Plans to replace Old Green Roundabout: What you have said

Over the weekend, the Argus reported that plans drawn up by Transport for Wales have been submitted to local planning bosses to determine how feasible they are.

A number of proposals to “promote active travel” and reduce congestion on South Wales’s roads have been put forward, including replacing Old Green Roundabout – one of the busiest in the city.

According to the plans, the existing roundabout could be completely removed, and instead replaced with a traffic light-controlled junction, with the roads being extended into the existing central open roundabout area.

While the A4042 - which currently runs underneath the roundabout, would be unaffected, the new road layout would alter the way that the junction works for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians alike.

Pedestrian and cycle routes would connect to existing routes at ground level, with the new parts crossing the newly-created junction.

How the junction could instead look Picture: SEWTC

As for the second element of the plans, the taxi interchange at Newport Railway Station would be modified to provide a drive-in – drive-out system for buses, and the introduction of a dedicated bus lane on Queensway.

While the plans, which are currently in their early stages, are certainly radical, it has divided opinion among Argus readers.

Below, you can check out a selection of their comments.

Readers react to Old Green Roundabout plans in Newport

The below comments were taken from the South Wales Argus Facebook page.

You can join in the conversation here.

Jacob Lee said: “All that's going to do is cause more congestion. The traffic flow is fine compared to having traffic lights installed.”

Marshall Goddard said: “What about repairing the pot holes around Newport first, that would save us drivers a lot of money on repairs.”

Jay Williams said: “I’ve never known any accidents happen here nor have I ever seen any major traffic build up. How about spending the money on sorting out all the potholes.”

Charlotte Harvey-Gibb said: “Having lived and driven around in Bristol for nearly 20 years, I don't feel "unsafe" on any road in Newport. And TBH, and only in my opinion, Newport doesn't really have "traffic" (having lived in the land of the traffic jam).”

Gareth Prosser said: “From a pedestrian point of view it will be a huge improvement. The roundabout is miserable, cutting off the castle from the town. Time for it to go.”

Debbie Morris said: “Nothing wrong with that roundabout, go to the magic roundabout in Swindon, now that is a puzzle.”

Rebecca Louise Lawrence said: “I use this roundabout about 4x a day and I hate it. No one indicates everyone uses the wrong lane and the amount of people I’ve seen go through red lights is ridiculous. I’ve had to swerve out of the way multiple times because people cut across after going into the wrong lane. Good riddance. I hate it!”

Matthew Bartlett said: “The Old Green roundabout is absolutely fine. Traffic flows well. Perhaps the money would be better spent on the Coldra roundabout instead; the roundabout where drivers think it’s OK to move from the left lane to the right lane as they go around, and also ignore the traffic lights.”

Ryan West said: “The roundabout flows fine. Of all the places to spend the money on Newport. As a result of the Welsh government not doing anything about the tunnels. We have loads of pinch points across the city that need urgent attention. SDR over at Spytty, Malpas road out of Newport. Any road north out of the city. Cardiff Road, Maesglas to name a few. More houses built and nothing done about the roads. Please don’t give me environmental impact. In the next fifteen years most cars will be electric and they will need roads. I cannot get public transport to work but my commute gets longer every day.”

Danny Morris said: “It would mean pedestrians could cross it without risking being mugged in the subway.”