Fresh traffic safety call after third smash at Wem salon

It comes after a motorbike caused damage to a shop in the town last week after being involved in a crash with a car.

Now Rachel Hargreaves, the owner of the salon, No.49 in Wem High Street, wants to see more traffic lights or bollards introduced in the town after seeing her shop damaged for a third time by vehicles.

She said: "The time before it was a HGV and the other time it was a tractor.

"They mount the pavement and then catch my shop which is on the corner. They have come across the front of the door which is flush on the corner and have taken out wooden pillars. It is horrendous.

"Seeing the shop get hit by vehicles is frustrating and annoying.

"Vehicles mounting the pavement is also dangerous for elderly people, kids and people with prams.

"On the other side of the roads there are bollards, but we need some kind of bollards on my side. Another option is to install traffic lights."

On Thursday the motorcyclist skidded out of control as a result of the crash and into the hairdressers at about 6.40pm.

He suffered leg injuries and was taken to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital for treatment.

Damage was caused to the shop door frame, flooring, table, counter and products.

The bike came to a stop just two feet from a client and Rachel.

In an email to Shropshire Council, Susan Griffiths, of the Cleaner Safer Roads in Wem group, said: "I have spoken to Rachel Hargreaves who is understandably distressed by the incident, the fact that she and a client could have been injured, the damage once again to her shop, and dealing with the police and ambulance services, plus the impact on her business if clients do not feel safe in her salon have had a severe impact on her.

"As you are all aware I have repeatedly informed you that traffic regularly rises on the kerb outside this shop making it a very unsafe corner for pedestrians.

"The occurrences are so regular that the pavement has been damaged."

Last year an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) traffic survey was carried out in response to problems with speeding traffic and HGVs using the town centre’s narrow roads and causing damage to buildings and walls.

It was conducted in response to concerns from local residents about the presence of large vehicles in Wem town centre, particularly in Mill Street and High Street.

But the results revealed there are relatively low numbers of lorries in relation to overall traffic flow through the town.

Shropshire Council is now considering a list of solutions to ease problems.