Council delivers roads and transport improvements

Press release - 20 July 2007

Shropshire County Council spent over £25million improving Shropshire roads and footpaths, encouraging greater use of public transport, and improving road safety in the past 12 months, a report being presented to the council’s Cabinet next week (Wednesday 25 July) shows.

The report provides an overview of work carried out in the first year of the council’s second Local Transport Plan, which sets out the council’s integrated transport policies and objectives for the next five years, and the cost of delivering them.

It shows that in the year 2006/2007 more than £20m was spent on highways maintenance, which included repairing and improving 60km of roads and 57km of footpaths, and maintaining a number of bridges.

In addition, £5m was spent on transport improvement schemes that have helped to improve road safety, and successfully encouraged people to cycle, walk and use public transport more.

And schemes to improve safety on the county’s roads (see note 1) have helped reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on Shropshire’s roads from 228 in 2005 to 162 in 2006 – a reduction of 29 per cent.

Spending on cycle schemes in 2006/2007 included the completion of the National Cycle Network Route 45 in the Severn Valley; a major new cycle scheme on Shelton Road in Shrewsbury, and a new cycle track linking Oswestry and Whittington. And new walking schemes included a new footpath along the A51 linking Woore and Pipegate.

In the same period Safer Routes to School schemes (see note 2) were completed for schools in Shawbury and Worthen, Much Wenlock and Shifnal, and local safety schemes were completed in Atcham and Westbury.

And across the county, funds were invested in a number of schemes that addressed safety and speed management, parking and congestion, village speed limits and economic regeneration. (see note 3).

In the same period, the number of journeys made by bus in Shropshire rose by 3.5 per cent compared to 2005/06, and 1.29 million journeys were made on Shrewsbury’s Park & Ride buses – an increase of nine per cent.

Phil Crossland, Assistant Director – Transport and highways with Shropshire County Council, said: “In the past 12 months we have invested a great deal of time and money in maintaining and improving Shropshire’s highways and in transport improvement schemes, and we have met and exceeded most of the targets identified in the transport plan. We will work hard to ensure we continue to meet these targets, and address areas where improvements are still required, including increasing the number of cycle trips made, improving bus reliability and reducing the number of road accidents involving young drivers.”

John Everall, Shropshire County Council’s Cabinet member for environment and sustainability, said: “Maintaining the condition and improving the safety of Shropshire’s roads, and developing sustainable rural transport solutions, are two of the council’s key priorities, and the Local Transport Plan is a key tool in delivering these. It is pleasing therefore to see the success of the work carried out in the past 12 months, though it is clear that we must continue to work hard to achieve and surpass our targets - and must strive to achieve the targets that have not yet been met.”

ENDS

Notes

(1) This included schemes which have improved the safety of road infrastructure, better enforcement and increased awareness of speeding through the work of the Safety Roads Partnership, and successful driver education training and publicity.

(2) Safer Routes to School promotes safer, more environmentally sustainable and healthier ways of travelling to and from school. The scheme in Much Wenlock included resurfacing a footpath link to the school and the scheme in Shawbury included the provision of a new toucan crossing.

(3) Parking, congestion and economic regeneration schemes included the new controlled parking zone in Ludlow and improvements to Bailey Head in Oswestry town centre. Speed management schemes were completed at Cross Road in Albrighton and at the Gaskell Arms junction on the A458 in Much Wenlock. An example of a traffic calming scheme was the scheme implemented in Sutton Road, Shrewsbury.

(4) On 17 July Shropshire County Council was named runner-up in the national Transport Authority of the Year award.

For further information, call Phil Crossland, Assistant Director – Transport and highways. Tel (01743) 252559
Councillor John Everall, Cabinet member for environment and sustainability. Tel (01743) 709250
For media contact, call Gareth Proffitt, Communications Officer. Tel (01743) 252828