Leaders accused of 'abuse of power' in Shrewsbury town centre traffic row
Shropshire Council leaders have been accused of "abuse of power" over bringing in new traffic laws to pedestrianise Shrewsbury High Street.
The temporary measure, which was introduced by the local authority for Covid social distancing, was extended for a further four weeks after "Freedom Day" was delayed, with calls growing to make it a permanent measure during the brighter months as visitors have been enjoying cafe culture.
But the changes mean more traffic is heading through Town Walls, and residents say it is harmful and dangerous for people living there and pedestrians, as well as concerns over pollution and noise.
More than two thirds of Shropshire Star readers backed pedestrianising High Street and Shoplatch in a recent poll, but several town centre residents have written to object to the proposal.
Stuart Suffield, chairman of the Shrewsbury Town Centre Residents Association, said: "There are so many problems with Town Walls having to deal with that much traffic. It's narrow and dangerous for pedestrians. There's supposed to be a weight restriction on the road of 7.5 tonnes. Most buses are 11 tonnes.
"There are serious concerns over the stability of Town Walls. If they were to collapse, it would be a job that would blow the council's budget out of the water. It would be like trying to replace an alpine road.
"I think the feeling here is that people are not best pleased about the prospect of traffic coming through at this rate permanently."
Town Walls resident Bryan Payling wrote to several civic leaders and said: "Do you really consider that it is appropriate to divert traffic from commercial areas onto residential streets where the many elderly residents are unable to escape the consequential pollution?
"Are you content to accept responsibility for increasing the vulnerability of so many children to pollution and physical hazard? Are you aware of the obstruction caused to the passage of emergency services vehicles when through traffic is restricted to a single narrow lane?
"Why have you chosen to exacerbated the damage to historical structures on the Town Walls route which heavy traffic has caused?"
He added: "Why does the experimental traffic regulation order not include any meaningful proposals to reduce traffic passing through the area within the river loop?
"The recent dialogue between a variety of stakeholders and council representatives envisaged a constructive way forward, including the creation of a Low Traffic Zone. It appears that you and the council are either unaware of those discussions or have chosen to ignore them, with a view to exploiting and abusing the powers conferred during the Covid pandemic to turn a temporary and unarguably harmful expedient into a permanent arrangement."
