DEAR editor,

I remain concerned about the traffic situation at the top end of Hickman Road, Penarth, as the very busy and important junction with Windsor Road approaches.

The problem as I perceive it is primarily for pedestrians attempting to criss Hickman Road in the vicinity of the funeral home.

This is not a new problem, of course, my becoming aware of it, literally, years ago, but it is probably getting worse in respect of traffic volume.

The Vale Council traffic officers measure traffic flow there in recent months at the request of Vale Councillor Peter King, whom I had earlier approached.

One morning, in 75 minutes, two-way traffic flow was 825. The evening rush hour had a comparable figure of 796. Speed can also be a factor in my opinion, average traffic speeds here being too high, especially traffic coming up Windsor Road and turning right.

Money is not apparently available to make pedestrians' lives safer and more comfortable. These include women, children, mothers with pushchairs and prams and the disabled, some in wheelchairs.

Options for improvement at the site in question will include traffic lights and/or pedestrian crossing, speed restrictions (20mph limit) and one-way traffic.

It is probable that pressure on the Vale Council by other residents could push the case for the required modification. Mr King has in my view been a councillor who has been conscientious and painstaking in correspondence with Michael Clogg, operational manager highways and engineering, on my behalf.

Cllr Gwyn Roberts (who is on Penarth Town Council and the Vale Council) also deserves praise for his discussing the matter with me at West House for a good half hour on one occasion, and coming up with the idea of a pedestrian-refuge in the middle of Hickman Road at that site, a possibly cheaper option than traffic lights or pedestrian crossing.

I do not see this as party political however, and I wonder what views, if any, local Conservative councillors have on the topic.

Michael O'Neill

Railway Terrace

Penarth