Tag: Transport

Massively reduced bus service in Ludlow from today is necessary but must be temporary #coronavirus

Massively reduced bus service in Ludlow from today is necessary but must be temporary #coronavirus

On Monday, we had two buses serving Ludlow making around 30 trips a day. But the world we live has been changing by the hour. Yesterday, we had just eight bus trips. From today, there will be just six bus trips a day. Most shops in Ludlow are closed. Supermarkets, convenience stores, pharmacies and health food stores are open. The new Ludlow timetable is very limited and will be reviewed before the end of April. The 435 Ludlow Shrewsbury service – via Craven Arms, Wistanstow, Dorrington and Condover – has been suspended. The 552/553 service Bishop’s Castle Shrewsbury service has also been halted for the duration. The 292 Ludlow Kidderminster service via Clee and Cleobury Mortimer was running yesterday, as was the 740 Ludlow Knighton service.

Ludlow Market cancelled and buses to run on an emergency timetable from tomorrow #coronavirus

Ludlow Market cancelled and buses to run on an emergency timetable from tomorrow #coronavirus

Ludlow Town Council today reversed its decision to hold an open air market even though this is permitted under government regulations. The socially distanced market was a good reaction to the growing crisis. It gives an alternative to supermarket aisles where social distancing isn’t possible. As the crisis grows, our town bus services are being cut back by around 90% tomorrow and some communities will no longer be served. We could have put in place a better service if Shropshire Council had not dithered about emergency subsidies to bus companies. The 435 service between Ludlow and Shrewsbury, travelling through Craven Arms, Wistanstow, Dorrington and Condover is still running on a Saturday timetable but that will be reviewed daily. Stay indoors is the rule. But we are not in total lockdown and many people still need to get out to shop and go to the GP and pharmacy within the permitted…

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Ministers plan to consult on a pavement parking ban for England – that’s good news

Ministers plan to consult on a pavement parking ban for England – that’s good news

Transport minister Grant Shapps has announced that he will consult on a pavement parking ban in the summer. That’s good news and it’s long overdue. Parking on pavements is mostly unnecessary. It happens because people who rarely walk on pavements, use disability scooters or have children in buggies prioritise smooth flow of traffic over the safety of pavement users. This selfish behaviour cannot continue. The government has stalled on this since 2015, when a Private Member’s Bill was withdrawn on the promise of action by the government. Nothing happened. On Thursday, Grant Shapps promised a consultation on banning parking on most pavements. That’s good news.

If Shropshire Council is top rated for its highway work “then I’m a banana”

Shropshire Council made national headlines with its decision to pay a highway consultant £1,000 a day to fix its highways management and resolve the plague of potholes. Lib Dem councillors on the council have called for Steve Davenport, the cabinet member for highways, to resign. He says he will not resign and the consultancy money will come from his underspent staff budget. Want he hasn’t explained is why the council has assessed itself as a top performer on highways allowing it to draw down Whitehall funding, even though it has been underspending. If Shropshire Council is a top performer on highways “then I’m a banana”, as Ian Hislop once infamously said.

Shropshire Council’s highways leadership wrecked by potholes amid resignation call

Shropshire Council’s highways leadership wrecked by potholes amid resignation call

The rain is dancng on the roads and pavements and tap dancing on my windows as Storm Ciara hits with full force. If Shropshire Council is to be believed, potholes will be popping up on roads across the county like zits on a teenager’s face. Too much rain is the latest excuse by the council for the pothole menace invading the county. Even Tory councillors are complaining. It has not been a good week for the Shropshire Council cabinet member for highways and transport, Steve Davenport who is having a bumpy ride. Public outrage over the menace of potholes has bounced to a new bumpy height. Shropshire Council is now to pay a consultant £1,000 a day to solve problems that are of its own making. The management of the highways contract has been a mess for years. Now Shropshire Council Lib Dems are calling for Councillor Davenport to resign.

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