Local residents in Furnace village are planning to meet at 6 pm on Friday 14th October in Furnace Community Centre, in order to discuss putting together a bid for Safe Routes in Communities funding to make the village of Furnace safer, a move which could include traffic calming measures on surrounding roads such as Cwmbach Road, Stradey Road, and Pentrepoeth Road.
This grant is intended for communities who want to make their roads safer and more user- friendly for pedestrians and cyclists, and can include the funding of traffic calming measures, crossings and improvements to footpaths and cycle paths.
Nia Griffith MP explained, “Local residents have been very concerned about the safety of children walking along Cwmbach Road to school, and there is very real concern about the speed of traffic hurtling down into the village. When we met with an officer from the council’s highways department, he told us that there is an opportunity now for communities to put in bids to make their areas safer, so that’s why we’re holding the meeting on Friday, so that residents can feed in their views.” their
Cllr Penny Edwards added, ”We urgently need to make the village safer and more user friendly for pedestrians and cyclists and I know that there will be a lot of support for this in the community. With three schools and the college close by and the significant increase in traffic in Furnace Square, I think we have a strong case.”
The purpose of the meeting on 14th October is for residents to share views on what improvements they would like to see. A small working group will then be established to work on the detail of the scheme, and carry out full consultation with local residents on any proposals before the final bid is submitted in the new year.
If you are unable to attend that meeting, but would like to pass on your views or get more involved, then please contact Nia Griffith MP on 01554 756374, write to the address below or email nia.griffith.mp@parliament.uk including Furnace safe routes in the subject line.