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As summer comes around people in Town will be able to enjoy a "safer, more attractive, and accessible" Market Street.
This comes as Traffic & Highway Services follows through on its proposals to pave the entire street with granite slabs, to replace the "uneven, unsightly and ageing" asphalt surface currently on the road, which it says have reached the end of its lifespan.
This new, even surface is aimed at being more accessible for all – a far cry from the current states of affairs, with kerbs, pavements, cobbles and pot holes. The plan is to make Market Street safer for pedestrians and easier to use for people with disabilities as well as those with push chairs or high heels. It will not be laid like the High Street's cobbles though.
"A lot of effort has been going into improving the Market area recently to make the area more vibrant and we are keen that this continues with Market Street," St Peter Port Constable Dennis le Moignan said.
"It supports businesses in this area of Town and hopefully will also be a stepping stone to encouraging people into the Old Quarter.”
Supported by the Town Centre Partnership, the work is also intended to allow businesses to use the area more creatively, possibly including more al fresco opportunities.
Market Street as it currently stands.
The much criticised Transport Strategy has pedestrians at the top of the hierarchy of the road and Traffic and Highways says is always working hard to improve facilities for them. Improving the Market, which is a largely pedestrian area, supports the strategy and supports other States of Guernsey strategies to keep Town flourishing, support local business, and to support tourism, T&HS said.
Deputy Sarah Hansmann-Rouxel, States Disability Champion, added: "The Committee for the Environment and Infrastructure know that people want to see roads that are safe, enjoyable, and welcoming and that is what we want to deliver. We will also make them accessible to all.
"These changes will help shops by creating a public space where people can browse, hang out with friends, and get around safely and in a more attractive area.”
A local contractor will be appointed through a tender process to undertake this improvement project.
Pictured top: An artist's impression of what the street will look like in the summer.
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