WITH work due to start next summer on the enhancement of Queen Street in Newton Abbot, Devon County Council (DCC) are looking ahead to what changes can be expected in this part of the town.

The scheme will, according to DCC, make Queen Street a safer, more attractive, healthier and greener place for visitors and businesses.

Widened footways, improved crossings, enhanced planting of trees and greenery with additional public seating will improve the area for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users, providing additional space and better access to shops and services.

Queen Street will remain accessible for all traffic wanting to get to the businesses there, and lots of the on-street parking remains unaltered.

To open up the area and enhance the shopping experience for residents and visitors, access to the small section of Queen Street beyond the junction with Albany Street will be restricted to buses, pedestrians, cycles and loading.

Taxis will still be able to access this area to pick up or drop off passengers, and vehicles displaying a blue badge will also have access to stop and pick up or set down a Blue Badge holder.

Traffic parking in spaces on Queen Street between the War Memorial and Albany Street will be able to exit Queen Street via Albany Street.

Traffic heading to public car parks, such as Cricketfield, Halcyon and the multi-story will be encouraged to access via The Avenue and Kingsteignton Road.

The locality will be well served with parking spaces; with 26 on-street parking spaces retained on Queen Street between the War Memorial and Albany Street, as well as Teignbridge District Council’s car parks at Cricketfield Road, the short-stay Halcyon Road car park and three new disabled bays outside Pearl Assurance House, opposite Snappy Snaps.

There will also be two new Blue Badge holder spaces on Queen Street and a new zebra crossing (both close to the War Memorial), as well as raised-table pedestrian-priority crossings at the side-road junctions along Queen Street, to support pedestrian movement in particular for less-mobile visitors.