Shropshire Star

Church Stretton and Craven Arms calling for A49 speed cuts

The speed of traffic going into Church Stretton and Craven Arms along the A49  is an accident waiting to happen, councillors have said.

Published

They said cars were going through red lights and narrowly missing hitting each other at the entrances to the towns.

Tony Willetts, chairman of Craven Arms Town Council, said: "Traffic tends to fly in there by the turning for Long Lane industrial estate. You hit that 30mph sign with no warning whatsoever.

"There haven't been any serious accidents there yet, but I think it's waiting to happen. There have been some bumps and a lot of near-misses.

"You'd have thought a bit of pro-active action would be called for before we start stacking up statistics, or the cost won't be counted in pounds, shillings and pence, but in casualties in the A&E."

He said the Highways Agency was considering a 40mph stretch up the road by The Grove, and the council would be urging them to extend that to the 30mph entrance to the town itself.

David Evans, Shropshire Councillor for Craven Arms and Church Stretton, said the problem was pressing because of planned changes to the level crossing on Long Lane in 2015, expected to cause a back-up onto the A49.

"You get lorries waiting to turn off there, and only recently somebody ran into back of someone," he said. "If the level crossing goes automated, it'll only get worse."

Councillor Lee Chapman said progress was being made on "exactly the same issue" in Church Stretton, as he had met with Highways Agency representatives on Friday. "Coming from the south you get a 40mph zone first, but from the north you go straight into 30mph, and you're on the lights within 100 yards," he said.

"There have been incidents of people going straight through, and police have been doing enforcement there. It is an accident waiting to happen."

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.