Potential new sites for traffic lights and crossings in Oswestry located

Members of the town council's development and planning committee have been asked to look at ways to improve safety for pedestrians in the residential areas of the town centre.

Councillors agreed urgent changes needed to be made to the area around Roft Street, where the town's central car park exits out into the residential streets.

Suggestions were put forward by Councillor John Gareth Jones for the street to be made one-way from the junction with Salop Road to the junction with Stewart Road, near the car park exit.

He said: "It's not a complicated matter. The junction of Salop Road is dangerous. I never use it as it's the most dangerous junction in Oswestry and I can't understand why people are objecting to having something there to help that.

"The last 12 months I've had residents from there complaining about it. They're really concerned about that junction."

Calls were made for a pedestrian crossing or traffic lights at the junction to make it safer for pedestrians and for traffic.

Members agrees to refer the matter to Shropshire Council's highways department as a priority and asked for a suitable location for a pedestrian crossing to be looked at.

The committee meeting also heard that complaints had been made over the safety of the crossroads of Church Street, Upper Church Street, Upper Brook Street and Lower Brook Street.

Shropshire Council engineers have visited the site to look at the traffic lights, some of which aren't visible once vehicles cross into the centre of the junction.

Councillor Jones said he was glad something was being done but couldn't understand why there was a delay.

"Shropshire Council says it's looking at costs, but what's more important - life or costs?" he said. "Funding should be allocated as a priority by Shropshire Council."

The councillors were also asked to consider the junction of Salop Road and Victoria Road, where a new Lidl supermarket has been granted planning permission.

Concerns had been raised that while the junction would be dangerous is left as it currently is, traffic lights would cause long tailbacks.

Members agreed to ask Shropshire Council to monitor the roads there and to refer the findings to the highways department so that a suitable solution could be found.