Shocking images, taken by campaigners calling for better safety measures at a fatal Pembrokeshire junction, following the death of a young dad, show just how urgently improvements are needed in the area.
Ashley Rogers lost his life in a motorbike crash at the A477 Nash Fingerpost junction on Saturday, May 13.
The 29-year-old was due to be married in a fortnight and leaves behind a devastated young son fiancée, family and friends.
A fundraiser to support his young family has already raised nearly £32,000.
Since his death politicians and local residents have been calling for improved safety measures at the junction, which has seen three fatal incidents in 12 years.
Now campaigners have shared images showing just how dangerous the junction is.
Video seen by the Western Telegraph shows vehicles pulling out of the junction, unable to enter the central waiting area and waiting across the carriageway; forcing the oncoming traffic on the 60mph road to slow down or stop.
The video also shows long queues of traffic waiting on the A4075 approach to the junction and cars ‘stacked up’ in the central waiting area.
Yvette Weblin-Grimsley is a family friend of Ashley’s. A business owner in Pembroke, she travels along the A477 twice daily and first campaigned for better safety measures years ago.
“I quickly realised how dangerous this junction was - crashed cars pulled on to the verges, smashed lights in the 'holding pen'- bent metal tubes holding the road signs up -and I told them how dangerous it was and that there would be a fatality one day,” she said.
“I actually spoke to someone in the Highway Department who told me extensive research had been carried out and this junction did not need a roundabout.
“How I wish with all my heart someone had taken me seriously all those years ago.”
After Ashley’s death, Yvette has joined a number of people calling for better safety measures at the junction and has asked that Think Bike! Signs be placed there as a temporary measure.
More recently Yvette has been back to the junction to monitor the traffic there.
She says that she witnessed three ‘near misses’ in less than 10 minutes.
“The middle section of the road acts as a sort of ‘holding pen' until the road coming from the west becomes clear of traffic,” she said.
“We witnessed vehicles stack up in there either side by side or one behind the other.”
She added that often vehicles cannot fit into the central waiting area and part of them will be left stuck out in the road, with traffic travelling from the east at 60mph having to brake quickly to avoid collision.
Ashley’s friend Elliott Morrison has started a petition to try to bring about a road change which currently has 8,642 signatures. It needs 10,000 signatures to be discussed in the Senedd.
The matter has already been in front of politicians this month but some say not enough is being done.
Another opportunity to raise the A477 Nash Fingerpost junction with the @PrifWeinidog today. 3 fatalities at this junction alone, shows that major safety improvements are required. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/cgZv1Y55d1
— Samuel Kurtz MS (@SKurtzCWSP) June 6, 2023
In a plenary session Samuel Kurtz MS asked the First Minister not to wait until the petition reached 10,000 signatures, but to commit now to undertaking the necessary safety improvements at the junction to ensure that no more fatalities occur.
“The Welsh Government has known about the safety issues on this junction for over a decade,” he said.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said that a report had already been compiled looking into fatalities and near-misses at the junction and that signage and new road markings will be the first things to be addressed.
Larger scale, longer term options will be investigated once the impact of the immediate measures is assessed.
Mr Kurtz said that the current improvements mentioned by the First Minister ‘did not go far enough to address the serious risks presented by the current junction layout’.
You can donate to the GoFundMe fundraiser for Asley’s family HERE.
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