Road safety calls for Shropshire village after woman, 82, seriously hurt in crash
Fresh pleas have been made for urgent safety measures on a rural road after an 82-year-old woman was hit by a car while walking to her village shop.
The latest incident has prompted renewed calls for improvements to road safety in all villages on the B4386 – where community speed watch volunteers have been forced to stop their work after suffering abuse from motorists.
At a public meeting in October, Shropshire Council officers heard the concerns of the communities along the route, and pledged to plan a programme of signage, road markings and pavement improvements
But Councillor Heather Kidd, who represents Chirbury and Worthen, said no further progress had yet been made.
She said: "I am particularly cross because this lady was crossing the road exactly where we wanted a safe crossing point, outside the old shop where the pavement runs out.
"People have to cross the road there. If there had been a safe crossing or a warning of people stepping out into the road this may not have happened.
"This has been going on for years. All the villages along the B4386 have been really concerned about the speed of the traffic."
Councillor Kidd said the neighbouring villages of Brockton and Worthen were particular areas of concern.
"The pavements are so narrow in some places and people either have to walk from the bottom of the village to the doctors and the school, or from the top of the village down to the shop and the church," she added.
Offensive
"There is no safe way of walking.
"Schoolchildren have to cross a bridge which has no pavement. Getting something done there to slow the traffic and make it safe is a priority.
"There are lots of things we want to have done.
"The parish council is beside itself. They have asked and asked and asked for something to be done.
"They paid for a speed watch team, but the volunteers are no longer willing to do it because members of the public were so offensive to them."
Councillor Kidd said it was now too late for the parish council to budget for a contribution to any new scheme in its precept for the new financial year.
Kevin Aitken, Shropshire Council’s traffic engineering manager, said: “Shropshire Council is committed to undertaking a full review of road safety along the B4386 corridor between the A5 bypass Shrewsbury through to the Welsh border.
“This review will include assessment of priorities in all villages along this route concerning road safety, including the potential provision of any additional speed reduction , traffic-calming, junction and footway improvements.
"Particular consideration within this review will be given to addressing the safety of cyclists, pedestrian and equestrian users.
“It is hoped to commission this review early in the new financial year and should take around six months to complete.”
