A COUNCILLOR has called to ‘invest money wisely’ before Shotton becomes a 'ghost town'.

Cllr Mike Evans, of Shotton, said his town is getting ‘worse and worse’ and says the money being spent on proposed bus lanes should be spent on something that will ‘benefit the motorists of Deeside’.

He told the Leader that traffic on the main road is already ‘unbearable’ but the roadworks due to start in April will make this ten times worse.

He said: “To me the bus lane is a waste of money, the people of Deeside are angry about it, businesses, taxi drivers, the whole community is angry about what’s going to happen. It’s going to have a ripple of effects.

“I’m really passionate that we should not have it, it’s going to serve no benefit on a small stretch of road.

“The community is going to be unbearable because cars already come speeding through the estate to avoid the main road traffic, this is only going to get worse. Parking is bad anyway in our estate. It’s a problem and this is going to cause mayhem. Shotton is going to be a car park.”

The councillor calls for money to be spent on things such as electronic low bridge warnings to prevent HGVs getting stuck under the railway bridge on the main road.

The Leader reported a HGV got stuck on February 19 and had to be removed, causing tailbacks in both directions.

Cllr Evans said they have dozens of near misses every year, but these are not recorded.

He added: “Last week we had a near miss, luckily the wagon driver pulled up before the bridge and reversed in the street. Near misses aren’t recorded but we get so many every year. It causes mayhem because if they don’t get stuck, they have to reverse down an already busy road and it’s mad busy all day.

“If that had got stuck, with the Flintshire bridge closed from the wind, Deeside would have been gridlocked. You can’t move.

“We need electronic warnings well away from the bridge giving plenty of opportunity not to go there because the ones we have now can be missed, they bled in. I’ve been asking for this for years. If you’re a new driver to Deeside, you won’t see them.”

Plans to create dedicated bus lanes on the B5129 between Queensferry and Shotton were previously approved by senior politicians in the county in a bid to slash journey times.

Work was due to start on the scheme in January and Flintshire Council said bus drivers, cyclists and emergency service vehicles on blue light calls would all be able to benefit – however this has been deferred until April.

Cllr Evans said he fears Shotton will become a ghost town due to traffic getting worse.

He told the Leader: “Some days it's like that now. Empty shops, car parking fees, cyclists on the pavements and now more motorists. It’s misery with the waste of time and money bus lane

“I haven’t got an answer for it, but this bus lane is going to make it worse. It will prevent people from coming into Shotton because it’s going to be easier to get to other places.

“Car parking charges also prevent people coming here and the shops aren’t open because people aren’t coming, they are passing it by because traffic is that bad it’s bumper to bumper most days.

“Someone is determined to close Shotton down, it’s going worse and worse. If it was going to benefit us, then fine. Spend the money wisely.

“So, I'm asking for Positive Action of FCC to stop this happening and spend money on something that will benefit the motorists of Deeside and Stop Wasting Money especially on the waste of time & money Bus Lane get the Priorities Right.”