“It’s frustrating but there is not much we can do about it.” That’s the message from Tracey Huffer, Shropshire Councillor for Ludlow East after an essential road safety scheme outside Ludlow Primary School on Sandpits Road was been delayed by several months. The delay is likely to last several months but there is some good news.
Shropshire Council intends to carry out fifteen road safety schemes around the county this year. The list includes long needed traffic calming outside Ludlow Infant and Nursery School in Sandpits Road. The decision follows site meetings where parents, governors and councillors have pressed the case for action to reduce the risk of accidents on this busy road. It is hoped that the work will take place in the autumn. Another scheme to provide a crossing on Old Street for children and parents at St Laurence’s School is not yet scheduled and is likely to be some way off.
More people will trip on Ludlow’s pavements and end up in hospital. More cyclists will be tipped into the carriageway. More cars will have their wheels wrecked. These are just a few of the consequences of a proposed new policy for highway repairs, which Shropshire Council slipped out for consultation without so much as a press release. I have no doubt these policies will come in. Shropshire Council is beholden to the motor car. And it has cut back the highways budget so severely that reductions in the repair schedule are inevitable.
Begin of rage. I am getting fed up with this. Can’t I take Mel the Collie for a walk early in the morning without the risk of us both being run over by barely awake motorists who rush through red lights? Six days ago, I was so angry at a van hurtling out of Ludlow towards Hereford, I raged on Facebook. That was before seven in the morning. Today, around 7.45am, a black Ka did just the same. The driver sped from Sheet Road hooking right to the A49 to Hereford. At that point, there is a lights controlled pedestrian crossing. You can’t miss it and the lights don’t change quickly. But the driver sped through three or four seconds after the green cross light was showing not noticing either of us.
This has been a long running issue. The entrance from New Road to New Street is narrow and hazardous for pedestrians. But is also a vital parking space for residents’ cars. Would double yellow lines solve the safety problem? Shropshire highways have drawn up a scheme. The map is below. We are currently conducting a limited survey of the residents most affected. The town council is being consulted. Depending on the results of that, we will decide whether to propose the scheme formally and consult more widely. Let me know your views. Many of you already have. Update 3 August This is one I got wrong. I didn’t conduct enough investigation before beginning a small consultation on yellow lines at the hospital end of New Street. I’ve had a lot of calls, a lot of letters and emails, almost none in favour. Many were hostile, some abusive. This scheme will…