Commercial Street
We want to make Commercial Street safer for everyone, celebrate the high street's heritage and make it a better, more enjoyable place for people of all ages to meet, socialise and enjoy local businesses.
The western side of Commercial Street will see expanded public space with planting, street furniture, and measures to discourage pavement parking. Traffic calming measures and pedestrian crossings will also be improved.
The Middle of Commercial Street will be prioritised for pedestrians and retained as one-way- with the road moved north and its pavements widened. Trees will be planted to create an attractive environment, providing opportunities for socialising in front of shops. The addition of bollards, guardrails, planters, raised kerbs, and street furniture will also create a safe, friendly environment.
Ward's Hill will be prioritised for cyclists and new cycle facilities on the eastern side of Commercial Street will support improved East-West cycle routes. New on-street parking will be introduced and an enhanced pedestrian link between Wards Hill car park and Commercial Street will be created making it easier for people to move around.
The eastern side of Commercial Street will become pedestrianised with loading for local businesses only, to create a safer environment for people, with improved crossing points, and two-way access to The Taproom from Wellington Street.
New street furniture and planting will create an improved environment for people, with the introduction of slider bollards, the narrowing of the road entrance and the introduction of a raised table along most of the street.
Following feedback from businesses and residents in the January to February 2025 engagement regarding the closure of the eastern side of Commercial Street, we took the summer to carry out extensive traffic modelling to analyse and verify our decision-making process.
The modelling analysed eight different design variations to explore how different changes to traffic movements would impact traffic in and around the town centre. The outcomes of this have been balanced against the aims of the project as prescribed in secured funding to reach the decision to maintain the closure of the eastern side of Commercial Street.
We have engaged with businesses and residents of Commercial Street in September to update on this decision and provide context. We will continue to engage as the project moves forward.
