IT IS “a matter of time before a child is hurt or killed by a car” near two primary schools in Pengam, a concerned resident has warned.
Last week, a vehicle driven along Commercial Street allegedly hit a child car seat a pedestrian was carrying.
Drivers of some vehicles are alleged to “routinely” park on the road’s zig-zag lines, outside Pengam Primary School and Ysgol Gymraeg Trelyn, at the start and end of the school day.
“Cars park illegally every day, and will mount the pavements surrounding the schools,” said the resident, who asked not to be named.
“It is common for parents to drive their entire car onto the pavement where children are walking,” they added.
The resident claimed efforts to “deter” bad driver habits “have been limited entirely to messages to parents, which are simply ignored”, and also said a school crossing patrol position “remains unfilled”.
Caerphilly County Borough Council said it “prioritises road safety outside schools” and has “upgraded” that section of Commercial Street with “enhanced” warning signs and road markings “to improve driver awareness and reduce obstructive parking”.
The speed limit there was cut to 20mph in line with national policy changes, the council said, adding: “Pengam Primary was offered green cones to deter illegal parking, but the school currently lacks resources to use them.”
A council spokesperson also confirmed a school crossing guard vacancy has only been appointed for one day since March 2022, and the post has gained little interest from prospective employees.
The resident also claimed the council “isn’t willing to put any other risk mitigations – such as a permanent pedestrian crossing – in place because there ‘haven’t been enough collisions at the school”.
This equates to the local authority “literally waiting for children to be hit by cars before they will provide a method of safe crossing for them”, they alleged.
In response, the council spokesperson said: “A pedestrian crossing was considered but did not meet council criteria, based on a March 2024 assessment.
“Parking enforcement is frequently requested, and civil enforcement officers patrol as often as possible across all 84 school sites.
“The council regularly reviews collision data. No personal injury collisions have been recorded near the schools in the past ten years.”
Gwent Police confirmed it received a call at 9.15am on Tuesday June 10, reporting a car driven along Commercial Street had “hit the child car seat the pedestrian was carrying”.
The force said nobody was injured, and while “various lines of enquiry were followed up” at the time, there are “no further enquiries ongoing at the moment”.
But in light of that reported incident, the resident said “it is simply a matter of time before a child is hurt or killed by a car in this area”.
“The council and schools have a duty of care to the [roughly] 400 children who attend the schools and must prioritise their safety,” they added.
