Accident blackspot to get 40mph limit

The new 40mph restriction will come into force on Friday at the A483 Llynclys crossroads, near Oswestry, which has been described as "horrendous" by campaigners.

Currently the road has a 60mph limit, but residents have been calling for traffic calming measures at the spot for many years.

Councillor Dilys Gaskill, Llanymynech and Pant parish council chairman, said: "I'm delighted. We welcome anything that will improve that junction. It's horrendous. Thomas Telford built these roads for horse and cart and we haven't had much improvement since."

But Ben Jones, 30, owner of the White Lion pub, which is on the junction, said he believed speed cameras would be necessary. He said: "A 40mph limit might help slightly. What we need is a speed camera. I don't always agree with speed cameras but here it would be ideal."

Three accidents have been reported on the road since August and five in the past 18 months. In the most recent, a woman in her 80s had to be airlifted to hospital.

Councillor Gaskill said: "If you put a speed limit in it will slow traffic down, but it suggests there's a problem and it should be addressed with more than a speed limit. The only thing that will solve it is a roundabout leading to a bypass.

"Why don't they just bite the bullet and give us a roundabout? At the moment it is a really scary junction."

Councillor Gaskill has campaigned for a roundabout and bypass for Llynclys for almost 15 years and, in July, managed to get a pledge from the Highways Agency to bring in a speed limit by January 2014.

Since Shropshire councillors unanimously agreed to the changes in December 2011, campaigners have been pushing for a limit as soon as possible. Fellow road safety campaigner and Shropshire County Councillor Arthur Walpole said: "It is real progress to get 40mph there."