Over £3m of taxpayer money has been spent by the Welsh Government installing speed cameras on five stretches of major Welsh roads.
A written question from the Welsh Conservatives has shown £3.34m was spent on installing speed cameras on the M4 in Newport and Port Talbot as well the A470 in Pontypridd, A483 in Wrexham, and A494 in Deeside.
Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Transport Minister Natasha Asghar MS said, “It drives me mad to see millions of taxpayer pounds frittered away on unnecessary speed cameras that is yet to demonstrate proof that they have lowered emissions or congestion.
“Besides, on these roads – especially the M4 near Newport – you’d be lucky to reach 50mph at some points as Labour fails to do anything to prevent congestion at the Brynglas Tunnels. So when the roads are quieter, it is infuriating to keep to 50mph on a motorway or dual carriageway.
“Maybe instead of slowing Wales down like it is with default 20mph speed limits and the roadbuilding ban, maybe Labour should grip the wheel and get Wales moving again with a pro-growth, pro-business, pro-worker programme that works for drivers.”
It was recently revealed that the speed cameras on the M4 were only turned on in November 2022 despite being installed over a year beforehand. The cameras in Newport have been active but not issuing fines while IT issues were resolved.
