Cally gets a big boost from pavement renewals

Pavements and side streets throughout Cally are being upgraded as part of the Cally Liveable Neighbourhood project. In Cally, ward Councillors have decided to make pavements and walking space the main priority of our “Liveable Neighbourhood” plan.

On the east side of the High Street we are already fixing a notorious section of pavement which has been collapsing for many years. Between Bridgeman Rd and Richmonmd Avenue, most of the pavement width is not actually public highway but is private land. New drainage has been installed and the public highway has been re-paved along with repairs to some sections of private land where necessary.

By 5th July, these works will be paused outside 312 Caledonian Rd and the work site vacated for the Cally Festival on 6th July. Most of the bollards which line the kerb have been kept (and repainted) because these prevent illegal parking on the wide pavement. Vehicle parking is the main reason why so many of the undercrofts have collapsed in recent years.

Work to properly pedestrianise Freeling Street at its Caledonian Rd junction has been underway for some weeks. The main construction work is almost finished (see below) and will complete just in time for the Cally Festival on 6th July. Some of the area has a temporary hardcore surface ahead of the Cally Festival. New bollards will then be positioned on Carnoustie Drive to make a safe walking route from Caledonian Rd, through Freeling Street into the Bemerton estate. Then, in late Summer, bushes and trees will be planted in the hardcore covered areas.

Construction work has also finished at the Pembroke Street entrance into Bingfield Park at Freeling Street (West)’s junction with Pembroke Street. There is now a widened pavement and an area ready for planting alongside the Crumbles Adventure Playground building (once known as Sparkplug). Bingfield Park has had a major upgrade in the past 18 months and is now very popular and busy with children and families.

The Cally Liveable Neighbourhood investment plan contains a number of other projects which will begin soon. See here for details of the other schemes in the area. These include complete redesign of the other three entrances into Bingfield Park; installing a cycle path from Caledonian Rd to York Way; and finally fully pedestrianising Tilloch Street and Story Street. The plan includes a possible traffic “filter” on Blundell Street but htis has been put on hold for a while; and turning York Way Gardens into a pleasant park with better facilities for businesses operating there.

Cally Councillor Paul Convery says “The Cally Liveable Neighbourhood has taken a lot of thinking and listening through public consultations and we’ve come up with improvements that will make Cally safer and easier to walk. When we asked residents what they thought, a large majority said ‘fix the pavements’ and we agreed. The scheme finally properly pedestrianises the three “stub” streets off Cally Rd, will take cyclists off pavements and really make Bingfield Park a landmark place especially for children and families. There will be more projects in the pipeline too as we bring new public and private investment into the neighbourhood.”