It has been eight years since I started measuring speeds across Whittington and West Felton, initially with a borrowed speed gun and then with my own. Introducing Vehicle-Activated Signs (VAS signs) in parts of the division has helped reduce excessive speed. The Parish Councils have worked and are working hard to get those installed.
Excessive speed is commonly brought up as a issue when I talk to residents across Whittington Division and often gets mentioned in Facebook groups in the area. So speed remains apriority area for me. Quite often issues get bogged down between Shropshire Council and West Mercia Police, where they pass the buck to the other, citing a need for engineering, 85th percentile limits or sadly, that too few people have died.
The continued absence and neglect of our existing Shropshire Councillor is a huge problem. For months, Shropshire Council has failed to repair the VAS sign in Queens Head. Having an AWOL Shropshire Councillor has frustrated West Felton Parish Council, asking for this to be repaired and their plans to introduce more VAS signs in the parish. His absence has frustrated the work of the Clerk and held up progress on some important priorities. I can’t comment on Whittington Parish Council but I get contacted regularly by residents not getting any traction or replies from him. Today’s feedback, from a resident in Whittington, was they had been trying to get a reply from him since 2018. This is a common theme. Whatever, your politics it isn’t acceptable for elected members to ignore their electorate. When members are paid a lot of public money there is a minimum level of service the public rightly expect.
I digress…. After pushing for a Community Speedwatch through West Felton Parish Council and volunteering myself, I am now the Community Speedwatch Co-ordinator. We still have a vacancy, so please message me if you would like to volunteer.
