At last – ‘Spaces for People’ measures to be introduced in St Andrews

Nearly 2 1/2 months after Fife Council received £2.4M from Sustrans, it has has published plans for the first round of Spaces for People interventions in St Andrews town centre to be operational from the end of September (https://www.fife.gov.uk/…/roads-and-pavem…/spaces-for-people). Postcards are to be delivered to adjacent premises shortly to promote the availability of the online plans.

Impact on vehicular traffic driving in and out of the town centre area will be minimal. Parking is available close to all areas where the interventions are being implemented, although car parking has been removed or rearranged at most of the intervention locations. Where this is the case, the parking area removed has been given over to pedestrian use, to help people comply with the Scottish Government’s ‘physical distancing’ requirements.

Recent surveys on a typical day in August suggest that the car parking occupancy rate for on-street parking is in the region of 85% and off-street parking occupancy is in the region of 65%, suggesting that there is normally some availability for drivers looking to park.

The interventions are as follows:

Bell Street

– Extended pedestrian area into carriageway by 2.2m. This will extend the available footway from 1.8m to 4.0m, to allow for    physical distancing.
– Localised narrowing to accommodate for a loading bay and an accessible parking space.
– Relocation of the taxi rank to Greyfriars Garden.
– Loss of 11 parking spaces.

Church Street

– Extended pedestrian area into carriageway by 2.2m. This will extend the available footway from 1.8m to 4.0m, to allow for     physical distancing. This will leave a traffic lane width of 3.6m.
– Due to the single traffic lane, a loading bay is being provided at Church Square.
– Pedestrians have adequate space in Church Square, hence the loading bay will not compromise ‘physical distancing’.

Market Street

– Extended pedestrian area into carriageway by 2.5m to allow for physical distancing. This will extend the existing footway       from 3.6m to 6.1m.
– At the Fountain, the proposal would be to widen the footway by 2m into the carriageway.
– There are currently 55 parking spaces and 2 accessible parking spaces between Bell Street and Church Street. This will be       reduced to 21 parking spaces, with 2 accessible parking spaces and a loading bay.

South Street (East)

– Extended pedestrian area into carriageway to allow for physical distancing. Area to take up existing on-street parking            spaces.
– Area outside The Criterion will require the loss of an additional 14 parking spaces.
– Area outside The Adamson will require the loss of 10 parking spaces.
– Area outside Jannettas will require the loss of 4 parking spaces.

South Street (West)

– Extended pedestrian area into the existing carriageway by 2.5m to allow for physical distancing.
– Parking layout rearranged.
– Loss of 9 parking spaces.

Whilst the interventions will typically comprise water filled barriers, there is scope to replace these barriers with an enhanced provision, although there is an ordering delay on products such as seating, planters and the like. The water filled barriers also allow layouts to be tested and tweaked where necessary, should problems arise.

Any further interventions would depend on reviewing the operation of these initial schemes.