£12 million Shrewsbury traffic relief scheme 'not enough'
Plans to reduce traffic in Shrewsbury town centre are overdue but may not go far enough, according to a councillor.
Earlier this month Shropshire Council lifted the lid on £12 million proposals to reduce congestion, and "give the town back to pedestrians".
The measure include changes to junctions, new cycle paths and pedestrian routes, and will be put before the public early next year.
Under the proposals roads along High Street, Shoplatch, and Bellstone, could have 12mph limits, and incorporate 'shared space' areas.
Shared space is a design measure intended to reduce the segregation between pedestrians and motorists.
Councillor Andrew Bannerman, who represents Quarry and Coton Hill, welcomed the move, saying action is vital to protect the town centre.
However, he has also warned that more drastic measures may be required to force drivers to stop travelling through the town centre.
He said: "I broadly welcome the plan, firstly because it promises a coherent change and improvement to the town and its centre.
"The second reason is because it has money behind it, particularly from the Local Enterprise Partnership, which is good news. It means we have actually got a reasonable amount of money to at last get something done.
"I also welcome the fact that Simon Jones, the council's portfolio holder for highways, has declared more than once that one of the aims is to reduce the amount of through traffic. Myself and others have been saying for many years that through traffic does no good for the town, and actually damages it."
The council plans are designed to discourage people from driving through the town centre unless necessary, but Councillor Bannerman said habits will be hard to break.
He said: "While I am not 100 per cent confident, I have this niggling fear this is not enough in order to actually get people to change their habits – you may have to be stronger.
"We have launched various ideas in the past and there have been howls of protest but there is no doubt to get real change in the town centre – for instance to make Wyle Cop the street it should be, where people can wander across to look at the wonderful architecture and shops – to get that calmed down will take a real major shift in traffic habits and I wonder if this will be enough.
"Let there be no doubt that in my mind a lot of people will have to change their driving habits because the town simply cannot take people driving through it any time they want to. The situation will only get worse because there are vast numbers of houses going up around the town."
