Shropshire town at odds on how to tackle traffic issue

People in Wem have joined Glenn Purvis, who owns The House of Jumble and The Comic Vault with his wife Kate Diamond, in calling for action to be taken after damage was caused by a bus to their shop front.

The old-fashioned frontage at the shop on High Street, along with cast-iron brackets, were caught when a bus mounted the pavement to avoid an oncoming vehicle recently.

Mr Purvis, who said it was the second time there had been a vehicle catch the frontage, has called for the road to be widened and a bollard or a sign to be installed to warn large vehicles of the dangers when mounting the path.

Other residents have mixed views on how to solve traffic problems in the town.

Commenting on the Wem Facebook page, Mark Jones said: "Big vehicles should be stopped coming through the town totally as the corners and streets struggle with them."

Denise Morgan commented: "Maybe one or two simple signs off the main roads, asking people very kindly to use an alternative route if they are over a certain weight/length unless delivering to town centre would be a start. Nothing heavy handed, just making Wem more pedestrian friendly."

Sue Stanway said: "Some vehicles have to come to the town otherwise they can't deliver goods which means shop closures. Enough places in this town have shut, I don't want to see anymore."

Pauline Dee, Shropshire councillor for Wem, said: "The traffic in Wem has been discussed many times. It is a pity that when money was more abundant back in the 1970s that we weren't put forward for a bypass.

"As people say, the street pattern is not suitable for some of the larger HGVs that pass through the town centre but it appears that their sat-navs direct them to go through the town as a shorter journey instead of using the A-roads.

"I live in the town centre so am aware of the traffic problems and how it affects residents and those who have businesses in the High Street."

Residents in Wem have been discussing ways to solve traffic problems for a number of months.

Shropshire Council has already said it will monitor traffic flows in and around Wem before deciding on the "most appropriate intervention".