Cardiff, growing too fast?

[the other bob wilson]

Every Friday morning, I drive from Fairwater to the Mail sorting office by the tax office to pick up any post sent to the Trust during the week. As the sorting office opens at 7, I always try to make sure I'm there within about ten minutes of it opening, consequently, the traffic is light and I can do it in about a quarter of an hour. However, when I'm driving home at around 7.15 to 7.30 the traffic going into Cardiff from the roundabout by the BBC building is already stretching back hundreds of yards - I'm sure that my drive time to the sorting office would be made at least twice as long if I left, say, twenty minutes later.

With St Fagan's Road, the other main road from Fairwater into central Cardiff, also being choc a bloc during the rush hour, it's bad enough already for commuters in this area without the Plasdwr development to the north west of the city which is planned to add another 7,000 homes to the area (and God knows how many more rush hour cars).

If you've got the time, it's well worth watching this programme

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...-growing-pains

in which Jason Mohammad outlines his concerns about what the next couple of decades hold for Cardiff. I was aware that the council's plans for dealing with the additional traffic in the area where I now live (it's not just North West Cardiff which faces these problems either) that is going to arise in the next decade or so did not seem to be very convincing, but, after watching what our council leader had to say, I'm thinking I wasn't appreciating the full extent of the problem.

All things being equal, I'll be moving to Beddau soon. I thought this would mean about a half hour's drive from my current home to my new one, but, at off peak times, I can get there and back in about twenty five minutes by driving along Llantrisant Road and cutting through Creigiau - I think I better enjoy it while I can though, because that's another journey time that's going to be at least doubled soon.

To me, the most effective line in that programme was the one about the plan seeming to be that the council's target of 50 per cent of journey's being taken by public transport will only be achieved by making life so miserable and intolerable for car drivers that they'll have no option but to get on the bus or train!

[GRUMPYS DEN]

Out of the frying pan Bob.The traffic around Llantrisant/Talbot Green/ Pontyclun is horrendous during rush hour and you can catch queues at other times of the day too.There are proposals for a great deal more housing in the area which are being vehemently fought because of the lack of infrastructure to cope.
The Creigau route to Cardiff will probably be your best bet although some of that is one track.If you go west you will run into traffic at most times of the day in the aforementioned 'villages' which can all be bottlenecks.
A few years down the line I have no doubt this area will be part of the western suburbs of Cardiff.

[the other bob wilson]

Out of the frying pan Bob.The traffic around Llantrisant/Talbot Green/ Pontyclun is horrendous during rush hour and you can catch queues at other times of the day too.There are proposals for a great deal more housing in the area which are being vehemently fought because of the lack of infrastructure to cope.
The Creigau route to Cardiff will probably be your best bet although some of that is one track.If you go west you will run into traffic at most times of the day in the aforementioned 'villages' which can all be bottlenecks.
A few years down the line I have no doubt this area will be part of the western suburbs of Cardiff.

Exactly what I was saying to one of my neighbours a few minutes ago - at the moment, the drive to my proposed new home is a nice ride through the country, but I reckon I'll struggle to see a field in a few years time and yet the infrastructure, which is severely lacking as it is, is expected to cope as if nothing has changed.

[ian gibson]

This is why I turn down work offered to me in Cardiff, sat in traffic for ages does my head in. Just finished a 40 day job in east of Newport and getting there and back with the Brynglas tunnel nonsense was a complete nightmare. Much happier working in RCT or the vale of Glam, easier to commute.

[TH63]

I live in Thornhill, which can be a nightmare in the morning with traffic coming from Caerphilly and basically turning Thornhill Road/Caerphilly Road into a car park. Some of them even take shortcuts (the bastards!) though Thornhill/Llanishen and jam up fidlas Road.

It's great that Cardiff is growing, but in order to meet that growth, some serious and immediate attention needs to be given to transport infrastructure (not to any Cardiff City planners reading this - more bus lanes is NOT the answer)

[OurManFlint II]

Haven't lived in Llandaff North for over 20 years but it could be a nightmare heading past the BBC back then! As much as i love Cardiff the public transport system is crap, no innovation and expensive. It doesn't surprise me that the only way to get people to use it is to make the car journey even worse.

Shame.

[BLUETIT]

Haven't lived in Llandaff North for over 20 years but it could be a nightmare heading past the BBC back then! As much as i love Cardiff the public transport system is a crap, no innovation and expensive. It doesn't surprise me that the only way to get people to use it is to make the car journey even worse.

Shame.

Expensive !

All day ticket on Cardiff Bus is £3-40p

I have not taken the car to town or footie for years, I think the people who knock the Bus service, are the ones that don't use it.

[MacAdder]

Every Friday morning, I drive from Fairwater to the Mail sorting office by the tax office to pick up any post sent to the Trust during the week. As the sorting office opens at 7, I always try to make sure I'm there within about ten minutes of it opening, consequently, the traffic is light and I can do it in about a quarter of an hour. However, when I'm driving home at around 7.15 to 7.30 the traffic going into Cardiff from the roundabout by the BBC building is already stretching back hundreds of yards - I'm sure that my drive time to the sorting office would be made at least twice as long if I left, say, twenty minutes later.

With St Fagan's Road, the other main road from Fairwater into central Cardiff, also being choc a bloc during the rush hour, it's bad enough already for commuters in this area without the Plasdwr development to the north west of the city which is planned to add another 7,000 homes to the area (and God knows how many more rush hour cars).

If you've got the time, it's well worth watching this programme

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...-growing-pains

in which Jason Mohammad outlines his concerns about what the next couple of decades hold for Cardiff. I was aware that the council's plans for dealing with the additional traffic in the area where I now live (it's not just North West Cardiff which faces these problems either) that is going to arise in the next decade or so did not seem to be very convincing, but, after watching what our council leader had to say, I'm thinking I wasn't appreciating the full extent of the problem.

All things being equal, I'll be moving to Beddau soon. I thought this would mean about a half hour's drive from my current home to my new one, but, at off peak times, I can get there and back in about twenty five minutes by driving along Llantrisant Road and cutting through Creigiau - I think I better enjoy it while I can though, because that's another journey time that's going to be at least doubled soon.

To me, the most effective line in that programme was the one about the plan seeming to be that the council's target of 50 per cent of journey's being taken by public transport will only be achieved by making life so miserable and intolerable for car drivers that they'll have no option but to get on the bus or train!

Have you considered buying a bike?

[SuperBluebirds91]

We live approx 15 outside Cardiff but every time we go in for one reason or another it's just crazy. Even at 6am in the morning some places are already a busy place for traffic. I work in Cardiff and dread driving in and out during anytime of the day! From 7.15 - 18.45pm! It does put you off goin g sometimes. The A4232 from culver down to the bay and back is not too bad but rush hours can be a knightmare again. I've also noticed how the property prices have soared up during the last couple of years and have levelled with some areas being On par wth Cowbridge and surrounding areaS. IT recently took me nearly an hour to go from the stadium to cathedrAl road and back at 16.20 in the afternoon! (PS I stopped for 1 minuite at cathedral road).

[Feedback]

Cardiff council haven't got a pot to piss in. Since 1997 (or 1999 depending on your point of view) CCC and WG have managed to build around 1 mile of new infrastructure road in and around Cardiff - the recently opened Rover Way/Bay link. The fact they haven't the funds to build a flyover, or complete the dualing of Rover Way says an awful lot.

Cardiff is growing rapidly and it is correct that we extend the suburbs rather than elsewhere, simply put the jobs are in Cardiff. Building them further out only increases the commute and increase commute times. however, unless the council or WG can start investing in the right areas (ahem, Metro, ahem), then rush hour traffic for drivers in North Cardiff is going to get significantly worse.

[ccfc_is_my_life]

Well, they need to sort the infrastructure out for the LDP.

Lamby Way HWRC is open, they need to communicate that better as Wedal Road will be closing. Fed up of Cardiff North councillors wanting it kept open - self-serving, happy to not have to deal with the problems there themselves.

[Nick]

http://plasdwr.co.uk/infrastructure-...r-nears-start/

[Cyclops]

I recorded that BBC Wales prog and was MOST unimpressed with the Council transport guy who promised all will be revealed in July. I wait for this with bated breath - but then I had beans on toast for lunch.

Having said this, this morning I traveled from Coryton into Cardiff at 08.30 this morning, using the bus and the journey was less than 20 mins - which I reckon is pretty good for this time of the day. It's pretty obvious that there are going to be horrendous probs unless something drastic is done - as someone said, how do you sort the traffic in Llandaff. But perhaps that's the plan - compulsory purchase of land to accommodate traffic, trams.

A few days ago, I gave some thought to how I would deal with the traffic going north on the A470 at peak times. The obvious answer is to cut out the traffic lights by sealing North Road off from surrounding streets and putting in pedestrian bridges. But there are always going to be bottle-necks - the junction with Colum Road (seal that off as well?) and all the east-west roads at Birchgrove, Maes-y-Coed and Pantmawr. Could these be bridged? Just whistling in the dark here......and even if there was a good traffic flow so far, you're always just moving the bottle necks up the road as cars queue to get off.

I suppose we just have to accept that getting around our city in future is going to be like getting around in the South-East of England where I would really hate to live now.

[blue matt]

surely the traffic issue is not just a cardiff one

I wouldnt even attempt to get into Bristol or swindon

oldest daughter had a county netball game in Bristol last weekend, a normal 1 hour trip, took us just under 2 hours and that wasnt even into the center it was just through brislington on a saturday morning

[TH63]

surely the traffic issue is not just a cardiff one

I wouldnt even attempt to get into Bristol or swindon

oldest daughter had a county netball game in Bristol last weekend, a normal 1 hour trip, took us just under 2 hours and that wasnt even into the center it was just through brislington on a saturday morning

Neither would I.

Mainly because they're both shitholes tbf though.

[Pedro de la Rosa]

Neither would I.

Mainly because they're both shitholes tbf though.

Bristol's traffic is something else. That needs to be the warning for Cardiff.

[MacAdder]

Bristol's traffic is something else. That needs to be the warning for Cardiff.

Concur. Take a wrong turning in Bristol and you're screwed.
Swindon similar except loads more roundabouts (which have roundabouts).

Warning for Swansea too in 10 to 15 years!

[Bluebirdman Of Alcathays]

Monorail! I wonder how much it would cost for a Wuppertal style suspension railway. But if the council's skint then never mind.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wupper...ension_Railway

[Heathblue]

Expensive !

All day ticket on Cardiff Bus is £3-40p

I have not taken the car to town or footie for years, I think the people who knock the Bus service, are the ones that don't use it.

I've not taken the car to town for very long time, usually the Train but on a nice day, a cycle along the taff trail, not taken the car food shopping for a few years, a walk to Lidl every Saturday morning with a few things delivered if Lidl hasn't got it.

Currently working near Waterton Bridgend, 30 mins from door to office desk leaving at 07.00, 30 mins back leaving at 17.45, my hours could be shorter but i'd rather do an extra bit of work each day than be stuck in traffic, hate driving and would take public each and every time when its convenient/available.

[Rjk]

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This is the solution.

[goats]

Bristol's traffic is something else. That needs to be the warning for Cardiff.

This is true, Bristol is very densely built up, driving from one side of the centre to the other is horrific and Cardiff is getting like this.
Also, I used to live in Radyr 25 years ago and I'd jump in my Vespa and by pass all the traffic that was backed up llantrisant rd thru llsndaff. Even then, it often came back to fairwater/dsnescourt. I dread to think what it will be like when they build all these new houses off llantrisant rd.

[goats]

This is true, Bristol is very densely built up, driving from one side of the centre to the other is horrific and Cardiff is getting like this.
Also, I used to live in Radyr 25 years ago and I'd jump in my Vespa and by pass all the traffic that was backed up llantrisant rd thru llsndaff. Even then, it often came back to fairwater/dsnescourt. I dread to think what it will be like when they build all these new houses off llantrisant rd.

Can't believe they have put such little funds into transport to ease what will be a nightmare fir many commuters. There is an old railway line that runs past Radyr toward creigiau, why don't they sort it?? A line out that way would sort a few issues

[Tandy]

There is only a problem twice a day 7am - 9am and 4pm - 6pm the rest of the time our roads are more than adequate.
May I suggest you have the Trusts mail redirected to Cowbridge rd sorting office which you can get to on foot. By doing that it
will be one less car on the road during rush hour.
.

[MOZZER2]

spare a thought for us poor lot in east cardiff . been mentioned a million times before we ain't got any train service out here - thank your lucky stars in the north of the city !!

we're on the mainline cardiff to newport train route too . just put a station anywhere between rumney and st mellons and would take thousands of cars off the roads at peak times . not rocket science !

[Llanedeyrnblue]

spare a thought for us poor lot in east cardiff . been mentioned a million times before we ain't got any train service out here - thank your lucky stars in the north of the city !!

we're on the mainline cardiff to newport train route too . just put a station anywhere between rumney and st mellons and would take thousands of cars off the roads at peak times . not rocket science !

Made worse by the closure of Mardy rd bridge how it's goig to take till autumn 2018 to finish it feck knows