The traffic lane next to Cardiff Castle, on Castle Street, will be removed this Sunday, May 17, so that the pavement can be extended into the road for both pedestrians and cyclists to use.
This is the first city-centre project that will be installed to keep the public safe and able to socially distance on the highway network. Earlier works were successfully introduced around Roath Park Lake creating a one-way footpath around the lake to aid social distancing as well as the removal of visitor parking baysnearest to the lake,toprovide additional space for cyclists and joggers.
This new shared space will run from the Cathedral Road/Cowbridge Road junction, over Canton Bridge, along Castle Street, Duke Street and up to the North Road-Boulevard De Nantes junction.
Cllr Caro Wild, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport said: “We have to ensure that any changes we make to roads and pavements are safe for all road users. Castle Street is the first road scheme in the city. It will be installed on Sunday and a similar scheme on Wood Street is currently being looked into.
“It’s not possible for us to transform all public space in the city overnight, but we are doing all that we can, with the resources available, to bring in these social-distancing schemes as quickly as possible.
“With the significant increase in the number of people cycling and walking in the city, it is important, more than ever, for all users of public space to be respectful and mindful of others especially with vulnerable users.”
When the new shared space is installed on Castle Street, it will be temporarily marked out with traffic cones. These cones will then be replaced with bolt-down pole cones.
A pilot scheme to enable social distancing in neighbourhood shopping centres will be launched at Wellfield Road, in Plasnewydd, soon. The council is currently working with businesses in the area to develop the final scheme, but it will involve removing the parking bays on either side of the road to allow the pavement to be extended to give extra space to allow social distancing measures to be followed.
