Councillor for Bowbrook & Bicton Heath Alex Wagner has set out a three-point plan to fix the broken traffic set-up on Gains Park Way – which will see 16% more traffic if the North West Road is built.
Very few roads in urban parts of Shropshire are as quick as Gains Park Way. The road, which goes through the middle of Gains Park estate, is a 40mph zone. There are no crossings, and no footpath on around half of the carriageway.
Residents often have to cross at a dangerous point off Woodcrest, simply to get to the local shops, Oxon Primary School, or because they got off the bus on the side of the road they don’t live on.
Residents have long-expressed concerns, including last year’s ‘Stop the Speeding Gains Park’ petition which received over 200 signatures. Alex Wagner led this petition before his election win, becoming Councillor in May 2021.
Cllr Wagner’s three-point plan introduces clear steps to fix Gains Park Way, in three phases, each after the other:
1. Paint two crossings, one between Woodcrest and The Paddocks, and one between Corner Farm Drive and Corner Lane. Introduce regular speed-checking measures.
2. Trial speed reduction to 30mph to prove it works, and to get people used to it. Seek funding to ensure a footpath is built up the side of Gains Park Way where one is currently lacking.
3. Subject to trial results, introduce a permanent 30mph reduction. Re-design the roadway to create a cycle lane and link to Shrewsbury-wide cycle network plans.
Once these three steps have been taken, residents of Gains Park, Bowbrook, and Bicton Heath would have an improved standard of living, Cllr Wagner claims.
Cllr Alex Wagner (Lib Dem, Bowbrook) said: “These plans are well within the art of the possible, and would make Bowbrook & Bicton Heath a nicer place to live. The set-up on Gains Park Way at the moment is broken – a few sensible changes like those I outline above would make a huge difference to people’s day-to-day lives at a very modest cost.”
“We’ve got to take action before it’s too late – with the potential double-whammy of the North West Road and over 1,000 new houses in the area, traffic could go up by well over a fifth. That will make a bad situation totally intolerable for a lot of people.”
“There is a point on Woodcrest where residents have to cross a busy 40mph road just off from a bend, simply in order to get to the shops or local primary school. If you get off the bus on the opposite side to your house, you’ve got to make the same crossing. I’ve seen mothers and fathers with buggies having to take that risk – I’m tired of it.”
“I’ve brought the first point of my plan up with the Council already and they have got back to me with some potential routes forward. My hope is that a new cabinet member being brought in will shake things up and drive the matter forward successfully.”
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