Following feedback from businesses and shoppers some new signs are being produced to help people get around the town centre safely.
The 10 yellow aluminium A boards have been designed with a simple “Keep Left” message and will be placed at key points throughout the town. The new signs are due to be printed later this week so watch out for them arriving soon.
We are finalising sites for hand sanitiser stations in the town centre to support the great work which is being done by individual businesses to ensure that Penzance is Covid safe.
A big thank you to our street wardens who are having a positive presence in the town. Provided through the partnership with Cornwall Council and Safer Penzance to help reduce anti-social behaviour and supported by funding from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, the wardens have been carrying out regular patrols in the town centre to provide additional support to the local police and other partners.
We have received a number of positive comments about their work from local businesses and visitors, and are delighted that they will continue to support the town for the remainder of the summer season.
Earlier this month it was agreed to close Chapel Street to vehicles on Thursday to Sunday evenings to provide more outdoor space for café, bars, pubs and restaurants to support the social distancing rules. Many customers have already enjoyed the extra space with lots of people taking advantage of the fine weather to eat and drink outside.
Up to now it has mainly been the pubs and restaurants which have taken advantage of the new pedestrianisation, however some of the shops in the street are now looking at opening in the evenings too, helping create a real “continental feel” to Chapel Street and we look forward to seeing this atmosphere replicated in other parts of the town as the new pedestrianisation measures are introduced in the town centre.
As the closure of Chapel Street is a temporary measure introduced under the emergency Covid legislation, we have been monitoring how the scheme is working so we can make any changes if needed. While the majority of businesses and local residents are very happy with the new system, we are aware that there have been some concerns raised regarding parking, we are working closely with the police and Cornwall Council’s enforcement team to ensure that the system is maintained.
Work is also taking place to finalise the trial highways scheme being developed to reduce through traffic from the town centre and support pedestrians and cyclists. The first phase involves the pedestrianisation of Market Jew Street and we are looking forward to seeing details of the proposals next week.
