There’s only One Way

It was way back in December 2006 that we considered whether St Peter’s Square should be pedestrianised. We received seven comments, six of which were favourable.

From time to time, the Post Office end of St Peter’s Square and the six car parking spaces are closed to traffic. We took another look in June 2007, when it was again closed. How nice it was to see the Square without cars, available as a large public space.

St Peter’s Square is, after all, the focal point of the town. But it’s generally cluttered with cars, many of which park illegally on single yellow lines. It seems that more and more motorists are prepared to walk less and less and will abandon their cars anywhere they like. In addition to cars everywhere, there are brash, red no entry sings and a large roundabout, both to disrupt the view and to make it difficult for shoppers to get around.

So, here’s a thought. By making Well Street and Clwyd Street one way, it might be possible to kill several birds with one large stone. One way over the square could eliminate the need for that roundabout, really opening up the Square and giving some of it back to pedestrians. If the whole area can’t be pedestrianised, perhaps the track along which cars travel could be narrowed considerably. And if not fully pedestrianised, then pedestrians given priority over cars, post office vans and traffic accessing Prior Street…