Agenda item

We received a report and presentation regarding Abergavenny Public Realm Improvements Phase 3.

The final design has been agreed following extensive consultations with the community and Team Abergavenny. The general layout has not been substantially changed with the exception of the area in the vicinity of the War Memorial.

The section between Whitehorse Lane and the Baker Street junction is now traffic free and provides a substantial open space which is being developed in a similar style to St. John`s Square.

The Baker Street / Frogmore Street junction will be a transitional area between the public open space and a conventional footway / carriageway split in Upper Frogmore Street.

Upper Frogmore Street will be reconstructed with a traditional footway / carriageway arrangement with kerbed edges.

The width of the carriageway will be reduced to the minimum possible allowing the footways to be extended. The material pallet for this section is proposed as permeable block paviours for the carriageway with the footways being styled in the fashion of St John`s Square with a mixture of penant slabs and `suresett` bound gravel.

It is proposed to make a `no left turn` for motor vehicles into Baker Street from Frogmore Street, allowing cyclists to continue to use this route. This will allow the provision of some disabled parking spaces to be located at the end of Baker Street to compensate for lost spaces elsewhere.

It is proposed to introduce a contraflow cycle lane along Lion Street from the shared space at the junction of Market Street to allow a safe cycle access from the A40.

The commencement date for Phase 3 is 28^th January 2019.

Having received the report, the following points were noted:

·         Abergavenny needs to be a destination town for tourism with Frogmore Street being a pedestrianised zone to create a café culture. Discussion ensued regarding this matter concluding with officers being asked to undertake a safety audit before a decision is taken in respect of this matter.  The Group Engineer - Highways and Flood Management will meet with the County and Town Councillors representing this area.

·         Concern was expressed that buses were continuing to illegally pick up passengers outside the Robert Price building.  In response, the Group Engineer - Highways and Flood Management stated that bus companies had been told not to stop at this location.  However, he would liaise with the Passenger Transport Unit regarding this matter.

·         The Group Engineer - Highways and Flood Management would investigate providing additional ‘left turn’ signing at King Street.

·         Concern was expressed that if the bollards were removed near Wetherspoons, this might lead to a minority of young people using this route to speed excessively, as has occurred in other areas of the town.

·         There was some debate about whether Frogmore Street should be opened up to traffic in the evenings. The Group Engineer advised the committee that a Safety Audit is currently being carried out to assist in making this decision and it was agreed that officers would meet with the Chair and Local Members to discuss the findings of the report and consider how to proceed.

We noted the report and presentation.