19.1    Members were advised that a petition calling for a 20 mph speed restriction on the section of New Street, Shrewsbury, between the junction with Copthorne Road and The Boat House had been received and that it had the requisite number of signatures for referral to the Scrutiny Committee.

19.2    The Senior Traffic Technician reminded Members that the Council had a framework for dealing with road safety concerns raised by members of the public within the Road Safety Policy, and an agreed approach for considering 20mph speed restrictions.  He advised Members that this stretch of road had been raised by the Town Council as a community led concern in 2014 and that no further action had been taken as it did not fulfil all the required criteria.

19.3    The Petitioner, Joy Bellingham, addressed the meeting.  She stated that the level of concern within the local community was evidenced by the number of signatories on the petition which had been collected in a short time. She added that she was aware of a number of incidents that had not been reported to the police for a number of reasons.

19.4    Councillor Chebsey, the local Member stated that New Street was not a new problem. The road was a busy arterial route which was quite narrow in places. She added that she was often informed of incidents that were not reported to the police and hence were not considered during assessment.

19.5    A Member commented that it maybe useful if a log of incidents was kept to back up data held by the police.

19.6    The Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transport stated that it was important that as much data as possible was recorded and he urged residents to report all incidents to the police so that a true picture was compiled.

19.7    In response to a question the Highways, Transport and Environmental Commissioning Manager confirmed that other data would be considered but that it did not carry as much weight as data held by the police.  He agreed to meet with the Local Member to look at ways of increasing the data recording.

19.8    A Member commented that the same issues of community concern were raised By Town and Parish Councils over a number of years and that no feedback was received on why no further action was taken.  The Senior Traffic Technician advised that as part of the process feedback was provided to Town & Parish Clerks.  The Highways, Transport and Environmental Commissioning Manager commented that there may be a need to look at improving the level of feedback and that he would investigate the matter further.

19.9    The Chair thanked the Petitioner for her work in collating the petition.

19.10  RESOLVED:

a.    That the procedure for dealing with community led concerns about speed and safety management is noted;

b.    That the guiding principles of where Shropshire Council would consider 20mph speed limits are noted;

c.    That the Highways, Transport and Environmental Commissioning Manager meet with the Local Member to discuss ways of improving the data collection;

d.    That the Highways, Transport and Environmental Commissioning Manager gives consideration to the level of feedback on matters of community concern provided to Town and Parish Councils.