hit the nail on the head
Fucking clueless…
Took us 20 minutes to get from the roundabout at the bottom of Queen Victoria Road to the traffic lights it’s a f…..g pain
There is only one option to ease the traffic there and it’s to build a bypass from pinopolis roundabout around the lake and onto the b4304. This should be more of a priority than the black bridge that they’re throwing over £1 Million at just for cyclists and pedestrians.
Trev T Carpenter you obviously don’t enjoy nature and pretty surroundings.
That’s the most visited place on the MCP… putting a road through there is a travesty.
Alison Smith well you obviously don’t care about all the fumes from cars stuck in traffic .
Just because a bypass could go there doesn’t mean people couldn’t go and enjoy the walk around the lake
Alison Smith absolutely 💯, only an absolute fool would even think of that, and it can never happen.
Trev T Carpenter you’d still have fumes but around the MCP instead!! Can’t escape it
Trev T Carpenter oh come on! It would totally ruin it!
Alison Smith let’s knock down all the houses that’s been built over the last 20 years and give it back to nature rather than build a better infrastructure for all the extra cars these houses have got . Free flowing traffic is always better than traffic jams the pollution dissipates and the trees around will soak it all up rather than us breathing it in and poisoning us
Just turn the lights off and see what happens…. Cost … nothing !!
Mark Pendlebury the lights have broken down a few times and that’s made no difference . It’s the volume of traffic that’s the problem .
This is Sandy Road at a quiet period…
Edic Medic obviously before they put the totally unnecessary traffic lights
If only they had thought of this before they built all the extra houses 🏘 🤔
If only they listened to the locals before building 100s of houses with no clear plan for traffic management
Jonny Allen there’s a little bit more to it than that, the traffic is always much better during school holidays, and the college and Stradey school have both been there for many years.
Cheryl Jones not really, when you build a housing estate that big, with one way in and one way out.
Marcus Jones honestly ot really is much more complicated than that, every time it’s school holidays, the traffic halves even during rush hour, so therefore the schools are obviously the big problem, as everything else is the same. Both Graig campus and Strade have grown massively in recent years.
Cheryl Jones before the housing estate there was no issue tho.
Marcus Jones yes there was, it’s just become worse, you can’t argue with facts, the only variable is the schools, ergo the schools have to be the problem.
Cheryl Jones ok we’ll agree to disagree! The root cause to the congestion is the traffic lights, these we’re installed for the housing estate. That’s the facts. The college and school footprint has not grown that much.
Marcus Jones Any increase in the footprint of the college/school is irrelevant. It’s how many pupils are now attending, compared to previous years, that is the issue.
The biggest change was abolishing the 6th form in Bryngwyn, Coedcae and St John Lloyd.
Whereas, in previous years, you’d have approximately 150 pupils studying A Levels in sixth form in each of those schools, now you have those 450 pupils travelling to coleg sir gar everyday.
Couple that with the fact that only pupils living further than 3 miles from the college are eligible for bus transport, and that is the reason for the horrendous traffic between 8 & 9am and 3.30 & 4.30pm.
I pick my daughter up at the hyve gym every Wednesday and Thursday afternoon to take her to work in Trostre. During term time, it takes me 12-15 minutes to get from Trinity road to the the Hyve. Wednesday and Thursday this week (college and school closed) it took me 6 minutes.
Phil Crocker really? College has increased that much? I don’t think so. I pass there regularly, there no more busses than before tbh. The light’s are the issue. The exact same issue if there is roadworks and temporary lights on the road from Strady school to Burry Port, the exact same issue occurs
Phil Crocker i agree with you, I’ve been doing a little research over the past week, doing a lot of driving at rush hour times, I’ve been back and fore so many times you wouldn’t believe, and even the evening rush hour (5-6pm) has more than halved and that’s because the college runs many differing evening classes. Over the past few weeks I’ve made a big effort to prove this point, and it’s more than proven.
So we need to address the schools transport, this is without any doubt the biggest issue.
Marcus Jones I’m sorry but your wrong, we live here and see it daily, as I’ve already stated, if the only variable in the equation is the schools, then that has to be the issue.
Marcus Jones Yes, it has increased that much, that’s a fact. The reason you don’t see many more buses than before is the 3 mile rule I mentioned previously.
Before the abolishing of the 6th forms, the buses to the college were barely half full, now they are pretty much full every day.
Let’s say, out of those 450 pupils, we have 150 who live between 2 and 3 miles from the college. That could equate to 100-150 cars making that journey during morning and afternoon rush hour.
Simply decreasing the bus eligibility rule from 3 to 2 miles could take all those cars out of the equation, and replace them with 3/4 buses.
Secondly, if you don’t think that the college and school are major contributing factors to the congestion, how would you explain why it takes me 12-14 minutes to make that journey during term time, but only 6 minutes during school holidays?
I am not saying that the housing estate and traffic lights haven’t added to the problem, but everyone seems t ok be ignoring the fact that the college and school are a major contributing factor.
We have to look at ALL factors causing the congestion, and look at making several small changes to these contributing factors. There is no single solution to this issue.
Cheryl Jones To be honest, I’m fed up of saying it. During every single school holiday, there is a massive decrease in congestion, yet all we hear is people moaning about the housing estate and the lights.
Is it a contributing factor? Yes. Is it the main factor? No.
CCC needs to be forced to look at the college/school transport provision. An increase in pupils being provided with bus transport, along with the new road layout will make a massive difference.
Phil Crocker and of course you are absolutely right, and this is the path I’m going down,
Phil Crocker sorry disagree!! Why would people living a few miles away drive, knowing the situation, that I will take longer? That doesn’t make sense. Why is it such an issue coming from Burry Port, some times I’m stuck by the colliers.
Marcus Jones I can assure you that it does not take longer to travel 2.8 miles in congested traffic, than it does to walk the same distance.
I’ve taken my 16 year old daughters by car on many occasions. Why have I done that? Because I’d rather they were sitting in the car with me, warm safe and dry for 25/30 minutes, than walking for 45 minutes on a cold, dark, wet January morning.
You can disagree all you want, but if you’re doubling down on your belief that the college traffic is not a major contributing factor during morning and afternoon rush hour, then would you care to explain why my regular journey takes less than half the time during the school holidays?
Phil Crocker don’t think you’ll be getting an explanation any time soon, don’t know who this guy is, but I think he’ll say anything just to blame the new houses.
Cheryl Jones I’ll leave you both too it, as your both hell bent on the school and college are the root causes. So how can this issue be solved?
Marcus Jones good idea, leave it to the people who know what to do.
Cheryl Jones Like they done in the first place to create the issue. So how can it be resolved
Anything lee Walter’s gets involved , it will be a big disaster , and a total waste of money which is needed elsewhere in Llanelli 😡
Was coming down past the premier heading to town 20 mile limit car in front was overtook with car heading towards us what an idiot speeding like a fool those are the ones that don’t get caught
Or just remove the traffic lights🤔
Don’t know why anybody is complaining
There is enough room for the traffic
TRAFFIC lights get bloody rid of them
Great news it’s a pain to get through
Just make it “no right turn”. Traffic will them flow up to the mini round about.
How’s it gonna effect traffic from burry Port..promise great things ..look at Hendy…. getting on M4. That s a disaster now. Let’s wait n see… Duh