In November/December we carried out the first round of public consultation for possible active travel improvements along Monnow Street. A total of 561 members of the public completed the online questionnaire and a total of 44 people participated in the intercept survey. This feedback helped to inform the first out of three stages that lead up to the selection of the proposed intervention. Larger projects such as this one are usually progressed over several years from concept through to detailed design and are then dependent on the approval of funding from Welsh Government for the construction phase.
We have previously asked for your feedback on the following four options:
- Option 1: traffic allowed to travel one-way in the southwest bound direction only, a segregated cycleway to accommodate cyclists travelling in the northeast bound direction, and widened footways.
- Option 2: maintain two-way traffic flow, a segregated cycleway to accommodate cyclists travelling in the northeast bound direction, and footway widening.
- Option 3: Improve the condition of footway and carriageway with no changes to the layout.
- Option 4A: In addition to Option 1, provide an alternative cycleway and footway from Monnow Street through Chippenham Fields to Chippenhamgate Street.
- Option 4B: In addition to Option 2, provide an alternative cycleway and footway from Monnow Street through Chippenham Fields to Chippenhamgate Street.
Options 1, 2 4A and 4B all bring change, and in particular improvements for pedestrians and cyclists – and most respondents were in favour of one of these options in the first round of consultation. However, the one-way system option (Option 1) was also the least favourite proposal and received negative feedback from the residents and businesses when trialled in 2020. The alternative cycleway and footway envisaged in options 4A and 4B is not currently eligible for Welsh Government Active Travel funding, so these options have been removed from the proposals to avoid any delay to the changes on Monnow Street being implemented.
For these reasons, in this Round Two public consultation, we are focusing on Option 2, which maintains two-way traffic while improving provision for pedestrians and cyclists. We would like to hear your thoughts to help shape the proposals, to deliver a key active travel commuter and community route along Monnow Street to the shops, places of employment and public transport facilities. Our goal is to encourage people to visit the area on foot and by cycling, through the provision of a safe and attractive space.
Click here to fill out the public consultation questionnaire
Closing date for responses is now noon 2nd March 2022.