Residents in the Porthill and Copthorne areas of Shrewsbury are being asked whether Shropshire Council should implement plans for liveable neighbourhoods in the two areas, for a trial period of up to 18-months.
A liveable neighbourhood is designed to make residential streets safer and more appealing for cyclists and pedestrians by removing rat-running traffic.
Dean Carroll, Shropshire council’s cabinet member with responsibility for highways, said: “A liveable neighbourhood for these areas will not only reduce the impact of noise and air pollution caused by vehicles using these roads as rat-runs. It will also make the streets safer and more pleasant to use, providing more opportunities for people to be active and for children to walk and cycle to school independently.”
The online public engagement exercise will run until 01 November enabling local people to react to the proposals. Feedback from this engagement exercise will be used alongside data from traffic surveys to help the council understand whether local people support the idea of a liveable neighbourhood, and if so, what suggested measures they would like to see put in place.
Rob Wilson, Shropshire councillor for Copthorne, added: “Many residents have taken the time to let me know about their concerns around the increasing volume and speed of traffic in our area. The Liveable Neighbourhood approach has been very successful elsewhere in the country, and I am pleased that it is being brought to Shropshire.
“I hope that this is the beginning of looking at our neighbourhood streets differently, and that there will be the opportunity to apply the same principles in other areas in the future.”
All feedback received during the engagement exercise will be incorporated into two designs, which will be consulted on in late autumn.
