Monmouthshire County Council is planning an Active Travel route – a cycle and pedestrian-friendly link – connecting Monmouth’s Monnow Street with the Overmonnow area. This will offer cyclists and walkers improved access to the town’s main shopping street as well as providing a thoroughfare towards local schools and the leisure centre.
The proposed route will run along Monnow Street from Agincourt Square and make use of the ancient fortified river bridge. It will link with an existing active travel route starting at Williams Field Lane off Overmonnow’s Wonastow Road.
Funding provided by the Welsh Government will allow the council to carry out a feasibility study to determine the best approach for the scheme. The study will include traffic counts, usage studies, safety assessments and topographical surveys and initially the council will gather data on car, pedestrian and cycling patterns by installing sensors and cameras along the proposed route. These will record vehicle volumes and speeds, the volume of pedestrian and cycle traffic, street crossings, near misses and potential conflict between pedestrians, bicycles and vehicles.
Nearby streetlights will provide the power source for the sensors, but they are currently subject to timers in readiness for the town’s Christmas illuminations. Officers have had no success in seeking an alternative power supply so their only option will be to change the timers to a 24-hour supply in order to facilitate the study. This will result in the Christmas lights, which are also connected to the same source, operating permanently throughout the festive period. Meanwhile, the full monitoring period is scheduled to run until September 2022.
Councillor Lisa Dymock, Monmouthshire’s cabinet member with responsibility for Active Travel said: “The proposed Active Travel route will benefit a large number of people and will provide a safer and better means of walking or cycling from Overmonnow to the centre of Monmouth.”
