Party to test street redesign

A STREET which is unsafe for children to play on due to traffic problems is being redesigned by residents.

They have been working alongside walking and cycling charity Sustrans and Valleys to Coast housing association to bring their ideas for improvements to life.

And now Sustrans plans to test the new design for Parc-y-Rhos in Pencoed at a street party.

A different road layout will be demonstrated using Sustrans’ street kit – versatile, human-sized building blocks that will offer the opportunity for residents to experience how a different street layout could work and feel.

The new, temporary layout which will be featured at the event will help determine the best way to address issues that have been raised throughout the process. These include vehicles using the street to do U-turns, speeding traffic and a lack of space for children to play and families to enjoy.

There will also be activities to entertain residents and their children.

Lindsey Brown from Sustrans said: “There’s a significant amount of redundant space that has attracted vehicles to use the street as a place to do a quick U-turn, making it unsafe for children to play and undesirable for residents who live here. We’re looking to make the street functional and attractive.

“Since August 2016 we have been regularly meeting with the residents to talk about what issues the street has, what they need, what they would like to see changed. The residents have essentially designed the street, we’ve put their ideas into pictures and concepts that might work and we’re now at the point of testing this with residents, which is really exciting.”

Rachel Morton from Valleys to Coast said: “We’ve had lots of great ideas from the residents, through their discussions with Sustrans and Wild Spirit on how the street can improve for the people who live there.

“We look forward to seeing how they work on the ground, and how we can try and make some of it a reality.”