I’m Sue and I live at the top of Penylan Hill in Cardiff with my husband and two children. My daughter is 15 and uses a powered wheelchair. She is independent and confident and wants to be able to get to the shops on Wellfield Road and to meet her friends. The problem is that she can’t get down Penylan Hill safely - there are no pedestrian lights at the busy junction with Colchester Avenue, and no crossing of any sort over Penylan Road. I regularly see people struggling to work out when it is safe to cross. It is a very dangerous junction for children, families and people with disabilities. There is no safe route for wheelchair users down Penylan Hill.

I first wrote to Cardiff Council to ask for pedestrian lights and dropped kerbs in 2008 soon after my son was born. Eventually, in November 2011, I received a letter which stated:

“the investigation concluded that pedestrian facilities were justified at the junction and a scheme has been added for the future traffic management programme, for implementation when the necessary funding becomes available” 

I enquired again in 2013 and was told it was number 29 on the list of 144 schemes. A year later it had dropped to 59, but then went up to 19 in 2016. No news again in 2017. 

Last year we were delighted to hear that the council had secured funding, consultation was about to begin, and the work was to be progressed. Unfortunately we discovered that the scheme was in fact subject to a funding bid, which was turned down. I also learned that the cost estimate for the junction improvements was £260,000.

In 2011 this scheme will have been on the list for 10 years. How much longer do we have to wait for our children to be able to walk down Penylan Hill safely? Teenage years are vital for learning independence skills - an opportunity I fear may be thrown away. 

I’m calling on Cardiff Council to work with local residents to find a funding solution and make this junction safe for everyone. Please add your name to my petition! 

10 years is long enough to wait.