An £11.3M shared space scheme to transform Ashford’s ring road into an integrated, two-way street will include a number of recommendations made by Guide Dogs for the Blind.
Work is currently under way to transform the 1970s ring road into a narrower, two-way ‘quality street’, jointly designed by engineers, sculptors and artists. Unnecessary street furniture and road markings will be removed, the speed limit decreased, and a new square created, to further improve accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists.
The scheme was driven by concerns that the four-lane ring road would grow increasingly congested – with pedestrians and cyclists further marginalised – as a result of massive housing growth set for the next 25 years.
Kent County Council leader, Paul Carter, said: ‘This innovative road scheme is a national first for the county council. It will remove the concrete collar which has strangled the town centre in the past.’ Guide Dogs for the Blind said Kent County Council was implementing a number of its recommendations, which include tactile paving, colour contrasts on footways for partially-sighted people, and 50mm ‘upstands’ at the newly-created Elwick Square to ensure the blind did not wander into oncoming traffic.
A full programme of arts projects to support the scheme starts in the summer. Graham Roberts of RKL Consultants, which is handling the artists’ involvement, said: ‘Ashford will be an expression of the power of the integrated design team approach. Artists and engineers are working together to provide a functional scheme within a creatively-designed environment.’
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