Denbighshire County Council has announced its
decision on proposed active travel plans for Llangollen, Ruthin, Denbigh and
Rhyl.
The council had successfully bid for Welsh
Government funds to introduce local sustainable transport measures in response
to covid-19 in the four town centres.
The funding would be used to promote
walking and cycling, to facilitate social distancing measures, to encourage
businesses to expand their offer outside their premises and to support
residents and visitors to feel safe.
Following consultation, the proposals for
Llangollen and Ruthin have been approved.
The plans for Llangollen involve widening pavements for shared pedestrian/cyclist use along designated streets.
The
Rhyl proposal has been approved in principle, but there will be alterations to
certain aspects of the scheme.
These alterations will be circulated to
all relevant stakeholders before proceeding with the final project
implementation.
The original proposals for Denbigh have been withdrawn
after extensive feedback was received from the public.
The council will
go back to the drawing board and consider whether there are alternative options
for Denbigh to help facilitate social distancing whilst encouraging walking and
cycling.
The plans for Ruthin included the introduction of one-way roads for traffic on Market Street
and Well Street.
The proposals for Rhyl involve
improving shared space for pedestrians and cyclists in key areas of Rhyl
between the railway station and the National Cycling Route along the promenade.
This also reflects the commitment in the Rhyl Masterplan to enhance sustainable
active travel in the town.
The original proposals for Denbigh included
a one-way system on Vale Street, High Street and Bridge Street; improved areas
for pedestrians and cyclists; the closure to vehicles of the northern side of
High Street.and a temporary 20mph speed limits would have been introduced on
some town roads.
The plans were refused due to concerns raised by business
owners and residents about the scale of the proposals.
The council will draw up new proposals for Denbigh
and will be engaging with the local community in due course.
Councillor Brian Jones, Cabinet Lead Member for
Highways, Transport and the Environment, said: “We would like to thank members
of the public for getting involved in the consultations. Representations were
received via an online survey, emails, written letters, telephone calls,
e-petitions and through social media.
“Active travel has become a more prominent issue in
recent times, with covid-19 allowing people the opportunity to walk more or to
get on bikes as a means of getting out and about. The funding made available
was to be used to promote active travel and allowing councils to introduce
measures that would help protect people’s safety through social distancing, we
well as encouraging more people to visit our town centre businesses.
“We fully recognise the quick turnaround but we
were only given a short amount of notice to apply for the Welsh Government
funding and we needed to get our plans drawn up and submitted very quickly, to
make sure our communities did not miss out on the funding.
“We had community engagement plans planned and
agreed to carry out a consultation on the proposals.
"There was generally
strong support for the plans for Llangollen, Ruthin and Rhyl and we were happy
to support these proposals going forward and will now plan to implement the
measures. Further details will be announced in due course and the
work will be monitored on a regular basis.
“However, in Denbigh there were significant number
of people objecting to the original proposals put forward. We have considered
people’s responses at great length and we have listened to their views. Clearly
there was no appetite from the local community to move forward with the plans,
so the Denbigh plans will not go ahead as they stand."
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