A COUNTY and town councillor has called for greater measures to prevent people from speeding by a mini roundabout in Kinmel Bay where she was involved in a crash this morning (October 6).

Cllr Kay Redhead, of Conwy County Borough Council (Kinmel Bay ward) and Towyn and Kinmel Bay Town Council, was unhurt by the incident, which took place at roughly 9.30am at the mini roundabout connecting St Asaph Avenue and Chester Avenue.

A police presence was not required following the two-vehicle crash, due to the road not being blocked, but Cllr Redhead said such incidents at mini roundabouts on St Asaph Avenue are becoming too frequent.

Despite traffic calming measures and illuminated speed signs being put in place, she feels either more needs to be done to prevent speeding, or the mini roundabouts need to be removed.

Cllr Redhead said: “I’ve just got a bit of a whiplash, and am a bit shocked. It was the first accident I’ve ever had, so it just knocks you a bit.

“It was a relatively minor accident in comparison to some and I’m OK, although I think my car is a write-off.

“The issue is with the mini roundabouts on St Asaph Avenue and cars speeding and not giving way at them, as this is what happened this morning.

“I was just going out of Chester Avenue at the mini roundabout, stopped, checked right, indicated, and headed out. I then slammed on my brakes and went into the side of the other car.

“They were OK; the same as me, really, just a little shaken. The speed people go up St Asaph Avenue… they just fly over those mini roundabouts.

“People tend to use them as T-junctions rather than roundabouts. I’d say they’re in excess of the 30mph speed limit a lot of the time, so for me, the mini roundabouts don’t serve a purpose.”

By September 2023, Welsh Government intend to have implemented blanket 20mph speed limits on residential roads in the country.

The only exception in Wales is Monmouthshire, whose council scrapped them after backlash from the community following a trial in the area.

Cllr Redhead added that she supports the idea in principle, though not to the extent that the Welsh Government is proposing.

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But she believes it would benefit certain areas, including where she was involved in the crash, for instance.

Not least, she added, because of the number of residents in the area who have contacted her regarding the frequency of such accidents.

She said: “In built-up residential areas such as this, I think 20mph limits are a good idea. On a road like that, it would help.

“But I don’t think we need it in quite as many places as the Welsh Government are proposing. I support it in principle, but I think it needs a little reviewing.

“There are residents who live on the corners of those mini roundabouts who, I think, on a monthly basis, have their walls or fences knocked down by cars going into them from accidents.

“One is absolutely sick of replacing his fence. The people who live on the corners of those mini roundabouts are at their wit’s end with it.

“It’s a catch-22, because the roundabouts are by big housing estates, so those people have to get onto the road safely.

“But obviously, with the speed of some of the road users and people not respecting the Highway Code, there are accidents, and lots of near misses, as well.

“We’ve already introduced speed cameras which light up if you’re going too fast, because the feedback we have from residents is there are a lot of accidents, or accidents waiting to happen, on those roundabouts.”

Removal of these mini roundabouts is on Conwy County Borough Council’s forward work plan, Cllr Redhead added.

This would be a move she said she would advocate.

She said: “It’s on the forward work plan with the council that removing the roundabouts is going to be discussed and looked into, and I do support that.

“Obviously, we’d need to consult residents and various agencies over that, because it will affect residents coming out of those estates, so we’ve got a lot to weigh up with it.

“But it is something that’s going to be looked at. The road is due for resurfacing within the next year or two, so if it is going to happen, that would most likely be the time.”

Cllr Nigel Smith, also of Conwy County Borough Council's Kinmel Bay ward, expressed similar concerns about the mini roundabouts in this area.

Cllr Smith labelled them "dangerous", and urged their removal.

He said: "I’ve been fighting to get these dangerous roundabouts removed since 2012.

"I now have the support of all of the county councillors to get this done if funding can be found, but we need an alternative measure in place to slow the traffic.

"Last year, I instigated the installation of our first speed sensing and display sign on St Asaph Avenue down by the Tir Llwyd industrial estate.

"This has been a great success and I’m now asking the town council to fund other such signs on the avenue in readiness for the roundabouts' removal."