Forum on shaping future of South Street

The Citizen, 28 May 2004

St Andreans have been given the chance to help shape the future of South Street and make the town a 'world class' destination.

A local consultation forum was held this week to give local people the opportunity to view an exhibition featuring planned improvements to the busy thoroughfare.

The meeting, which took place in the Town Hall on Wednesday, was held to discuss the second phase of £750,000 worth of streetscape improvements, which have been designed to enhance the appeal of St Andrews town centre for visitors and bring significant practical benefits for the local community and businesses.

Visitors had the opportunity to see how the revamped South Street will look once the upgrading has taken place including improvements such as a new zebra crossing to replace the existing pelican crossing; parking layout changes to help reduce number of traffic accidents and allow greater access to local retail outlets; plus the creation of additional parking spaces at Petheram Bridge.

Other improvements on the cards include the widening of footpaths by one metre to reduce congestion and new street lighting which features lamps with shorter columns to keep them within the scale of buildings.

Streetscape designers also plan to plant a new species of trees along the street, which are more attractive and easier to maintain than those which are currently there.

They have also pledged to retain St Andrews' existing historical architectural style within all of the new designs and use traditional, natural materials.

It is anticipated that work on this latest phase will commence in September.

Speaking about the consultation Jonathan Stapleton, general manager of the Old Course Hotel Golf Resort and Spa and a member of the St Andrews World Class Project Executive said: "The second phase of work will progress our vision to develop St Andrews as a world-class location for its residents, workforce and visitors.

"These improvements have the potential to transform the South Street area into a more modern, user friendly space, while at the same time losing none of its existing beauty and charm."

He added: "We know that the local community and businesses are passionate about their town's future, which is why we are committed to discussing these proposals with them to gauge their response and listen to their feedback."