Gobowen residents prepared to pay for £20,000 speed camera to stop traffic problems
Frustrated residents near Oswestry have offered to meet the cost of a £20,000 speed camera themselves because they are so fed up with motorists racing through their village.
The problem of speeding in Gobowen has reached new heights in recent months because of work on the A5/A483 at the Gledrid roundabout.
The work has seen the road closed overnight for six months with hundreds of vehicles diverted through Gobowen on a nightly basis.
The roadworks are due to finish this week but road safety campaigner Dot Basham said the problems caused by the heavy traffic flow through Gobowen, especially on St Martins Road in the village, proves more needs to be done.
The Gobowen grandmother has led a community campaign which has already brought a pedestrian crossing and vehicle activated speed signs to the village.
But she says the only long term answer to slow motorists down is a fixed speed camera on St Martins Road.
She said: “For six months we have had all this extra traffic coming through the village and the speed some are going is ridiculous. It is not just the recent roadworks. Every time there is a crash on the bypass the road is closed and the traffic is diverted through Gobowen and the speeding is terrible. The only answer is a fixed speed camera.
“If it is money that is the problem, there are people in the village willing to contribute to the cost. I gather the cost would be about £20,000 for a camera. There are villagers who have told me they would contribute while one resident said he would pay for it himself.”
Mrs Basham last week wrote to North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson calling for him to put pressure on roads bosses for improvements.
She said: “Mr Paterson sent me a reply and said he had passed my letter on to Shropshire Council’s leader for consideration.”
“I’ve been campaigning for this camera for two years and we really do need one.
