Dryden Road was temporarily closed today [Friday 1 October] as part of a trial aimed at addressing congestion and poor air quality outside Fairfield Primary School.

Between 2.30pm and 4.30pm, a temporary road access restriction was introduced to limit non-essential traffic from entering Dryden Road.

The School Street Trial is part of the Fairfield Primary Community Street Design Project, aiming to combat congestion, parking and poor air quality issues on Dryden Road around school pick-up and drop-off times.

The closure was managed using barriers on the road and trained stewards in high-visibility vests.

National Programme Manager Patrick Williams said the closure is set to become a regular event

"We welcome people's feedback about the closure, and how we can make it most effective," said Patrick.

"We've been working with the school, looking at how we could make the road safer.

"At drop-off and pick-up, there could be 100 cars typically along the road. But we looked at postcode data; something like almost 80% of students live within a mile of the school.

"Although it's a fairly quiet area, it's not the most suitable for walking to school: the pavements are a bit narrow, there aren't good crossings or many drop kerbs if you're pushing a pushchair," he said.

Plans to improve the road layout are in place, and funding is available, said Patrick. The changes could be underway next year.

"The road closure is not meant to be discriminating. If someone needs to drive, they need to drive. We're just looking at ways to reduce the number of drivers," he continued.

"It's also worth thinking about the way our working patterns have changed with the pandemic. Not everyone is in a rush to get to the office after school drop-off now, if they're working from home.

"We've been in contact with all the residents here, and the large majority are absolutely in favour of this.

"They don't like having cars along here at peak times, blocking driveways."

The monthly closures will also give Sustrans the chance to monitor and compare the air quality outside the school.

This event today was supported by the Vale of Glamorgan Play Team, Play Wales, Vale of Glamorgan Council and Sustrans Cymru.

There was a range of informal street play activities, event stands and a free Dr Bike service for everyone who want their bike to get checked for free.