Council removes parking sign on major Cardiff roundabout

A car on Gabalfa Interchange
-Credit: (Image: WalesOnline/ Rob Browne)


Cardiff Council has removed a road sign that suggested motorists could park at restricted hours on one of the city's busiest roundabouts years after it told people to ignore it. In a report by WalesOnline in 2017 which raised that there was still a single yellow line around Gabalfa Interchange and a sign with parking restriction times, Cardiff Council said both should be ignored.

The road markings and sign would usually indicate that people can park their vehicles there at certain times of the day. At the time of the report, the council also said that double yellow lines would be installed to make it clear that parking is not permitted.

However, seven years on, the same single yellow line road markings are still in place. The road sign was also still in place up until at least Monday, September 16. A Cardiff Council spokesperson said: “The Traffic Regulation Order on Gabalfa Interchange was sealed in 2018 which prohibits parking and loading." For more Cardiff news, sign up to our newsletter here.

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"There isn’t any pedestrian access on the roundabout, so clearly parking is not appropriate. The redundant sign will be removed and apart from an emergency vehicle or a broken-down car, if anyone attempted to park in this area, they would be causing a dangerous obstruction to the through flow of traffic.

The road sign on Gabalfa Interchange
The road sign, which showed the hours parking was restricted at, has only recently been removed by the council -Credit:WalesOnline/ Rob Browne

"Obstructing a road, regardless of the road markings in place is an offence and enforced by the police." The road sign at Gabalfa Interchange stated that parking was restricted between 8am and 6.30pm from Monday to Saturday.

It also stated that loading was restricted from Monday to Friday between the hours of 7.45am and 9.15am and 4pm and 6pm. In the UK, a single yellow line indicates that a parking restriction is in force. Usually it means parking is restricted during certain hours of the day.

A single yellow line on Gabalfa Interchange
The single yellow lines are still there -Credit:WalesOnline/ Rob Browne
Cars on Gabalfa Interchange
Gabalfa Interchange is one of Cardiff's busiest junctions -Credit:WalesOnline/ Rob Browne

Gabalfa Interchange is one of Cardiff's busiest junctions. About £70,000 was spent on safety improvements there in 2013 after 48 crashes were recorded for the period between 2007 and 2012. Crash Map UK has recorded three crashes on Gabalfa Interchange between 2018 and 2019. However, there have been more recent incidents on the junction including a crash in January 2024.