Town centre to create pedestrian zone
Areas of Shrewsbury town centre are set to be traffic-free during part of the day under plans to make the town safe for people during coronavirus restrictions.
Shops are due to start reopening from June 15 and preparations are being put in place to enable people to maintain social distancing while visiting the town centre.
The main proposal involves creating a central pedestrian zone for a period of the day by diverting inbound traffic along Town Walls rather than up Wyle Cop and onto High Street between 11am and 6pm.
Traffic will still be able to come up Castle Street, along St Mary’s Street and down Wyle Cop, but not along High Street.
That will mean High Street and Shoplatch will be completely free of vehicles, enabling the road to be used by pedestrians, and allowing the potential use of loading bays being used as seating areas.
The plans are part of a range of initiatives being proposed by the Shrewsbury Recovery Taskforce, made up of representatives from Shropshire Council, Shrewsbury Town Council and Shrewsbury Business Improvement District (BID).
Cllr Peter Nutting, leader of Shropshire Council, said: “The key message from Public Health England is that town centres need to allow as much space as possible for people to observe social distancing rules to help prevent the spread of the virus.
“The most effective way of doing that is to reduce traffic from the centre of Shrewsbury so people are not restricted to only using pavements.
“By allowing roads to be used by pedestrians, it gives more space for safe queuing zones outside shops, which is a key public health requirement.”
Leader of Shrewsbury Town Council, CllrAlan Mosley, said: “One of Shrewsbury’s charms is its narrow streets and medieval road layout, but that presents obvious challenges when trying to create more space for people to enjoy the town centre in a safe way.
“Reducing through traffic and making the town centre more easily accessible on foot and cycle is one of the main priorities identified in the Shrewsbury Big Town Plan, and these temporary road closures are an ideal way of putting those plans into action.
“However, we are all very aware that businesses need access for deliveries and I know colleagues within the recovery taskforce are speaking with businesses about how best to manage deliveries, and those conversations are ongoing within what is an excellent example of partnership working in the best interests of all those who live, work and visit our town.”
