‘TRAPPED’ BY NOISE AND DUST OF A48
PEOPLE LIVING IN SHADOW OF ONE OF CITY’S BUSIEST ROADS SAY NOISE AND POLLUTION HAS LEFT THEM TRAPPED INSIDE
PEOPLE living in the shadow of one of Cardiff’s busiest roads have described living with round-the-clock noise and pollution.
During a year of lockdown spent at home residents in Fairoak Court in Penylan say they’ve been unable to throw open their windows or relax on their balconies due to the constant thunder of traffic from the A48 hanging over them.
Just across the road from Roath Park, in many ways the residential culde-sac is in an idyllic spot with balconies and patios full of plants just bursting into bloom.
But with Eastern Avenue also just metres away and on the same level as some of the first- and second-floor apartments it is also difficult to get away from the constant rumble, which one resident says can measure more than 90 decibels – above the daily noise level at which UK law states ear protection must be worn while working.
Martyn Randle, 69, is one such resident at Fairoak Court. He says each morning he wakes to find a layer of dust that has come off the busy road, near Gabalfa interchange, on his car and balcony furniture.
Martyn, who works part-time at the nearby St David’s Catholic College, said: “Because we were here so much last year with the lockdown we expected the volume of traffic to decrease significantly and it didn’t. I’ve got an app on my phone and was measuring the sound and it was averaging around 81 decibels. You’d get the motorbikes come past and it went up to 91, 92 decibels. It’s very loud – it’s dangerous for your ears really.
“The problem is coming from Gabalfa way coming east between the Gabalfa and Llanedeyrn interchanges it’s quite a straight bit of road so they come down there and they really do put their foot down. They seem to be noisier than ever, the motorbikes.
“It’s quite constant all through the night so you do hear the traffic inside as well.”
On Friday Cardiff council announced new enforced speed restrictions now in place on Eastern Avenue reducing the current limit from 70 to 50mph.
Under the changes drivers travelling eastbound from Gabalfa roundabout towards Newport can increase their speed from 30mph up to 50mph until they reach the Llanedeyrn roundabout. The speed limit to the east of Llanedeyrn roundabout remains at 50mph before increasing to 70mph as you approach the A48(M) and the M4.
Meanwhile, those travelling westbound from Llanedeyrn roundabout towards Gabalfa interchange can travel at 50mph until they reach the University Hospital of Wales, where the speed limit reduces to 40mph, which remains unchanged. From Gabalfa roundabout, drivers then enter the 30mph limit until they reach Ely roundabout.
The change, Cardiff council says, is to improve road safety and air quality on one of Cardiff’s busiest roads. The new speed limits, including new signs, are live and can be legally enforced by the police – something that is welcomed by residents.
Martyn’s worries, however, lie not just with the speed of the traffic but the sheer volume of it passing his home. From his calculations one afternoon counting the eastbound traffic at around 4pm there are around 1,200 vehicles per hour travelling past his home.
He said: “It’s certainly increased traffic volume-wise, noise-wise, and pollution-wise over the last few years. “What we noticed going back a few years, when the Millennium Stadium started having so many events there, is that this is one of the key roads in now to any of the events they’ve got on in Cardiff. It’s increased the volume of traffic on there. For many years we had the football here so we would get queues and queues of cars here and the rugby internationals are the same.
“If there’s a big event on and they’re all leaving Cardiff at the same time it’s just bumper to bumper along here.
“There are a lot of residents here who have complained about it – particularly with the increase now we seem to be getting. “You can go out there [on the balcony] and sit out there but you can’t tolerate it for very long. We have two tables out there where we sit and have a drink or occasionally eat out there but you have to clean the table every time you go out there – there’s just a whole layer of level dust out there.
“If we wanted to sell the place would it be an issue? We don’t know. It’s nice inside but as soon as you open the patio doors onto the balcony you can hear the noise. It’s worse at the moment because although there’s a lot of trees along the bank there the leaves are just coming through so you can see the traffic as well as hear it.”
One resident, who did not wish to be named, added: “Give yourself half an hour [outside] and unless you’ve got earphones listening to music or something it just takes over.
“You know what you’re inhaling really – whatever comes off the road. I had Covid last May and we had a beautiful summer, lovely weather. I couldn’t sit out there because I was still having a problem breathing – it was too much to cope with.
“I had slight asthma [before Covid] but I didn’t have it before coming here and only in recent years.
“You couldn’t have your window open at night – it’s just too noisy. The whole of this place is above ground level, it’s safe – you should be able to leave your door open but you can’t.
“When you see it on the table overnight you realise what you’re inhaling. I think I’m perhaps more aware of that now that I’ve been so ill.”
In bursts of sunshine between the clouds Maire Jones, 76, is wheeling a
...you have to clean the table every time you go out there - there’s just a whole layer of level dust out there
Martyn Randle
bag of compost around to her patio. The view from her living-room is of one of the entrances to Roath Park but she is also affected by the noise coming from the A48.
Maire, who used to work in the BBC filming unit, said: “It’s a shame – it causes a lot of unnecessary stress waking up all the time. You hear all these noises – you know what the youngsters are like with their cars.
“Since I have been living here I must wake four, five times in the night. It could be the noise – I don’t know. It’s the kitchen and the bedroom mainly in the night because I suppose everything else is so quiet. It’s so convenient here but I didn’t think of the noise.
“I know one gentleman that lives on the last block [nearest the road] who came in and said it was almost silent compared to his flat – it’s so noisy.
“I think if people stick to the 50mph you’d be all right but they all race – even the lorries, you see them racing.”
According to Martyn and Maire, however, there is a possible solution to the problem.
While neighbouring Ennerdale Close has a large fence to act as a kind of sound barrier between the houses and the road there is nothing of the sort in Fairoak Court.
While a wall once partially ran between the road and the residential area Martyn says it has since fallen down and has not been repaired.
In the past residents have campaigned on the matter and say a wall, along with the new speed restrictions being enforced by the police, would make a big difference.
Mrunalini Dewan, who is keeping a watchful eye on her busy grandson in the street, said: “We did try and complain but nothing happened – whether they don’t have enough funding or have different priorities it’s hard to say. We just want some kind of wall there so we don’t get so much noise.
“It can be an issue but I think you just get used to it. Whether you get used to it or begin to accept it I’m not sure. It’s not an issue when the windows are closed.”
Hazel Windebank, 90, adds: “If I’m sat on the balcony or sometimes sat outside it’s very noisy but you do get used to it.”
As local councillor for the area Rodney Berman is well aware of the issues faced by residents in the close. He said: “It’s something residents have been raising for a number of years but I’ve been trying and hitting my head against a brick wall with Cardiff’s Labour council.
“I’ve been passing on residents’ quite reasonable concerns that something like a sound barrier is put up at the back of Fairoak Court to block out the noise of the traffic coming from Eastern Avenue so they can go out and sit on their balcony in the summer and have their window open. Unfortunately all the calls I have made have fallen on deaf ears.
“I would very much welcome the council looking at this again and thinking about the ongoing impact of the residents living in Fairoak Court. They have been campaigning for something to be done for a number of years and perhaps it can be looked at again to find a more favourable outcome.”