Cars and lorries using Wem town centre will not be able to travel any faster than 20mph from 2009 – with talks set to get underway this week.
At a meeting in the town on Tuesday night residents heard Shropshire County Council’s Bob Ellis outline plans to introduce the 20mph speed restriction zone, which would be enforced along High Street, up to the junction with Noble Street, and along the whole of Aston Street.
Around £5,000 has been allocated for the project with more funding to come next year. The final cost is not yet known.
Mr Ellis also announced plans to resurface a number of roads around the town.
He said: “Speeding is a fairly emotive issue, 20mph is not easy to set up and it is difficult to enforce. When you put them in you have to go in with the necessary engineering.
“The policy is to only set them up in town centres where it’s worth the investment, outside schools or in exceptional circumstances. But we have a sum of money set aside to look at 20mph zones soon in Wem town centre.”
Mr Ellis said the plans followed a study last year which looked at the feasibility and which included consultation with the town council.
He added that the county council was hoping to have funding in place to resurface Noble Street this month or next, New Street in the spring and the B4576 later next year.
At the meeting town resident Paul Rowlinson said: “Wem gets kicked into the bushes, we’ve requested it for years. When someone gets killed maybe you’ll move but not before. Will you wait until children get ploughed down by speeding motorists?”
After the meeting Nancy Wilson, Wem town councillor, said: “It’s wonderful news. We get heavy traffic through the town although it’s not built for it. I live in a 20mph zone but it’s not always kept to.”
Hugh Dennis, from the economy and environment department at Shirehall, said: “This week designers and engineers will meet to start agreeing on designs so work can begin next financial year. Legal and public consultation will take place next.”
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