Women suffers 'significant facial injuries' after tripping over bollards on Cardiff's Wellfield Road

Wellfield road.
The new cycle lane was introduced during the pandemic, but has led to a number of reports of people injuring themselves Credit: Media Wales

A woman has reportedly suffered "significant facial injuries" after tripping over controversial bollards on Wellfield Road in Cardiff.

The woman was crossing the road when she tripped over a bollard that was introduced last year as part of the introduction of a two-way cycleway.

It made the road a one-way with footpaths widened and parking removed, however, there have been a number of reports of people tripping over the bollards.

Last year, Cardiff council said that they would use spray paint to increase the visibility of the bollards after receiving two reports of people tripping in August.

One business owner suggested that the kerb should be highlighted, to be more visible to elderly people.

Local resident Christian Amodeo, who runs Cardiff brand 'I loves the 'diff', tweeted on February 17: "Another day, another fall on Wellfield Rd due to bollard barrier trip hazards.

"A poor young woman received significant facial injuries just now. Awful to see."

He added: "I've seen people trip. I've seen it several times over the last couple of years since they put them in.

"People crossing the road, they're looking left, they're looking right, they're not on their phones. They're looking at hazards in the street that are coming at them and they don't look down."

Chris says he is not opposed to the cycle scheme, but rather the style of bollards and their lack of visibility.

"I just felt really sorry for this woman," he continued. "She was so shaken up, as you are when you go down and you're not expecting it."It's great to see all these cycle lanes going in, it's going to be brilliant... But I think with this it's important because there are too many people getting hurt."

A spokesperson for the council has urged the public to take care when travelling on the city’s roads and footways, especially around any temporary measures which have been installed.

A spokesperson said: “These wands have been used extensively on all pop-up cycleways across the city and while we have no reports of any issues with them elsewhere, we are aware of a few occasions where people have tripped or stumbled on Wellfield Road.

"Given the concerns raised on Wellfield Road, the council is looking at options to improve the visibility of the base units on this street.

"The manufacturer of the wands has told us that it is bringing more brightly-coloured base units to the market and the council will be looking at purchasing these to try to help people navigate safely.“This pop-up cycleway is part of a wider strategic route that – once fully installed - will have these wands removed."