Urgent action needed on county roads

The A529 between Market Drayton and Audlem is amongst the top 50 in the country for motoring deaths and serious injuries.

Last September Shropshire Council submitted a bid for £3.8 million to the Department of Transport to make the road safer.

Now the local councillor for Cheswardine is calling for immediate action before more people are killed or injured.

Councillor Rob Gittins said: “It is time to act now. The road has been identified as one of the most dangerous in the country. Road safety is something in which Shropshire Council takes very seriously as it’s very important we try our best to reduce KSI (Kill or Serious Injury) on our roads.

“The A529 has been highlighted by the government as one of the most dangerous roads in the country. Over Christmas there were two further serious accidents on the road. There are a number of factors which contribute to the accidents. These include s bends and dangerous junctions. The A41, Tern Hill also has speeding and potential safety issues with local residents starting a petition to reduce the speed limit from a 40mph to a 30mph and widening the footpaths.

“I have also been in contact with Chris Grayling, the Secretary of State for Highways & Transport via our MP Owen Paterson to see if anything can be done. We should hear in the next couple of months if we have been successful in securing the funds.”

Five people have died and more than 100 were injured on the A529 in the past five years.

Data shows there were 77 reported collisions and 119 people were injured between Hinstock and Audlem.

According to the Road Safety Foundation serious and fatal crashes in Shropshire increased by nine percent between 2010-2015, meaning Shropshire ranks 63rd out of 78 counties.

Serious and fatal collisions increased with 772 serious crashes between 2010 and 2015.

The study declared that unless it improves, Shropshire will fail to meet international targets to halve road deaths in a decade.

There are a number of roads which are deemed as high-risk which include the A529, with the section between Hinstock and Market Drayton being classed as medium to high-risk.

There have been a number of fatal collisions. In 2016, a 23-year old man died when the car he was a passenger in left road and went down an embankment.

An 80-year-old woman died following a two-vehicle crash at the Sweet Appletree crossroads near Hinstock in 2015.

In December 2017, a man in his 60s suffered a head injury after his car collided with a wall on the A529 near Woodseaves.

The A539 between Wrexham and Whitchurch and the A5104 were also deemed high-risk roads.