Bridgend County Borough Council has confirmed that Bridgend town centre’s Traffic Order remains in place, and that no changes have been made to it since the pandemic lockdown.
The clarification follows recent queries about why drivers have been unable to take vehicles into the town centre between 10am and 6pm.
Under the terms of the Traffic Order, which has been in place since the town centre was pedestrianised, vehicular access for purposes such as deliveries and loading is only possible before 10am and after 6pm.
Between those times, the town centre is a pedestrian precinct, and it is an offence for non-exempt vehicles to enter it in the interests of public safety.
To support disabled drivers, a number of dedicated parking bays have been made available around the edges of the pedestrianised area, and the Shopmobility service is in the process of being reintroduced to help anyone who needs further assistance.
Cllr Stuart Baldwin, Cabinet Member for Communities, said: “While this is the same approach that has been adopted in numerous other areas featuring pedestrianised zones – for example, Queen Street in Cardiff – the council monitors the situation closely.
“We recently carried out widespread consultation on vehicular access and disabled parking as part of the proposals for the new town centre masterplan, and will be looking at this again in closer detail.”