The plans to build a bypass at Llanbedr have been scrapped by the Welsh Government. The reasons for doing so are clearly set out in an excellent report by Dr Lynn Sloman, chair of the government’s Road Review Panel. Anyone interested in the wellbeing of our community will find it well worth reading:

Roads Review Panel: Llanbedr access road and bypass [HTML] | GOV.WALES

Her assessment of the political pressures which, over the last 6 years, have led to a vast amount of public money being spent on preparations for this vast scheme, extends far beyond the problem of occasional congestion in the village at the peak of the tourist season. Her grasp of local affairs is impressive.

As well as making an unequivocal case for cancelling this project, Dr Sloman identifies various relatively inexpensive ways in which traffic problems in the village could be alleviated. She also makes it clear that she thinks these should have been considered as low cost, environmentally friendly, alternatives to a massive road scheme at the planning stage.

This blog has never been against either development at the airfield or measures to improve traffic flow in the village. It is to be hoped that the local politicians, at both community council and county council levels, who have so vigorously campaigned for a bypass, will accept the Welsh Government’s decision and now devote the same energy to implementing relatively low-cost solutions to address congestion:

• Proper walkways for greater pedestrian convenience and safety
• Adequate off-street parking for both visitors and residents
• A footbridge over the river, like the one at Tal-y-bont, so that the full width of the bridge can be used by vehicles, which would greatly improve traffic flow
• Improved public transport along the coast and connecting to Shell Island

It is up to all of us to hold decision makers to account over this.

 

Edited 05/11/2021: bullet point added.